Stunning. Look at those cliffs.
Oh, my goodness me. That is breathtaking.
It's those cliffs you really get to understand the power of
the Atlantic Ocean.
Oh boy.
I'm swimming next time.
I'm in the west of Ireland,
excited to explore the rugged Connemara coast.
But my journey is starting here on the smallest of the
Aran Islands, Inisheer.
I was told this timeless island truly embodies
the spirit of Ireland,
and that it was the perfect place to begin my adventure.
Now I'm here to meet Anna Haugh,
a super talented chef.
But more importantly, she had a great teacher.
Me.
In all honestly,
she cut her cloth in one of my kitchens years ago.
And since then, honestly,
she's gone on to become one of the most prominent
Irish chefs anywhere in the world.
And she said meet me near the shipwreck.
And I hope my day goes better than that captain's,
that's for sure.
Anna!
Gordon!
Oh my God, how was your flight?
Oh my gosh, that thing was tiny.
But it's the best way to see the landscape.
Good to see you.
Born and bred in Ireland,
Anna eventually left to train under some of the
best chefs in Europe,
before opening her first restaurant in London, Myrtle,
where she features Irish cuisine
that showcases the finest ingredients
from her homeland.
How have you been?
Amazing. I mean, look at where we are.
Yeah, I mean, talk about amazing.
Congrats on the restaurant, by the way.
Thanks very much.
I knew you had it in you years ago.
But to see the way you flourish is fantastic.
But I'm in your back garden.
And that smells delicious.
- Do you want to eat a bit? - I'd love to eat a bit.
Let me get it. This is hake.
Wow, what a treat. That is beautiful.
Yeah, so it's just burnt Irish butter and
fish cooked in it.
Sometimes you just slowly kind of
give a little bit of love and the right ingredients and
put them together and it's--
Oh, my God. That's so delicious.
It's sweet. It's salty.
Local hake, caught meters away from this rock,
and just basted and basted into this beautiful
brown butter sauce.
Simple, elegant, but mind blowing.
That's Anna Haugh.
Are we blessed with the weather or is this just
because I'm here?
Oh, sure, it's like this all year round.
Ireland is famous for its sunshine, isn't it?
Honestly, that accent's got stronger and
stronger as you got older.
It was never this strong years ago.
Ah, it was always the same.
It's always the same.
- Was it? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I just didn't talk a lot when I worked for you.
I was too busy cooking and less chat.
See, I could say the same about my Scottish accent.
That was my first ambition losing that thing.
Fair enough.
Now, I mean, seriously, I mean,
I know you built your,
your brand on this incredible country.
But is it better than other islands, seriously?
Listen, all I know is what's in my heart.
What's in my blood. What's in my DNA.
- Right. - And it is Irish food.
Well, what's so special about the coastline?
Well, if you open your eyes, Gordon,
and you take a little look around there that will answer
all of your questions.
Wow.
It is the perfect marriage of like Mother Nature
and humans combined.
Good farming techniques,
great land, results in brilliant flavor.
And if you're feeling a bit thirsty,
I might have a little drop of whiskey for you to
play around with.
But, I mean, Scottish whiskey because we
invented it, right?
That's not even funny.
Like that's, you know what I mean?
Honestly, I will, I will throw you in the sea now.
The Irish, the Irish created whiskey.
You guys don't even spell it right.
- Stop it. Stop. - It's embarrassing.
It's one thing to steal the drink.
It's another thing to not even spell correctly.
Whiskey originated from the west coast of Scotland.
Are you saying now? Seriously?
I'm not even gonna have this argument.
I tell you what, we can settle the argument...
Moonshine?
Mother's milk for the Irish people.
It is, it's Irish moonshine.
It's good for you.
- Right. - Put hairs on your chest.
Well, you might need a drop of it,
though when it comes to the final cook-off.
You see over there on the Cliffs of Moher?
That's where we're going to be cooking.
What, up there?
- Yeah. - Why so high?
It's honestly, you're close to the gods.
You up for that level of competitiveness?
You're on my turf now, Gordon.
This is true.
I still have that competitive spirit.
I know you think that at 56 I've lost it.
But I promise you.
The fire, girl, is still there.
Yeah, I'll be honest with you, Gordon.
I know the fire is there.
I can see it in the back your eyes.
I'll see you the end of the week, girl.
Huh?
Delicious fish by the way.
She's now set the task.
Get down, get dirty, but more importantly,
I'll see you the top of those cliffs.
I mean, she is setting the bar.
I'm not too sure what I'm more intimidated by,
the heights or Anna's prowess.
I'm back on the mainland,
ready to hunt down my first ingredient for the final cook.
And it's one I'm really excited about.
I've cooked with all types of crabs,
but there is one species that is not
commonly found elsewhere, the brown crab.
