Take three restaurants.
Let's do it!
Cooking up their finest fare.
Might give them a heart attack.
Ask each to host a three-course meal...
Service! ..which will be scored in secret.
What's the yellow stuff coming out of their faces?
It's like, er, brain?
On today's show, a pasta protest...
The pasta's a little hard. I like it a bit softer.
I do agree, the pasta's a little bit hard.
They are wrong. It was cooked the right way.
..cacophonous consumption...
If you slurp, it's more like a compliment.
THEY SLURP Personally, it drives me up the wall.
I hate noisy eaters. ..and eye-popping exploits.
Hey! I didn't watch!
You didn't watch? I have a girlfriend.
..as they battle to bag a grand in cash.
Ooh! For the record, I have very dry buttocks.
Allegedly.
Today's professional competition comes from Glasgow,
named the third best place in Europe for vegans to live.
Lucky wee vegans, eh?
And serving up a mighty mix of plant-based
and meaty fare tonight are our first hosts,
front of house Pixie and head chef Andy
of music venue come restaurant Bloc.
So, it's street food ethos, it's whacky, it's mental.
It's very, very colourful.
It's got a bit of Americana in it, bit of Pan Asian,
all mashed together.
Meow. Get that out, don't drop it.
No promises. Every dish we've got on the menu in Bloc has like
a pun name. It just makes it
a bit funner than just saying cheeseburger, hot dog.
One Notorious PIG,
one Sen Nuts, one Buff Ting Chicken Wings.
And there's no friction in this kitchen.
I don't think we ever had an argument, no?
No, just like wee disagreements. Not really. This week we might.
Well, yeah, in the kitchen, aye.
I'm sure you'll be fine.
Novice chef Pixie is going to assist Andy
to deliver their menu.
Don't think she's started yet, though.
So tonight we're going to do some
fun, filthy, dirty street food that's got
a big massive filthy Glaswegian twist.
Which is us down to a T.
First to prep is the starter,
the cheekily named Thai Me Up,
which is actually vegan jackfruit wings with maple,
soy and chilli glaze.
Mm, Thai Me Up! Vegan jackfruit wings!
Sorry, flashbacks. With maple, soy and chilli glaze.
Flashbacks? Meet married culinary couple
Italian Luca and Polish Magda,
who run their Italian restaurant Amore d'Italia.
We specialise in Italian food with a Scottish twist
and we love what we do.
Yeah, you do especially. He is addicted to working.
He literally lives here.
Thank you, chef.
Mamma mia! Thank you so much, chef.
We are a good team. We are a good team,
I must say, yeah, we are a good team, yeah.
We complement each other. Luca is a typical Italian.
Eh, buon dia.
Just so positive and smiling
and just spreading this positive energy.
Magda, she's like a volcano.
I come from Sicily so it's a good example,
is like Etna, the volcano,
so if she's got something like in her stomach she need to say.
Nice and cheesy, just like your jokes. Oh!
Just called being honest, I'm just honest.
Don't be that honest, you know, just...
Yeah, tell him his jokes are great.
Back to the food and the intriguingly named Thai Me Up.
The ingredients and the flavours are Thai,
Taiwanese-based so it's just a nice wee pun name,
Thai Me Up. I love a little jackfruit wing,
rolled in panko breadcrumbs, deep-fried, of course.
Great starter, take you onto the rest of the courses.
Gotcha. After cooking,
the jackfruit must be rolled into ball shapes.
This is actually quite cool.
So, we're going to go for three wings per person.
There's not that many people here.
Six of us.
Yes, six times three is...16?
No. No, nine.
No!
Three times six is nine?
I'll let you work on that, all right?
The 18 jackfruit balls, sorry wings,
are breadcrumbed ready to deep fry later.
Thai Me Up. That's a very,
that's very funny, that's good, that's good.
Good pun, good pun. Very punny.
Meet our final duo of the week, owner and chef Teddy
and front of house Michael from Japanese sushi noodle
and soup chain Maki & Ramen.
Many other Japanese restaurants, normally they just do everything,
when we are more specialist in only two things which is
the ramen and the sushi.
Teddy studied abroad to master the cuisine, no less.
Beautiful. You're quite good at this.
And they're still thinking internationally.
The aim for Maki & Ramen is global domination.
Starting with Scotland. Training's going well, I see.
In our spare time we do training in wu tai,
punching everything out, sweating and take a good shower,
cold shower and then just finish the day. Not together.
I want to improve my sales 20%.
Ah!
That was real.
What?!
Back with today's hosts
and Pixie's getting to grips with the equipment.
I've seen some sights in a kitchen but that takes the biscuit.
What? Oh, Jesus.
Moving onto the main course, Send Noodz,
instant ramen noodle hot dog with kimchi fries.
Instant ramen you can buy at
the supermarket or corner shop for 39p.
I'm sure they wouldn't serve you that!
We get some shop-bought instant noodles.
Oh! Put them in a bowl.
Get some of this secret sauce, wee sprinkle.
Shall we do it like Ghost?
