This programme contains strong language.
I'm back on the hunt for the UK's
next top food and drink entrepreneur.
So I've hand-picked 12 amazing contenders, each with an incredible
up-and-coming business and all looking for an investment.
I got here starting from zero.
I'm supposed to be here. I'm driven.
Like, I'm so ready for this.
Winning this competition would literally change my life.
I want to invest £150,000 of my own cash into one of them
and catapult their business to the next level.
But I'm not giving the money away easily.
They'll need to earn it.
THEY SCREAM
It's on fire.
BLEEP. Oh!
So I'm setting my contenders a series
of food and drink-related challenges...
We want our drinks!
It's fine. It's not fine.
It's a BLEEP show.
..which will test them on every element of the industry...
How long on table 10? Table 12. Table 9.
That? We're nowhere near it.
We're going as fast as we can.
Just don't stop.
If anyone can't give me a standard, then please go home.
Three, two, one, go.
SHE COUGHS
This is like a horror movie.
..and most importantly, their character.
You folded! You folded! I folded?
You can't handle taking criticism.
I want to collaborate, but you are not listening.
Did you behave like a petulant teenager?
What happened this week was an absolute shambles.
Yeah, absolutely I was overwhelmed, but I didn't crumble.
Why should you stay in this competition?
I deserve the investment. I deserve to be here.
I'm better than this.
Only one of them will make the grade.
Who'll be my future food star?
I'm so excited. This is going to be so much fun.
Are you nervous? Yeah.
Am I nervous? No, not at all. Are you?
Yeah. That's good. Gives me more of a chance.
THEY LAUGH
I'm looking forward to seeing
what the other contenders are going to be doing in their business
but, at the end of the day,
I'm here for one thing only and that's to win.
Oh, my gosh. Look at it.
Wow. This is crazy, though.
Is anybody shit-scared of meeting Gordon?
Yeah. I think he's going to eat someone alive.
He's got someone on the menu, definitely.
Leading up to this point, I was a bit nervous
wanting to prove myself, like, show what I'm really worth.
But now I'm ready. Now I just want to get to it.
Wow. Look at this place.
I've been here before. Have you?
I'm quite surprised that I'm so close to my hometown.
We're maybe about 20 miles from my shop.
So it's good to be on the home turf.
I hope I don't get kicked out in this first week.
I think everyone's going to be really crazy competitive.
Everyone's laughing and joking now... Yeah, yeah.
You're all friendly now.
We all want to win. And we're all going to bring
something a bit different. We can play to our strengths.
Most looking forward to really pushing myself to my limit
and just seeing what I'm really capable of.
I want to know where Gordon's going to come from.
ENGINE TURNS OVER
He might abseil down a window.
Oh, here he comes.
Oh!
Yeah!
Oh, I love the bike.
Good morning.
How are we? Good!
Motivated? Excited?
ALL: Yes.
All of you, welcome to Scotland. How beautiful is this?
Stunning. Gorgeous.
Now, I have hand-selected you 12
because all of you have some of the most exciting
food and drink businesses anywhere in the UK.
The competition this year is fierce.
Eight weeks from now, I'm going to invest 150 grand of my own cash
into one of you.
But it's not just about the money,
it's about tapping into my experience. My whole network.
One of the best marketing teams, digital teams
dealing with over 100 million followers on social media.
Skies are the limit.
Now, I've studied all of your businesses,
but I'd like to hear from you as individuals.
Andy, what am I going to witness from you?
You're going to see me push myself being with people
who are great at what they do, but just trying
to be on top of that group and just show what I'm really good at.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Hebe, this is a very tough process.
What am I going to see from you under adversity?
I know it's out of my comfort zone.
I know this is something totally new, but I've put my life aside
to be here and I'm ready to give it everything.
So we've established the competition is fierce.
The question is, are you ready for your first big challenge?
ALL: Yeah. Good.
I brought you here to Glenapp Castle.
This stunning castle has played host to huge events across the years.
And tomorrow, you 12 will be hosting your very own exclusive banquets...
..for some very special invited guests.
The guests coming tomorrow want nothing less
than a five-star experience that really celebrates Scottish heritage.
Do not let me down.
Is that clear?
ALL: Yes.
Good.
Now, we're going to go into two teams for this challenge.
Each team cooking for 30 guests.
Let's start with Amy, Keir, Naomi,
Craig, Sophie and Gary.
You guys are the Red Team.
Which means the Blue Team is...
..Flo, Sam, Andy, Rachel, Hebe and Kris.
Now, each team needs to be creative, ambitious, and work well together
with one clear vision.