And this crab is unique,
unique for its sweetness, the texture,
but more importantly,
it's very difficult to get hold of.
I really hope I can get my hands on some of this delicacy
because when that hits the table,
it's a show stopper.
Stevie!
- Hey, Gordon. - Top of the morning, sir.
How you doing, mate?
Stevie is a local guide who grew up foraging on
Long Island shorelines with his mother and grandmother
for family meals.
If you look out there, you got pristine beaches,
rugged coastline, caves, cliffs, crab.
- Brown crabs, right? - Brown crabs,
some really good brown crab, hopefully today.
Got you.
So we're gonna try and work our way down here,
and we're gonna be poking about in all these little crevices,
maybe little gaps in the rocks, through maybe some tunnels.
Right.
And I'd say we'll get ourselves some good eating.
So sounds a lot of work for a crab.
Is it worth it?
Well, look. I generally eat what I catch.
Right.
And I came the whole way out here and we're gonna go
through all this because they are so worth it.
Right. Wetsuit, or Speedos?
Yeah definitely, we want to get wetsuits. No.
Excellent.
There's three crabs I'm generally looking for here.
Yes.
The brown crab which is what we're gonna go for.
Yeah.
You get some big spider crabs.
And then these nasty little velvet crabs.
They've got like red eyes like the devil.
- Oh, really? - Really agile, really fast.
Yeah.
Their claws are really sharp,
and if they get a hold of you, mate,
they will not let go.
That's not deep enough for me to jump in there, is it?
Oh, my God. Seriously?
Well, we just scared the out the crabs.
- See this rock here? - Yes.
If you want to work your way towards that.
Yeah.
Check because we might find them in the open
if we're lucky.
- Gotcha. - The brown crabs are slow enough - Yeah.
The search is on, and I'm not gonna let a
nasty crab keep me from catching a tasty one.
Hey, Gordon, Gordon, this way, this way.
I see one.
- Oh. Where is it? - Look.
You see the sort of orangey, sneaking in there?
Look, can you see? Look, look in quick.
Oh, yeah. Wow.
How the did you find that?
They're so hard to see because the actual color of the crab is
the exact same color as the surface of the rocks.
Almost like looking for a needle in a haystack,
so thank God Stevie was here.
Wow.
Yeah, look at that, man.
Nice.
That's a beauty. Bloody hell, that's beautiful.
What a lovely size that is.
- Yeah. - Bloody hell.
You can get them big around here,
but that one's a decent size.
They come bigger than that?
Yeah.
, that is beautiful.
Yeah.
There's always a joy when you catch something
from a chef's point of view.
Let's just stick it in Benny's waders for now.
No!
Once I understood where and how to look
for these things...
- Any luck? - No. Nothing there.
No.
...I was hell bent on finding more.
Stevie, one here.
These brown crab were sort of embedded underneath those rocks.
And then all of a sudden you saw the huge pincers.
They said those pincers will crush your fingers.
Be smart.
Go from behind. Hold it firm and yank it out.
- Wow, yeah, man. - Look at that beauty.
- That is epic. - Wow. Wow. That is beautiful.
Yeah. Cook that up.
Look at the color of that.
Cook up a decent sized claw.
Amazing. Amazing. Let's put it in the bucket.
Let's stick in the bucket, man.
I need at least one more crab for the final cook,
and Stevie is leading me deeper into the rocks and caves
on the hunt.
- Ah, mate. - Oh, my God.
- Right in there. - That's crazy.
All I can see is his backside.
I can't see any eyes to tell me what I'm dealing with here.
I don't love the idea of sticking my hand
blindly into this crevice, but here goes nothing.
See it there, right on the right?
Look at the color of him.
They're so hard to see because you think it's a rock,
but when you get underneath those crevices that they're
waiting to be prised.
It's gonna be tricky to get it out maybe.
Pry it out.
You get it?
That's a beauty.
That is it good solid one. Yes.
hell. Look at the size of that one.
Man, he was wedged right down there.
Yeah.
I've got the money. I've got the brown crab.
Look at those.
With this beautiful crab in my arsenal for the big cook,
I'm a step closer to tasting a win.
We done well. That's a good day's eating.
That makes for one of us.
That is amazing.
- Yeah. - Thank you. Great stuff.
There's a very rare ingredient in Ireland that
I'm told you only find in Connemara.
Abalone.
And it's endangered in the wild.
The high demand for this rare mollusk has left the abalone
population in a steady and serious decline.
But I'm meeting a mother and daughter who are using
aquaculture to grow them sustainably.
Anna, watch out girl because I am pulling out all
the big guns on this one.
Sinead!
Hi, Gordon.
- How are you, darling? - Good, thanks.
What a beautiful spot.
Well, you got a good day as well.
Oh, my Goodness me. Now, what's in there?
Oh, so this is some kelp that I was just collecting.