Oh, this is so romantic.
Honestly on a first date,
and you need something to do, that's right here.
If you say so.
The Noodz will be sprinkled over the hot dogs later.
Kimchi fries. What's kimchi fries?
Yeah, kimchi fries. I think they, they might be...
Chips for sure. Over to you, Andy.
Get a little bowl of French fries,
we put some fresh kimchi over it, some kimchi mayonnaise,
toasted sesame seeds, chillies, things like that,
just a really Asian-inspired little side dish.
First job, the blitzing of kimchi or fermented veg and, what's that?
One of the secrets to food in Bloc
is weird, bright colours so we like using
a lot of food colouring.
So, it's turned orange, wazzed up and mixed with mayo,
followed by a quick taste test.
Mm, erm...
..aye, it's nice.
I know it's nice.
You don't look convinced, Pixie. Sauce ready,
it's onto dessert, sticky toffee crunch,
deep-fried sticky toffee pudding
with salted caramel sauce and biscuity ice cream.
I would never even think about deep-frying a sticky toffee pudding.
Most people wouldn't. We might have to do some extra
training to get rid of these calories.
I'm up for it, man. Yeah, cool, cool, cool.
You're going to need it.
If you're in here, you're a gym freak,
you're looking after your waistline, it's not going to be for you.
It's really good for a cheat day.
Cheat weeks, cheat months, cheat years. Yeah.
To make the calorific pudding, Andy adds eggs to flour,
milk and cream, then a mix of butter,
sugar, vanilla extract and finally a toffee crunch sauce.
Should we not use maybe a bigger bowl?
No. No?
OK. I don't know how to do this without making a mess.
I will just make a mess, OK?
What's left of the mix is poured into a tray
and baked ready to be deep-fried later.
Pixie is definitely the most messiest sous chef I've ever had.
She couldnae work full time in my kitchen.
Would you hate me, would you shout at me?
I'd sack you. That's a bit harsh.
So, the food prep's all done, her nails have survived,
barely. My nails are shattered
so let's get this party started, eh?
Let's show them a good time. Come on. Definitely.
I love the menu
and I think the hosts will be people with a cheeky sense of humour.
I think it's very creative
and I wish to have really good food.
First in, husband and wife team.
I think that's the place. That's the place.
..Magda and Luca. Is it a pub or restaurant?
Whatever you want it to be, I think.
Magda. Hi, I'm Pixie, nice to meet you.
Luca, nice to meet you. How you doing, Luca,
nice to meet you. How are you? Very well.
Would you like a drink the now? Sure. Yeah, please.
It's called Cheeky Bucky. Do you know what buckfast is?
He's never tried it.
Only once. Yeah, I was completely off.
Did you like it? I can't remember what happened.
Must have been a good night. Next up it's Michael and Teddy.
We have to go down? Yeah.
Like a dungeon. Yeah.
Not sure what restaurants you've been going to.
Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Teddy. Hi, I'm Pixie, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you. I'm sure there were two others here a minute ago.
What about us? Oh, there they are.
Hi. Hi. Sorry, Teddy, nice to meet you.
That was a bit awkward at the beginning
because they introduced themselves to the hosts
and I was, like, what about us? So I was like, hi.
Cheers, guys. Ooh, there you go, have some fun.
Coming up, racy revelations...
In my part-time I go-go dance,
get a pole out, I can show some tricks.
I can go upside down on a pole. You didn't put it on your CV?
No, definitely not.
..and carb conundrums.
How come you left one? It's my calorie count so...
Ooh, la-la. I want to keep it low.
Our dessert is 2,000 calories,
so it's not looking good for his waistline.
It's night one of our Professionals competition in Glasgow...
Let's do it!
..where Bloc's chef Andy and front of house Pixie -
I think she needs a refill -
are hoping their outrageous street food will bag them
the £1,000 prize. In the kitchen,
Andy's deep-frying his jackfruit wings, which get
a coating of maple soy glaze and a quick jiggle,
then it's time to plate with a squirt of spicy mayo,
pickled chillies and spring onion.
Can you remember the name?
Yes, I can, it's called Thai Me Up.
Indeed it is -
Vegan jackfruit wings in maple soy glaze served with spicy mayo.
I hope you all enjoy it and dig in.
I'm not a vegan food person but after eating those,
I think I will start eating some vegan.
Glad we can change your mind. Do you like it?
It's lovely,
I love it and chilli is the right amount of kick for her.
For me it's a bit spicy. Spicy.
Good, I must say, very good. Quite surprising,
I didn't expect a jackfruit can taste like that.
Really enjoyed the starter. I loved the colours,
I loved how it looked and it was delicious.
How come you left one?
It's my calorie count so... Ooh, la-la.
I want to keep it, keep it low and then there is
a main course and dessert as well so...
So, how many calories are you allowed to gain a day?
Less than 800...1,800.
What? Really?
Nobody working here,
nobody working here, our dessert is 2,000 calories.
Yep. So, it's not looking good for his waistline.
So, how about you tell us a wee bit about you,
so, like, your relationship and that?