Oh, wow. That's beautiful.
This is what we feed to the abalone.
Now, I've heard so much about this system.
What you do with mum. I'd love to see the abalone.
Okay, great. Well, I'll show you now.
Thank you.
Ah, so this is where they are?
- Yes. - Wow. Morning.
Morning. Hi.
- This is my mom, Cindy. - Cindy, how are you?
I'm fine. Welcome to the farm.
Thank you so much. First of all, what a great idea.
- Yeah. - And they originate from
- Japan. - Japan.
- Yes. Yeah. - Wow.
Back in the late 70s,
they were brought over and we're dealing with all the offspring.
Yes.
When they start off, right there, little tiny dots
when they start off as a larvae, a little seed.
And how old is this one here now?
Let's check that.
Okay, so this is seven and a half, almost an eight.
So you're looking at a four to four and a half
year abalone there.
- Wow. - Yeah.
So that's a long process.
Yeah, but it's no different from an oyster.
No.
An oyster takes about four years as well.
- It's quite rare, right? - It is.
Here in Ireland, we're the only abalone farm.
- Across Ireland? - Yes.
- Yes. Yes. - Wow.
In the wild, their numbers are dwindling.
And then environmental changes that are happening as well like
ocean acidification, rising temperature, you know,
in the sea.
That's all causing stress globally.
Sure. For sure.
These things would never survive in the wild,
but here they're produced in a sustainable way.
That's quite rare. I'm amazed how heavy they are.
So right there are two
seven-to-eight-centimeter abalones,
protein-wise is equivalent to a six ounce
piece of steak.
I would love just a little sliver, please.
Oh, definitely.
Do want to give me a hand getting some more seaweed
and then we can...
You've got some in there.
I know, but we have all of these tanks to fill.
- Seriously? - Yes.
Work to do.
What kind of kelp are we looking for?
So it's a Laminaria digitata,
that's the kind of kelp.
- Say that again. - Sorry. Laminaria digitata.
Yes.
And I'm hoping because it's low tide we might be able
to find some here.
Right. God, it's beautiful by the way.
It's, yeah, it's lovely.
Oh, actually, I see some sea spaghetti.
Can you eat that?
Yes, you can use it as a veg,
like a kind of a string bean type thing.
Got you.
If you sauté it up with a bit of butter.
Well spotted.
Hang on. Here's the kelp.
Got some kelp here.
Got you.
So this is what we want.
Wow.
This is what the abalone wants anyway.
Got you.
So yeah, this is what gives the abalone
their flavor actually.
Right. God, it's beautiful isn't it?
So you've only got a couple of hours literally every day...
Yeah.
...To get these.
Time and tide wait for no man.
So you got to...
Nope.
...Get in while the tide is low.
Now I'm starting to understand why Anna met me
at that shipwreck, because the power of the sea,
the power of the ocean, the kelp, the seaweed,
what these areas thrive on to what they produce is,
is like no other.
Amazing.
Would you cook with the kelp yourself or?
- Yeah. - Oh, you would. Okay.
Yeah. 100%. Definitely, without a doubt.
Great flavor, amazing flavor. Lovely.
Yeah, or it, like it enhances flavors as well.
Yeah, and great for infusing things as well.
Let me take that for you.
- Oh, thank you. - Is that enough?
Perfect.
Yeah, that should be good for now.
Ah, please may I have some abalone now?
- Yeah. - Please.
- That was hard work. - That's incredible.
Okay, here's your abalone.
Now, we don't put any sauce on it or anything.
So you can taste the actual abalone there.
Mm. My God.
And the rest are just wild flowers and
herbs and things.
That's so good. It's sweet. It's salty.
And there's no vinegar or...
- No, nothing. - No.
- Yeah. - Wow. That is delicious.
Oh, my goodness me, it's so tender.
Mmm-hmm.
From a chef's point of view, it's a dream.
They are sweet.
They're tender, and it just melts in your mouth.
Quite rare.
And one of the best kept secrets on the
west coast of Ireland.
That's giving me some great ideas for the cook.
And I think it's a sort of a bit of a lethal local weapon
up my sleeve.
- Oh. - Mm.
The good news for me is I've got abalone
for the final cook.
And that, for me, is a jewel in my crown.
Thank you.
- Great. - You're welcome.
Great job. Thank you so much.
Now the big cook's only a few days away, and so far,
everything I've sourced has been from the sea,
but there's one iconic Irish ingredient that we have to go
inland to get my hands on.
Connemara lamb.
Now this is lamb like no other.
Why?
Because of the pastures and the way it's grazing.
The Allen family has been farming this land
since the 1820s, producing award winning lamb,
and Derek Allen is the man who'll help me get that
prize meat on my plate at the final cook.
Good to see you.
Gordon.
And it's so good to be so far inland.
Thank you so much.
Now they say you've got the best lamb.
A leg, a saddle, a neck would be great for the final cook.
- Sheep dip? - Yeah. So would you.
- I'm on. Here we go. - All right.
I've never done a sheep dip.
Okay, follow the lead.
Where we going? Which way?
- So we're going out that gate. - Yes, sir.
Woo-hoo! Amazing.
Let's go!
Today, I'm acting as Derek's sheepdog,
but instead of having four legs,
I have four wheels.
My job is to hold the left flank and
help guide the sheep towards the dipping pen.
Woo-hoo!
Trust me, herding sheep on ATVs is way more exciting than
whistling at a dog, let me tell you.
But Derek knows his stuff.
And man, they were disciplined.
They stick together and they almost like congealed.
They're like one solid unit.
Back, oh.
Come on, baby.
Get back behind their eye-line.
As you get closer to these sheep,
you start to understand the welfare.
Look at the pastures.
They're out 24/7.
You can just see the healthy side to this land.
It's unique.
Come on! They're happy. It's incredible.
Yes! That was good. I like that.
That was great.
Right, and now the next process?
So we're, what we're gonna do today is
we're gonna dip them.
Yeah. Geez. Bathing sheep.
I just want to a leg for the final cook.
We have to take the sheep for a bath.
Important time of the year.
They've just been sheared.
And so, for protection from, from lice, the maggots,
it's crucial.
Well, you go around there.
Got you.
Hey.
- Make a bit of noise. - Hey. Woo!
- Come on. - Woo!
- Yup. - Oh, they're jumping.
They've started.
Once they start, we're, we're away.
- They've started. - That might do it.
That should do it then. Oh, watch out. Bloody hell.
So now they go headfirst?
So they go back first. Ass first in.
They're reversing in there?
Reversing, yeah.
So when you put them in...
Yes.
...Then I'm gonna dump them down.
Right.
Because they have their heads submerged.
It, it's gonna be a bit of a wrestling match.
Right.
So you get them like this, so...
Yeah.
...So they get the reverse in.
- Yes. - Use your hands.
Want the two back legs up in.
- Got you. - And they're in.
Right.
And then I get this tool then.
This might look uncomfortable,
but it doesn't hurt the sheep, and it's for their own good.
- The bugs float back up. - Bloody hell. Right.
And see the steps there? She can get out.
Just like that.
So they're okay getting dunked right under there?
Yeah, they're actually, see.
Stepping into a bath from now on in is gonna look
completely different in my house, let me tell you.
I'm going in backwards.
Okay, so grab on that.
Grab on there under, right under the chin,
you'll have control.
Under the chin. Come on.
That's it. Keep her going.
Come on. Hey, come on.
- Lovely. - There you go.
That's it. She'll be happy.
They don't like being on their own.
Got you.
She's going back in again.
- Oh,. - She wants a second one.
Got you. Come on.
Man, they are heavy.
So you got to prise them from the chin, lift them up,
and reverse them into the bath.
You're getting the hang of it.
That's the delicious one.
Man, why are they so stubborn?
That's just the way they are.
Other leg in. First time in my career,
I found someone more stubborn than me.
200?
Right. next one. We'll be...
- Next one. - We'll be here all day.
Come on.
For me, it's about the personal care that Derek and
the family put into these sheep.
It does affect the taste, the welfare,
but just the basic condition of these sheep is second to none.
They're prized assets, and I have that now as the
centerpiece for my final cook.
Just one leg of lamb, please, Derek.
I'll give you, I'll give you two for that.
Two legs. Thank you, sir.
Oh, my God.
Look at this place. Absolutely gorgeous.
Now, everyone knows that I love my oysters,
but I've heard that the wild Connemara oysters are unlike
any oyster that I've ever tasted.
Shall we put them to the test?
Dermot Kelly is one of Ireland's top oyster producers
and a man rightfully proud of his mollusks.
Dermot!
Gordon!
How are you sir? An absolute pleasure.
- You're more than welcome. - Good to see you.
You too, now. You're very welcome.
Now, they say they're some of the best oysters
in the world.
- World. - That's a bold statement.
I need a...
Everybody, look it,
everybody has the best oysters in the world.
Yes.
But really they're different in each location
because of the environment they're in.
And they're, and look at the environment they're in here.
- Yeah. - Beautiful Atlantic coming in.
- Yeah. - The Connemara, the Burren,
the Fields of Athenry,
you really have the essence of the ocean when you
eat those oysters.
Excellent.
And is there any chance you can say that in English?
In English, they taste bloody fantastic.
I'm joking, come on.
But I've really something very special,
the flat native oyster, so they're down in,
in the beds down here.
And I brought you some gear here,
some boots and a rake.
Get down and have a look at those.
Okay, let's get going.