Yeah, I am effectively his number two and he tells me what to do.
Is he on call like 24 hours always available?
Not only 24-hour, 25 hour day.
So, I have 30 minutes in the shower
in those 30 minutes I can receive like five calls,
like ten text messages, emails.
Are you Facetiming each other?
That's what I'm thinking, one day, one day, you know.
Who spends half an hour in the shower? I wish. Honestly, I wish.
The last two minutes are cold so I have 28 minutes of
a hot shower and two minutes of a cold one.
Expensive, these days.
What about you two then, with your relationship?
We are actually married. We've been married for,
how long now? Seven years?
Ten, I think. Too long!
She's testing you.
When exactly did we get married?
2014, 15.
Ooh!
So, what your relationship is like?
Well, I think it's
a wee bit more simple compared to all of you.
Yeah, definitely. We're really good friends.
Chalk and cheese. She's bubbly and everything,
I'm just the typical grumpy head chef.
They seem like a really good team.
They are young, fun people with a good sense of humour.
I love that kind of people, you know.
So, it's going good, it's going in our favour so far.
You see, that was a nice entry
into the next course, the craziness comes.
Better crack on, then. Pixie's given the crucial job
of toasting the charcoal hot dog buns.
Please don't burn them. Looking a tad scorched already.
So, how can I tell when they're burned?
Because they'll be on fire. Righto.
Andy deep-fries the sausages while Pixie sauces
the buns with ketchup and spicy mayo.
What do I do now?
Just look pretty, entertain. Entertain, Pixie.
I think he means the guests, not yourself.
Excuse me. I'm not sure that's working for Andy, either.
That's not irritating in the slightest.
Yeah, she's better off with something to do,
like dish out the noodles and balance the bangers,
along with a bunch of crispy toppings.
And there it is, Send Noodz,
noodle hot dog topped with crunchy raw noodles,
and a plant-based hot dog for veggies Magda and Pixie,
both served with kimchi fries.
How do I eat it?
Basically you pick it up and you just smash it in.
Good smashing, everyone.
It's very different to what I was expecting, really good.
Surprising in a different way, yeah, in a good way.
Thank you. Great combination of flavours and textures,
and presentation was beautiful.
The bun was quite surprising, to see this black bun
but it was cute, I must say, well done.
It's like surreal to the taste buds.
I find the crunchy texture like a bit weird in
the mouth just because I'm so used to having it cooked
and I love noodles.
From a noodle background, that's strange
to have it as like your topping when you can use dried onions or
something crispy.
Sorry, I'm just not eating this, just less carb because...
Oh, come on, stop it.
The bun is carbs and then the noodle is carbs.
Oh, man. And then just everything is just carbs after carbs
and then the chips is carbs.
We had something for veggies, spring onions, we had chillies.
And we had potatoes.
Potatoes. Well-rounded. We had plant-based hot dogs.
Exactly. There you go, that's veg.
And then the sauces had veg in it. Sort of.
I think we need a bit more honesty, Pixie.
I come into work just for a good time.
I come in for free foods and just to wear cute outfits.
That's what I do. Honestly, it's awesome, that's what I do.
Specially the cute outfits.
No, the thing for me, I'm just like part-time in here.
In my part time I go-go dance. What's a go-go dance?
So, I will go on stage at techno events
and I will usually dance in my underwear.
I had no idea what go-go dancing was.
I'm sure. I don't know, it's not my cup of tea.
How about a spot of twerking?
So, I felt like a proud big brother when
Pixie started twerking at the table.
Do you want some more? No, you're all right.
Good dancer. I didn't watch.
You didn't watch? I'm sorry, I didn't watch. I have a girlfriend.
There could be a pole might appear, who knows?
Get a pole out, I could show some tricks.
I can go upside down on a pole. I can spin on it as well.
Wow. I didn't know about that.
There's been no poles around.
You didn't put it on your CV. No, definitely not.
Pole dancing not for me, not at all, no. No.
Watching pole dancing, yes.
Living dangerously, Luca.
I don't mind. Maybe we can watch it together.
Phew!
On with dessert, sticky toffee crunch.
This dish is about 2,000 calories. It's really gorgeous.
It's going to be gorgeous, might give them a heart attack.
Poor Teddy. Generous portions
of sticky toffee pudding are deep-fried
and coated in cinnamon sugar.
I'm feeling full already.
Just a wee drizzle, that'll make it look nicer.
And here it is, deep-fried sticky toffee crunch
with salted caramel sauce and biscuity ice cream.
Good luck, everybody.
Enjoy it. Don't worry about the calories.
That's a nervous laugh, Teddy.
I must say that's very, very, very good.
Thank you. Magical. Oh, my God,
you're going to get me addicted to sugar again.
It's really nice.
It's a bit too much for me but the texture is beautiful.
It was a lot of sweet ingredients that combined together
so I think if it was maybe half of the portion,
it would be just enough.
It feels like for me taking
a 1kg of sugar and opening it and...