Dermot focuses on two species of oysters,
the farm Pacific,
which are grown in cages and are the world's
most cultivated oyster, and wild oysters,
which mature freely in the sea, and are a much rarer find.
Just take your time for a second.
We see, we can see them out here in front of us.
Wow.
Just be careful. Don't walk on them.
They don't like being walked on.
No.
Right. So--
So if you just slide your fork,
slide them in under the oyster like this.
Just to pick them up.
Beautiful. The size of these.
You are kidding me, nine pounds a pop, seriously?
Yeah, yeah.
They're beautiful, and the weight of that as well.
- Yeah, yeah. - How long has that been here?
You're looking at an oyster that's maybe
six years old.
- Wow. - So these are the oysters that
we use at the Oyster Festival as well.
Have you heard of the Galway Oyster Festival?
Yeah, huge.
In and I give it a twist.
Twist, oh, la la. Oh, my Lord, look at that.
We really have a nice oyster there.
It does look like the French Belon oyster.
Exactly. So it's the same species.
Right.
They're a little bit soft at the moment because of
the water temperature, but they're, they're nice.
Bloody hell.
Those oysters are on another level.
Rich, dense, creamy but incredibly sweet.
$12 for one oyster, that's how good they are.
These are exceptional.
And I'd love these for the final cook, please.
Yeah, no, that'll be good.
These are beautiful. Really beautiful.
Yeah, they're nice all right there.
Forking gorgeous.
So my brother Michéal works in the business
with me and his son Michael are here today.
They're working over here.
Right.
And they're anxious to give you a,
a little bit of a competition and show you how it's done
after a while.
What, you mean like a shuck-off?
Yeah, if you're up to it.
Yeah, I mean, these guys are pros what I saw.
If you're able. You're able to have an oyster.
No, they're beautiful.
No, not bad day's fishing all the same now.
No. Right.
So this is my brother Michéal.
- Hi, guys. - And his son Michael.
- How are you, good? - Yeah.
Good now.
Gordon reckons he can open oysters,
but I've said you're, you're better at the, the shucking.
Yeah.
Do you want a shuck-off? Really?
We'll have a shuck-off, yeah.
Oh, for shuck's sake. I cannot wait.
Dermot's just roped me into an oyster shucking competition
with his brother who just happens to be a former record
holder at the biggest oyster festival in the world.
And his son is currently gunning for his dad's old title.
Knives out, gentleman.
This looks serious, look at the, look at, look at his face.
Yeah. It’s setup for you, yeah.
All ready for you. Very competitive.
He means business, this man.
- Pull up the sleeves now. - Right.
Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve.
And how many oysters you open up in a, in a minute?
So normally in the competition,
you get 30 oysters and you have to open them
as quickly as possible,
and you have to make them all look like that.
Wow. Are you ready?
Yeah.
Be, be kind. Be kind.
Okay guys, I'll count you in.
- Yes. - Three, two, one.
Okay. Go.
Oh, I need to know. Yeah. All right, here we go.
We'll, we, we'll start, yeah.
I'm super efficient. I don't like wasting time.
But that shuck-off was shucking incredible,
let me tell you.
These guys know their stuff.
Geez, come on, man.
- Just mind your fingers. - Ah, come on, man.
I got a little bit confused halfway through competition.
I don't like losing.
And maybe some of my oysters,
the wind blew them into their pile.
I, you know, I thought I counted twelve.
Last one.
- No, no. - Yes!
Oh, oh. Almost. You nearly did it.
I think I had a lot more than 12 to open.
I think we opened about 14.
Yeah.
So you literally take an oyster and a sip of
Guinness as well.
That's it. Yeah.
Guys, it's too early in the morning.
- No, it's not. - It's never too early.
It's a real Irish breakfast this now.
A real Irish breakfast. Cheers, Gordon.
Good to see you guys. Congrats.
Glad you enjoyed the oysters.
- It didn't go down, huh? - Is that the Irish breakfast?
- A real Irish breakfast. - I'm gonna stick to the oysters.
Thank you.
- Thank you. - Good job. Thank you, sir.
Alright, good luck in September.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
- Okay? Thank you, guys. - No problem.
What a week I've had. Let me tell you.
And the big cook is tomorrow.
Now, my native Scotland is famous for its whiskey,
but Ireland is just as proud of its own.
If I can impress these diners at that table with a local
hooch that may just give me the edge over Anna,
and right now, I'll take any little advantage.
I'm meeting up with Pádraic, an owner of Micil Distillery,
which produces whiskey and Poitín, Irish moonshine,
in the peat bogs deep in the countryside.
And when I say deep, I mean deep.
Oh,.
I got stuck.
Honestly, I knew it was boggy down here,
but I didn't realize it was six foot deep down there.
Pádraic!
I'm stuck.