On second thoughts,
I think I could maybe have made it a wee bit smaller
but that's not what we do in here.
Something they do do in here is live music.
GUITAR PLAYS
# Should be a simple thing to wish you well... #
The entertainment was really nice, beautiful voice, yeah.
# You don't feel it
# You didn't need it... #
Disappointment in life just put into a song, the way to be suc-sexful.
Say successful again.
Suc-sexful.
Save it for later.
This guy's pouring his heart out over here!
There was a moment that I was like, oh,
just touched you know, just like something inside here.
The music I think was a very good addition tonight.
They got a total Bloc experience today.
Well, I hope they did anyway.
The question is, what are they prepared to score?
Out of 20, please.
We had a wonderful evening and the food was creative.
But there are too many carbs,
so we decide to give Andy and Pixie...
BOTH: 14. We had a great time tonight.
The food was very nice
but there was maybe a tiny bit too much of it so
for that reason we're going to give Andy and Pixie...
BOTH: 17.
Which gives Andy and Pixie at Bloc a very respectable 31 out of 40.
It's day two of the competition and the turn of husband
and wife duo Magda and Luca.
Last night's food was very interesting
but tonight our guests,
they are going to have a great time,
enjoy the food, enjoy the atmosphere.
The best we can. You'd better deliver.
I think Luca and Magda, they are a cute couple.
I actually have high expectation from them.
It could be like the fiery European side comes up.
I think they both could argue because I think like with us,
you can just boss me around and I will just follow you about
but I don't think it would work with them two.
I try to, you didnae listen. Now, now, let's not go there again.
What's in store for tonight's guests?
Tonight we are going to serve some Italian food with
a Sicilian Scottish twist
and I'm sure it's going to be sucsexful.
That's not how you say it.
On with the starter, a Trio of arancini.
Trio of anarce, anarce?
Arancini. Arancini, I knew that, I knew that.
Not sure you did.
Oh, they're balls. They're rice...
They're rice balls.
Risotto balls, Michael, to be precise.
So, we do three kinds of arancini,
vegetarian with mushrooms and spinach,
the black pudding one and also...
Classic. ..the classic one with Bolognese.
To begin, Luca makes a risotto base
with onions, rice, white wine and veg stock.
Black pudding, I personally don't like.
Well, that's the Scottish twist and that's what you're having.
Check, check, check this beauty, mamma mia!
Luca fries the black pudding.
Buono.
He then knocks up a separate Bolognese filling.
This one is our traditional one.
And finally a mushroom and spinach version.
I don't like spinach,
I don't really like mushrooms but I had it in ravolore before.
Ravioli. Ravioli before and it was actually really nice.
Three risottos made and cooled, it's time to shape.
Magda, you can start with
the vegetarian one and make like tiny balls.
What the hell is this?
Different shape of arancino. OK.
Balls of all shapes and sizes are then breadcrumbed.
You're good with the balls in your hand.
I think that's a genuine compliment, Magda.
OK, now, now I'm lost.
That's fine, because you're done.
The arancini will be deep-fried later, so it's onto the main.
Pasta brontese, which is pasta in pistachio sauce served
with chicken for the meat-eaters.
What's that? It's a nut, pistachio nut.
I love nuts.
Ah, so it's pesto with, with pistachio, OK.
Michael! Yeah? Hmm.
We actually brought some pistachios from Sicily
because I am a pistachio addict.
First job, toast the nuts.
Into a blender goes rocket, basil, ricotta, oil and the nuts.
I am really happy I met my husband because if it wasn't for him,
I would never know this dish existed
and it's the best thing in the world.
Oh, you guys! So sweet, I love it.
It's all blitzed.
And that's the pistachio base ready.
It'll be turned into a sauce later
and served with chicken and pasta.
Onto dessert, Torta al formaggio, otherwise known as cheesecake,
and this one's raspberry and matcha.
I love matcha. So do I, I love matcha.
I love raspberries and I love cheesecake
so I don't think they can go wrong with this.
Torta al formaggio sounds very Italian, though. Yeah.
Yes, but cooked by a Polish chef tonight.
Magda's cheesecake is the best in the world.
It's got a great taste, I love it.
For the filling, Magda uses cream cheese and sugar.
Please squeeze some lemon juice out for me.
I'm squeezing it.
Something tells me you're not taking this seriously, Luca.
In goes the juice.
And now can I please ask you to crack the eggs for me,
so there's no egg shells in the mixture.
So, no egg shells? No, no, egg shells.
Wow, that's something new.
Now you're just asking for trouble. Eggs in, it's whizzed...
Magda then separates out some filling...
It smells good.
..then into the remainder, adds matcha green tea powder,
blends again and layers the two fillings onto the base.
That's going to create a nice kind of like a marble effect.
Marbellous! Sorry.
It's baked in the oven and once cooled,
it's topped with jelly made from Scottish raspberries.
And this one's going to give us the £1,000 prize. Well done.
I hope so. And, yeah, that's it.
Fingers crossed, we're going to win. Yes!
This does not look like a winning menu.
So we, I mean, I am very confident that I will be the winner.
Whoo-ha-ha-ha!
They're older so I mean like you know they've been around.
Like, three year older than me?
OK, have you been around? I've been around.
And you've got good food, so you've been around
and you've got good food, so I expect the same from them.
Time to find out.
# When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie
# That's amore... #
Very good, fellas.
First in to Amore d'Italia are Teddy and Michael.
Hello. Hello, guys, hi, Michael.
Lovely to see you.
Lovely to see you, how are you doing?
It's like you've known each other for ever.
Can I offer you a drink? Yes, please, that would be amazing.
Oh, my God, I know this place,
I've always wanted to try it. It looks so cute.
Next long-lost friends to arrive are Pixie and Andy.
Hi!
Good to see you again.
So, everyone OK this morning?
While we were going to the toilet and everything else? Yeah?
I think he's going to share something he shouldn't, Magda.
I went to the toilet and I turn around, I say Jesus Christ,
that's green, so I think it was the...
The charcoal buns, yeah. Not surprised, then?
"Oh, my God. What's happening there?
"What's happening and I'm looking, what's that? Mamma Mia!"
Was yours all right? Erm...
Flour's just coming out of me.
Salute!
Coming up... Wooing women...
Did you use your Italian technique?
Of course, I used my Italian charm, you know. Hey, how you doing?
How you doing? How you doin'?
How you doing? ..and professional predicaments.
We had a chef who had a thing called chef's bum.
I heard that you know sometime you can feel
you know your underwear is just sticking to your bum.
It's the second night
of our professionals competition in Glasgow...
Salute!
ALL: Salute!
..where married chefs Luca
and Magda are hosting a traditional Sicilian evening
with a Scottish twist at Amore d'Italia.
Looking forward to show them what we can do in
the kitchen and I'm sure it's going to be suc-sexful.
Did I say it right? No. No.
Luca begins by deep frying his three different types of arancini.
Don't get your balls mixed up, OK?
Well, precisely,
and after a swish of pea puree and tomato sauces...
BELL Service.
..there it is, a trio of arancini, Bolognese,
black pudding, and spinach and mushroom for the vegetarians.
Enjoy, guys. Thank you.
I didn't think I really liked mushroom and spinach,
but you've won me over.
Their starter was actually really nice.
I did enjoy it, it was a nice start to the evening.
I wasn't too fond of the original one,
I think it was like, the sauce was a little bit sweet,
but the vegetarian one is delicious
and the black pudding one is amazing.
Thank you very much for that.
The, what, cini?
Arancini. Arancini
in general was good. I was thinking like, OK, after this,
I'm going to go to gym more often.
LUCA: Ted, are you counting the calories tonight?
Don't, please, don't. TED: For you? No.
LUCA: Well done!
Shots fired. Shots fired.
Oh, no!
I was a little bit offended with Teddy's comments about calories,
but it is what it is. You sure about that?
Actually I'm very offended.
I think it would take more than that.
Back inside, Luca kicks off some celebrity chat.
Any fans of Lewis Capaldi around the table? Me.
He's a regular here and he loves my carrot cake. Yeah.
Well, only one song I listen to him continuously. Aww. Yeah.
Which one? You know which one. Come on, there's only one.
Sing it.
# I need somebody to heal Somebody to... #
Ah! What is it? Somebody...? Somebody To Love.
Somebody to... Let's rename that Somebody To Love.
Teddy's voice is like an angel. # Ooh... #
You try it. Don't be a singer. No, no. You try it.
No, no. Be a chef or be a boss.
On with Magda's favourite pasta dish of all time.
Did you hear about that Italian chef? Which one?
The one that PASTA way. Come on.
Bravo, Magda. While Luca fries up some chicken,
she makes a sauce from her pistachio pesto,
with vegetable stock, chilli and basil.
If I'm going to mess up this dish tonight,
I think divorce is going to be on the table tomorrow for breakfast.
Better not then.
With the pasta given a few minutes to cook, it's ready.
Pasta Brontese - pistachio pasta
with some chicken for the meat-eaters.
I hope you guys are going to enjoy that.
It's Brontese pasta, so what's the deal with the pistachio through it?
We brought those pistachios with us from Sicily, yeah.
The best pistachios comes from the city called Bronte? Bronte, yeah.
That's how the name of the dish came from. Oh.
I think, for, like, being vegetarian,
I think I'd like something to replace the chicken.
This dish is basically vegetarian,
so we actually done something different for the rest of
the, you know, guests.
Pesto pasta with nuts, it was nice.
I'm not a big fan of pesto but that,
I could eat, I did, well, I scoffed it all.
Yeah, the flavour is good.
The pistachio from Sicily makes that even extra special.
The pasta's a little hard, but is that just kind of...?
That's the proper way. Yeah. Al dente. Al dente.
Al dente.
Bravo, al dente.
I like mine a wee bit softer.
The same. I think that I like it a bit softer.
I do agree with everybody else,
I feel like the pasta's a little bit hard.
There's like some parts of it which is a little...