It's probably a good thing my truck is stuck because I'm
about to sip on the Irish version of a Scottish classic.
Pádraic.
Yes.
For Pete's sake. Bloody hell.
We'll call a tractor. We'll get it out.
Nice to meet you.
- Sorry about that. - It's all good.
What's going on down there?
- It's all boggy. - It is, yeah.
They say you've got some of the best whiskey.
Yup.
Well, you know that the Scots gave birth to
that first back in 1494.
Well, well, look, you know,
obviously just to be kind of clear, I, I don't want
anybody under the wrong impressions.
Right.
But the first written record of aqua vitae is in
Ireland in the 14th century.
And then look as the,
the Scots later started making whiskey,
but listen, it's all good.
This stuff looks amazing, this is--
- Yes. - This is peat here, right?
It is indeed, yeah. This is our family bog.
We've been cutting here for generations.
Right, and that helps smoke the whiskey.
So all our family tradition was illegal.
So I'm the first as well as my brother to do this legally.
Okay?
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
Congratulations. Where should we start?
First of all.
- A? - A sleán.
- Sorry. - This one is a...
-. - A sleán.
Yeah, it's a lan-, it's an Irish language word.
So S-L-E-A fada- N.
I know it kind of sounds very much like something
in the English language.
- Sleán. - Yeah.
- Sleán. - Perfect pronunciation.
You were pretty good the first time as well. Right?
Sleán.
What you want to do is you want to go down
to an angle, not straight down. Okay?
Got you.
So kind of like that, down and out.
It's like blocks of butter.
- It is, yeah. - Right. So--
There you are. That's it. There you go.
All good stuff. You kept it on the sleán.
Not bad.
Why'd you, how did you make it look so easy?
Bloody hell.
Well, you getting the hang of it here.
Oh, I got this one.
That is not easy, is it?
You'd fancy a day of this, wouldn't you?
That was like the ultimate workout.
It's really starting to sink in just on the level of difficulty
and the extremes they go to.
It's a tough backyard.
Even after 20 minutes, look, blisters.
Yeah.
I need these hands for final cook, my man.
I need them.
You'll be fine.
Do you want to, will we have a drop?
I'd love to taste the evidence.
Yeah. Okay, great. So this is our heritage poitín.
- Ah, see already - Yeah.
You smell that smokiness.
Oh, thanks a million. Wow, look how clear it is.
Yeah, this is exactly like our grandfather
would have made it.
So it was handed down from generation to generation.
Sláinte.
While poitín and whiskey can have the exact same
ingredients, unlike whiskey, poitín is unaged.
So even a sip packs a hell of a punch.
It's powerful. It is powerful.
We'll try a drop of whiskey as well shall we
while we're here.
This is our Inverin whiskey.
- Look at that color. - Yeah.
I grew up with whiskey.
whiskey, for me,
was put on my back tooth as I had a toothache
and all of a sudden the toothache had gone.
Mm. See that's lovely.
I was in rehab at 12 and back out, normal, at 15.
That's so much more refined.
This has been in the cask for,
this is like nearly five years old.
And that's the kind of key difference.
That's lovely.
I may not be a whiskey maker, but that was delicious.
Creamy.
A little acidic at the end but so smooth.
Something you very rarely get with whiskey.
That's exactly what I need for the big cook.
Thank you. May I?
Thanks yourself. Absolutely.
Seriously, that and some of the moonshine.
- Yeah, 100%, yes. - Please.
Whether it's the marinade or is it a beurre blanc, as a,
as a way of finishing a sauce, do I flam--
I don't know yet.
But what I have got are two amazing assets.
Great job. That is hard work.
It's the day of the big cook,
and I promise you I've got all my ingredients.
But the one thing I don't have is Anna's extensive
knowledge of Irish cuisine.
And trust me,
Anna is hell-bent on the teacher now becoming the student.
Right. We'll see about that.
It's time to get Irish.
Anna!
- Ah. - What a week, girl.
- Bam, bam, bam. - Look at this.
You are ready.
Are you go? Is it, is it now?
Oh, my God.
It's go. We're, we're, we're off.
I'm getting my cake on.
What, what are you doing for your dessert?
Cake?
Yeah, what dessert are you doing?
I've never done a dessert in Uncharted yet.
What's the cake?
I'm gonna do like a, like poitín-based kind of
Black Forest gâteaus.
I love that. How you gonna bake this cake?
How are you gonna get this done?
Like my ancestors used to bake, Gordon.
In a pot.
I mean, look at this.
In the middle of nowhere on the top of these cliffs
she starts cooking a Black Forest gâteau in a pan.
Man.
I'm missing some of my abalone, what the?
Whoa, whoa, whoa, don't look at me.
Don't look at me, Gordon.
Have you? Have you taken?
What, what, I don't know what you're talking about.