What's wrong with you, guys? Honestly.
That's the proper way.
They are wrong. It was cooked the right way, they just don't know.
It's al dente, that's how you serve pasta Italian way.
You see I like my pasta like that.
I don't. It's too...
I'm cultured.
So, how you guys met?
LUCA: So we were working together in a restaurant
and she was working behind the bar.
I was working as a manager. Oh.
So she saw, she saw the potential, you know?
True. Very true.
Did you use your Italian technique to...
Of course, I used my Italian charm, you know? I just...
The big smile. The big smile, the... Cheesy jokes.
Cheesy jokes, some flowers.
I want to learn some of the techniques.
Hey, how you doin'? How you doin'?
How you doin'? I'm good, I'm good.
"How you doing?" I think you need some practice.
"How you doing?" You too.
"How you doin'?" "Oh, how you doin'?"
How you doin'? It works.
Onto dessert.
There you go, I got it for you, amore. Thank you so much.
Magda portions her cheesecake with ease,
decorates with raspberry curd and serves with vanilla ice cream.
You can put the ice cream on.
Et voila! I mean, ecco! Torta al formaggio -
matcha and raspberry cheesecake.
Enjoy, enjoy.
Mm. Mm.
That's what I want to see. It's gorgeous.
Oh, that's very good. Combination between the cheesecake,
matcha, raspberry.
The cheesecake was really, really good,
that was the creme de la creme of the meal.
That was the highlight of the night. Aye, yeah. Better than our dessert.
It was. I'm sorry, it was.
I think we should probably change the subject. Andy.
We had a chef that worked with us who had
a thing called chef's bum.
When you got hot and sweaty, you get a lot of chafing going on
and he used cornflour instead of talcum powder.
Why do you need this cornflour?
When you get sweaty buttocks.
OK. So what are you going to do, basically?
Cornflour, talcum powder. That's it. Sorted!
He knows, he knows.
I had that. You know, sometimes you can feel, you know, your,
your underwear is just stick
to your bum, but I didn't use corn starch.
For the record, I am talking about a different chef not me.
I have very dry buttocks. Allegedly.
I do not want to know! Moving on!
So apart from making desserts,
I do cookies and cakes
and I personally specialise in cake sculptures.
So could you make a life-size go-go dancing Pixie?
It's funny you should say that because I have
a little surprise for you guys. Oh!
So this one is for you. Do not open yet.
Thank you.
Oh, my God.
Oh, nice! Oh, my God!
There you go, guys. Oh, my God. So nice.
What's yours like?
I look so much better here than I do this! No, you don't!
Well, I even looks younger in this cookie.
You've managed to get my grumpy expression down to a T.
You can eat it or you can frame it and it just,
you know, keep it for ever.
Well done.
So, overall, I think we are very happy with how tonight went.
Scores, please!
So it was a very lovely evening
but the main course was a little disappointing.
But overall it was a great night
and the cookies really topped it off, so we're
going to give Magda and Luca...
BOTH: ..15.
I thought the food was really, really good.
I was a little bit disappointed,
but overall we had an amazing night.
So we're going to give Luca and Magda...
a 15. ..15.
So, Magda and Luca come up one short of the lead with 30.
It's the final day
and the turn of front of house Michael
and his boss, Teddy, who's razor sharp with readiness.
Yes, the standard was very good this week,
but we do have the confidence that we're going to come on top.
That's the spirit!
Yeah, I think Teddy and Michael are very professional
and they will be well prepared,
so, yeah, I'm looking forward to it.
I'm hoping it's like a VIP experience and...
Bend over backwards for us.
Let's find out what's in store.
So tonight we'll be serving authentic
Japanese food that will hopefully wow
the guests and take us to the top of the leaderboard.
Yeah.
To start it's prawn tempura green dragon roll,
and vegetarian sushi for Magda and Pixie.
I love sushi.
I always, obviously, get veggie sushi
and actually you can't go wrong with them.
I love you know Chinese, Japanese food, but sushi can be bland.
But did you know Teddy's a fully fledged sushi sensei?
I go and improve myself by going to Japan
and studying in a sushi academy, which is like a sushi school.
Impressive. For me, sushi is art.
Just chopping at the minute though.
For the vegetarian roll, they prep cucumber,
avocado and sweet tofu. Then it's onto the dragon roll.
I never had a dragon before.
Me neither. It's green.
It's green?
We love green.
It's not for you, Magda.
It's prawns, not dragons. Or are they?
So, head off. So we keep the prawn head,
we deep-fry that
and then we can put it like a dragon, so this is
the dragon head and then you've got
the dragon tail here, so it looks like a dragon.
Clever.
What's the yellow stuff coming out of their faces?
That's like brain.
Lovely. They will be tempura'd up before service.
Time for the main - beef tataki ramen in pork broth
and a vegan tonkotsu ramen for the ladies.
Sounds good. Tataki. Tataki.
Stop!
Now, now, kids.
Tataki means seared which is how the beef is served.
So I'm just going to seal it two minutes each side
and I'm just going to keep it nice medium rare.
Quick as a flash,
that's done and will rest till later.
Pork broth, on the other hand, takes ages to make, doesn't it?
I have been perfecting it for seven years.
Seven years! Now, that is a long time.
We took pork bones,
we boiled it
and then we put some herbs such as like garlic
and onions, and then we keep boiling until about seven hours after that.
Thankfully it's already made.
It smells incredible.
Thank you. Onto the veg option.
Maybe that could be ram-it-in. Is that a cheffy term?
Ram-it-in? Ram-it-in, yeah.
Oh, my bad. OK.
A vegan broth is made from garlic, ginger, mushrooms and...
So this is kombu dashi, so it's basically seaweed.
In it goes with all the veg to simmer for two hours.
Instead of beef, it'll be served with rashers of these.
So inhouse we actually call it facon because it's fake bacon.
Yeah, got that. It'll be grilled later.
Onto dessert, tofu ice cream with tapioca balls.
Tacobaco balls.
Tapioca. Tapioca balls.
And what are they?
Not a scoobie, don't know.
My mum told me when I was younger
that tapioca balls were frogs' eggs.
What?! Yeah. That's wrong. Nonsense, man. Nonsense.
Actually it's starch balls from yucca plants.
They'll be boiled and coated in brown sugar before serving.
Dessert, they really have to impress me.
Just sounds, I don't know, there's nothing... Bland.
Yeah, sounds a bit bland.
Well, the ice cream should have plenty of flavour.
In goes soya milk,
sugar and eggs.
It's whisked over heat, then cooled.
Nice cone in it, chocolate flake, raspberry sauce maybe.
What about smeared tofu? Which is added to vanilla,
cream and maple syrup.
Oh, it's definitely going to be a winning dessert.
Loving that confidence! It's blitzed,
the cooled soya milk base is folded in
and it's into the freezer to set.
So that's prep done.
Let's take it home for the win. Yeah. Go.
I feel like it looks good,
but I feel like you need to taste it.
I still don't know how they execute it.
They need to try very hard. They need to try very hard.
Especially with the dessert.
Maki & Ramen, good name, eh?
Oh, cute. I've always wanted to try that.
First to rock up are Pixie and Andy.
Irasshaimase. Irasshaimase!
Hi. Hi, there. Hi, guys. Nice to see you. How are you?
Mwah!
Irasshaimase. So that means welcome and it also means leadership
and then sending energy from the back to the front.
Oh, has Michael had time for a shower?
I did not actually have a long shower this morning,
I had a very quick one because I slept in. I slept in.
Shocking!
Last in, it's a very glam Magda and Luca.
Irasshaimase!
What?! Irasshaimase. Hey, guys. Ole!
Come estas, bello? Hello.
They were just shouting some,
I don't know, Japanese words. I don't know.
Probably something like, "Hope you lose."
Hope you lose.
As we say in Japan, kanpai. ALL: Kanpai!
Coming up - creepy crustacea...
It's looking at you.
Oh, my God, it's looking at me. It was a bit scary.
It was like you're just staring like right into my soul.
I was like, "I'm so sorry you died."
..and the loot is landed. ALL: Ooh!
In third place we have...
It's night three of our pros cook-off in Glasgow...
ALL: Kanpai.
..where Michael and Teddy of Maki & Ramen are hoping
their Japanese grub will win them the grand.
I'm very confident so 100%. 100%.
All right. Yeah. Right. You two have got friendly.
Crack on with the starter then. To begin,
Teddy prepares the vegetarian sushi roll with cucumber
and sweet tofu. Blimey, that was quick!
They call him sensei for a reason.
Next, it's deep frying prawns for the dragon roll,
a squirt of spicy mayo,
then he's rolling again and before you know it,
he's done.
Vegetarian sushi rolls for Magda and Pixie,
and a prawn tempura green dragon roll for everyone else.
The reason it's called green dragon roll
because you've got a prawn head
and then a prawn tail here, so it looks like a dragon.
It's looking at you.
Oh, my God. It's looking at me. It was a bit scary.
It was like you're just staring like right into my soul,
you know. I was like, "I'm so sorry you died."
You just had to look at it, I had to suck on it.
Cheers.
PRAWNS CRUNCH
Oh, God.
It's very, very crispy.
Mm!
Just like chewing on a bag of toenails.
You done that much?
So I just tried the prawns myself, and it's nice
and fresh and they're crunchy.
The tempura is done very well, I think.
I can tell there's a lot of work went into it. It was really nice.
I was hoping for like, you know, the modern twist on
the vegetarian version.
It's not anything like brand-new in a sense,
but, like, it was still nice
and I liked also the tofu protein with it.
Vegetarian sushi, I tried that many times,
nothing new but it was good, it was OK, it was OK.
I agree with them. Sushi without the fish,
can we do something more exciting,
so that's something that I might just take it
and then just create something new.
So, guys, I really like the,
you know the decor of the place.
Can you please explain the Post-it Notes?