Did you take--
What are you talking about, Gordon?
You have. You've taken my abalone.
Listen. Listen.
I just had this like a realization that my dish was
missing one really important ingredient.
Half my abalone have gone.
She knows what a prized asset they are here to the west coast.
You're like a little Magpie, you come up to my bench,
you spotted everything glistening and
is like I'll take, I'll take, I'll take.
You only get one chance to take Gordon Ramsay on.
So that's the lamb.
Can we just talk about the flavor of that lamb?
The lamb is incredible.
I'm gonna do a traditional Irish dish,
which is called boxty.
It's like a dumpling.
And I'm gonna stuff it with like lovely braised lamb.
So I'm gonna stuff some oysters.
I'm gonna braise some abalone.
Ooh.
And I'm gonna take some of the loin and some of
the neck of that amazing lamb and almost make like a
sort of fast stew.
You might be getting old,
but that's not slowing you down.
Now we have to glaze this lamb stew with
a little bit of this Irish whiskey.
Oh, nice.
I can't believe you're making dumplings.
Little cheeky bit of red wine.
Loads of vegetables in there.
These oysters are incredible.
I'm gonna treat myself to one.
Oh, yeah. Do you know what?
They're so sweet. Aren't they?
- Would you like one? - I would, yeah.
Sorry, I got none left.
How are we doing for time?
Yeah, is that gâteau okay?
Is, is it, it, it's just been on there a long time.
Oh, my God. Mary mother of God.
That's you distracting me with all your charm, Gordon.
But how about thank you, Gordon,
for saving my gâteau?
Yeah.
Well, how long were you watching it before you said it?
Well, I had my eye on it.
Is it okay?
I don't know. Come on, baby.
Oh, it looks burnt.
Actually, it's really nice when it's burnt.
Darling, you've turned the gâteau into a
cow pat.
Oh, will you stop. It's delicious.
Will you, go on, go on, get out here, you.
Go on, shoo, shoo!
Are you sure that's a gâteau?
It sounds like you're threatened.
Come on, girl. Get it together.
Right, lamb stew's coming down. Onions are doing well.
And then with the crab,
I'm gonna dress the crab and almost do like a Brown crab meat
sort of Hollandaise with the crab claws.
Mm, delicious if I may say so.
I'm gonna finish these abalone with some butter,
just to sort of monter au beurre in there.
Yeah. A little bit of lemon.
Oh my god.
Anna, you got two seconds?
- Yes. - Look.
- No, not for this. - No it just, it just--
- Not for you to flex. - No, no, no, no.
But just the, the miso butter. And that Irish butter.
What a combination.
- Oh, my God. - How beautiful is that?
Oh, nice, but not as nice as mine.
Oh,. Hey, you stole my abalone.
You look like you don't have enough work to do, Gordon.
- I'm just ex-- - You're playing it safe.
I'm letting the ingredients do the talking.
Oh, beautiful.
I've got this in the bag, girl. I mean--
We'll see.
It's very rare I'm this confident.
We'll see, Gordon. We'll see.
Our guests have arrived.
And I know they're all anxious to taste what I've done
with these incredible Irish ingredients from land and sea.
Good to see you.
Good to see you, man. How are you?
This week, I've seen their dedication to Irish cuisine,
and I hope I don't let them down.
- How are you? - Welcome.
You guys are about to have a right treat, huh?
What are you doing now?
I'm gonna smoke the abalone and the oysters.
Oh, my God. Honestly.
D-, how many tricks you got up your sleeve, girl?
Yeah, but this is like all me ancestors.
They came to me in the night and said Anna,
don't let us down.
I love these pea, are they fresh peas?
Get away, you. Go on.
Oh, my god, they're, are you not using those?
I'll put them in my abalone. Do you need those?
Get, I need those. Get away, you.
Don't be, don't you be using my skills to win.
Right so, I am ready to start plating.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. - I'm ready to go.
Please.
All right, and we're getting hungry out here too.
I didn't come here to play.
You did not come here to play, did you?
Oh, my God. These abalone. Incredible.
Wait until you try my oysters, Gordon.
Anna, I don't want to sauce this if you're not ready.
Gordon, I was born ready. Sauce your lamb.
- Thank you. - You know.
I can see you're nervous.
Let's go, I'm on my last dish, Gordon.
If you win, just promise me you will save me a
slice of that gâteau.
What do you mean, if? Stop with these "ifs", Gordon.
Yes! We good?
- We're good! - Well done. She's good.
The girl's still got it.
Okay, all right. Final dishes here.
- Woo, woo, woo! - Wow, what a feast.
Would you like to go first?
Yes.
I chose a version of Black Forest gâteau,
instead of using Kirsch, I've gone with a poitín,
put a bit of spices in there, and the blackberries,
and it works really, really, really, really well.
Boxty, so this is a refined take on what boxty is.
And I've stuffed it with this slow cooked, braised,
delicious lamb.
So then we have pickled cucumbers,
and then just nice, fresh kind of seaweed,
herbs, lemon zest,
all through that gorgeous, fresh cut-up white crab meat.
And then here I have my abalone and the oysters,
and I've created like a smoked beurre blanc for them.
I honestly think the two of these are a match
made in heaven with the sauce.
And I just want to say these yous all look very
handsome and gorgeous.
And it's a pleasure to cook for you.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome.
First of all, I bring no dessert.
Madam snuck that one and blindsided me.
However, the ingredients are good enough.
It doesn't need a dessert today.
Right. I'm gonna start off with these oysters.
They've been beautifully poached in a
Brown crab meat beurre blanc.
And then make sure you dip into that beautiful
Brown crab Hollandaise.
It's a showstopper.
Shoulder and neck of lamb slowly braised
and sliced potatoes that have been caramelized
over the grill.
And then finally, my abalone poached gently in a
miso beurre blanc.
And fingers crossed,
you'll have no room for dessert.
Thank you. Enjoy.
Thank you. Oof, where do we start?
I'm gonna start with an oyster anyway.
Oh, that's a good idea, actually.
And they're digging in.
Can you see what they're eating?
I think one of them's gone straight for that dessert.
Seriously.
Bypass the oysters, bypass the crab,
and go straight in for that Black Forest.
- Mm. So good. - It's nice, isn't it? Yeah.
Yeah, really well balanced. Isn't it?
Anna has done a great job with the oysters.
It so tender, isn't it?
This is a hard toss up.
Michelin star on the edge of the cliff.
I like the texture of Gordon's miso abalone.
But I liked the flavor of Anna smoked abalone.
All happy faces, though. I don't see any...
- So far. - Yeah.
So there's lamb inside this also.
- Lamb inside. - Really enjoying them.
- It just flakes apart. - That's so good, isn’t it?
- Isn't it? - Yeah.
That's definitely a big winner for me.
Cheers.
The sauce kind of dominates a bit.
Looks like they're done.
Damn, they're eating that bloody gâteau.
Shall we?
.
Right. We good?
- Yes, thank you. - Yes.
- Full tummies? - Amazing.
- We're very well fed. - Yes, absolutely.
Right. Okay, where should we start?
So starting with the lamb,
Anna pulled out all the stops.
It was just beautifully seasoned.
Now, Gordon's dish was also delicious.
The way this was cooked, like the texture was beautiful.
Yes.
It was just the flavor was a bit dominated
by the sauce.
Right. So I take it I lost the lamb.
Yes.
Okay, all right. Okay, okay, okay. Mm.
So yeah, the crab.
Anna's crab was delicious with the, the pickle.
But as a group, we kind of decided that the,
that Gordon's oyster slash crab combo was the winner there.
- Yeah. - Come on, girl!
- It was pretty incredible. - It was a nice combination.
A nice combination.
For me, for me, the oyster was a little bit lost...
Right.
But the crab, the whole combination made up
for the whole lot.
So it's all coming down to the abalone.
It's all coming down to the abalone.
Surprise, surprise.
I have to say the texture of Gordon's
abalone was perfect.
It was p--
- It truly was. - It was like impeccably cooked.
Anna's abalone, the hay smoke really added something extra.
It was close.
It was really, really tough as a group to decide.
So as a group, we kind of decided that Anna,
Anna's abalone won.
Yes! Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!
Oh, my God! Oh, don't worry, Gordon.
You'll always have a job in my kitchen.
But I won today.
Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!
No, Gordon! Oh, my God!
- Oh! Oh, my God. - Oh, my God, oh, my God.
Anna brought her A-game.
She handed my ass to me on a plate garnished with heather.
Listen, I didn't win.
But deep down inside, I did win.
Because I was part of that journey.
And, you know, her DNA is part of my DNA.
And it, it showed clearly today.
But a tremendous chef,
a phenomenal front-runner for Irish ingredients.
I've had an exceptional week,
and it's just been a real highlight, honestly.
And you've been amazing. Seriously, girl.
I loved every second. Can we do it again?
- We'll come back. - Uncharted Revenge.
Thank you. God bless. See you back home.
Oh, my God. I got my ass kicked, didn't I?
Thank you. Take care.
- Yeah. - Thanks.
Bye-bye.
Now, being a chef from Scotland, honestly,
I thought I was spoiled with some of the best ingredients
from Northern Europe.
But this Irish experience has really shown me that they can
measure up to my homeland favorites.
Woo-hoo!
And it wasn't just the Irish land and sea that helped create
such gorgeous dishes.
It was the effort and care the locals put into each of their
crafts that I'll never forget.
Now I'm on to my next adventure.
Captioned by Cotter Media Group.