The Post-it Notes are there
so that our consumers can leave
a little piece of them in the restaurant,
so it's interactive at a deeper level.
Very professional.
That's a nice personal touch. Love it.
And then they come back and, yeah,
they're scattered across seven Maki & Ramens.
How many, seven? Seven.
We have seven, one in Glasgow, and six in Edinburgh.
Wow, that's amazing! That is a lot of work.
LUCA: You guys want to expand more? TEDDY: Yes, yes,
our mission statement is hopefully we can go global.
I would like to go for global domination with my Pixie-ness.
I've always seen myself as a dictator.
Some people might drop the "tator" of that sentence.
I see what you did there.
HE LAUGHS
In the kitchen, speedy Teddy's staff aren't working quick enough.
Come on, guys, faster. Teddy's already serving.
First up the tare, or dipping sauces,
then pork ramen broth, before cooking the all-important noodles.
The noodle, I did it in one minute,
so it's medium-firm but it's not too al dente.
Let's hope so. They go into the broth.
Get it fast before it's getting cold.
Quicker, Michael! And there it is,
beef tataki ramen in pork broth and for Pixie and Magda,
a vegan Tonkotsu ramen with fake bacon, facon.
Enjoy. Thank you.
LUCA SLURPS
One thing for me, you should ask how do you want to be cooked
the meat basically. Medium or well done.
So we have the broth that is pumping hot actually,
so if you want it a bit cooked,
you can just dip it into the broth at the bottom of it.
Let's have a look, guys. Oh.
Look, at the colour change.
The colour change. Yeah, a tiny bit.
That is not... It's not... Yeah, it's OK.
And it was the same colour basically.
I didn't want to offend him, you know.
The noodles taste fine for me, yeah, I like them. Lovely.
The noodles are definitely al dente. Al dente.
Al dente. Yeah,
I really like the vegan bacon, very tasty.
Yeah, I think it's one I've had before from the supermarket
and it's like really nice. The fake bacon is nice,
it's good. It's nice to have a bit more protein in there.
PIXIE SLURPS That's it, Pixie, get stuck in.
Oh, I like how you slurp there.
I'm sorry, I'm just enjoying it so much.
Originally in Japan when you go to a ramen shop,
you, if you slurp,
the chef will think that the ramen is very good,
so it's more like a compliment. All right. OK.
ALL SLURP
That's a lot of compliments.
Oh! This is like, this is beautiful. Classical music.
That's all good then.
Personally it drives me up the wall.
I hate noisy eaters. It just gets my back right up.
It's something that annoys me and everybody was doing it so...
LUCA SLURPS Yeah.Trust you, Luca.
Onto dessert.
Teddy and Michael boil tapioca balls
and coat them in brown sugar. Then they decorate.
Come on, Michael, I mean, I've nearly done all of them already.
Let's not fall out now, chaps.
Tofu ice cream with tapioca balls.
Flavour's nice, the tapioca's lovely.
The ice cream? It's beautiful,
it's like a really nice full-fat texture and it's really nice.
I love the ice cream, I love the taste of the ice cream, very nice.
The balls don't convince me.
My thing is with the balls is if there was maybe like
some flavour to them.
I think you're just eating it and you're having the wee chewy thing
in your mouth and it's just, it's not, it's not really adding anything
else so it's a bit weird.
The sauce was lovely
but I just did not understand the balls.
I don't know what the balls were doing in the ice cream.
Talking of balls, time to get your ballpoints out.
Magda, what have you drawn?
Just me spreading the love.
I just wrote, "Pixie Wixie, yum yao,"
a butterfly, moon and some stars.
Of course you did. Andy?
So I wrote something that summed up this week.
It's been emotional and had such a ball.
Oh! Couldn't resist, could you?
Right, who's going to win the wonga?
No longer confident.
No, I think we nailed it, come on.
No longer confident. We'll see, we'll see.
Teddy and Michael need 32 or more to win.
Tonight I think we had a very good night, we enjoy, but the food was...
Maybe lacking a few things. Yeah.
Some things that we would do differently
and so for that reason we're going to give Teddy and Michael...
BOTH: ..16.
So tonight we're going to give Teddy and Michael...
Hold your horses! Let's all find out together.
ALL: Ooh!
In third place we have
Maki & Ramen, Michael and Teddy.
And in second place we have Amore d'Italia, Luca and Magda.
CHEERING
First place we have Bloc, that's Andy and Pixie.
CHEERING
Pixie and Andy scored 13, meaning Bloc win
with just two points separating first and third place.
Ecstatic, I can't believe it.
It's a...shock.
ALL CHEER
I'm really pleased they won,
but I don't think Luca will be eating charcoal buns any time soon.
POP! Hooray!
So from now on, you're going to take a shorter shower, OK?
No way.
That's the only part of my life you don't control.
ALL: Cheers. Congratulations.
You see, I told you to let me in the kitchen and look what happens.
Well, that's true.
# For that's what little pixies do
# She never fails
# Yet never tries
# To put the smile
# In your eyes. #
Subtitles by Red Bee Media