The team that receives the best feedback
and the team that impresses me the most will win.
It's as simple as that.
Get your head in the game.
Get out the gate fast.
Understood? ALL: Yeah.
All of you, good luck, off you go. ALL: Thank you.
Just off the Ayrshire coastline,
this castle is set in over 36 acres of woodlands and gardens.
Are you ready for cooking with that, guys?
Look at that grill.
And within this beautiful estate,
I'm giving the teams an area each to host their banquets.
Does anyone know how to use that?
The standards could not be higher here
and, for that reason,
I expect nothing less than perfection from the teams.
Probably not 100% confident cooking on that.
I reckon we can do this easily.
I was with you until the "easily".
I brought the contenders here to this five-star luxury castle
right in the heart of the Scottish lowlands.
Now, I was born in Scotland, literally two hours away from here.
So, what better way to start the competition than on my home turf?
I own a bakery,
but then, prior to that, it was ten years in restaurants.
OK. Right.
The teams now must decide on their roles.
I'd rather do service, I'm not going to lie.
Half will oversee service...
I own two bars. I would love to do the cocktail and canape.
..while the other half will be creating the menu.
I'm a trained chef.
Right. So I'm going to look after the mains.
I want to be the head chef.
My name is Gary.
I own a business called Taquitos in Belfast,
which serves authentic Mexican cuisine.
We won an award last year,
the best healthy takeaway in Northern Ireland.
It catapulted us to opening our own restaurant.
My staff would describe me as fiery
and someone who gets shit done.
Laser focused, that's me.
I own a hot sauce business,
so I reckon I could have a crack at a mean gravy.
Well, I'm a baker, so I'll go in the kitchen.
I'll take you through everything.
All you need to do is a lovely dessert...
..for 30 people. Right. I'll give it my best shot.
I own a vegan ice coffee business.
I've got a lot of experience in selling it direct.
Yeah. So that's why I think I'd be good at front of house.
Excellent. OK.
My business is called Sophie's Iced Coffee Blend.
Iced coffee is a huge growing market.
It's going to be bigger than the hot coffee sector.
Coming from Essex, you can get judged a little bit
and underestimated.
So I want to prove that I'm not just a ditzy girl.
I've got a brain and I've got a great business
that I think Gordon will want to invest in.
Actually not a bad team, is it? It's actually a great team.
Who's most comfortable cooking?
Yeah, I'm happy to take the lead in the kitchen.
You want to go head and I'll go second chef? OK.
I'll be on the service side. So I will lead the service.
OK. And who is doing the speech?
I'll take on the speech. You take on the speech.
OK. So just to clarify, I will be the head chef in the kitchen.
All good with that? Yeah.
So my business is Kids En Cuisine.
It's a cookery school for children, teaching them how to cook
from scratch with seasonal vegetables and fruits.
I'm from south of France, so we have this reputation to be direct.
Sometimes my French side's getting out of me
and I roll my eyes up like, "Mm! You bother me!"
Not with the kids, with my chefs.
So I think I would be direct, as Gordon is.
Like, "Mm! No."
So what type of banquet should we do?
We're here to impress people, like...
It needs to look... it needs to look immaculate.
Like Michelin star restaurant.
Yeah. If we serve up by plate, it would be really smart.
Yeah. And roll it out.
Let's make something Michelin. We will.
Gordon said about it being like a bit of an experience.
So think with the carve at table is an experience.
If I was sat outside a castle in Scotland,
do I want meat carved in front of me? Yes. I do.
Carve at table. Scottish, Scottish, Scottish.
Win. Win, win, win.
With less than 24 hours till their banquet,
the teams need to get cracking.
What do we have local that we can kind of build a story from?
For the kitchen teams, first job, come up with a menu
to blow away their 30 guests.
I think we should start off with the ribeye of beef
with garlic and herbs and also some roast veg.
What are we going to do for our dessert?
Use all the lovely berries that we've got.
Shortbread, vanilla whisky mascarpone. Sorted.
Vanilla whisky? Oh, yeah, that sounds lovely.
Let's nail down what meat we're going to go for.
Well, the lamb will be Scottish. Yeah? Straight up.
I think we can make something really smart with the rack.
Could go with a rosemary and thyme crust.
I think we've got to think, as much as it's Michelin star,
it's 30 people, with three people doing it.
It's quite pernickety, isn't it?
But we have to have the five-star element to it.
We have taken a massive risk.
30 plates for 30 guests.
It's a crazy challenge.
If I fail, I will be the one leaving,
because the responsibility is on me.
We're going to get the beef.
I'm just going to give it a quick season here. Yeah? Yeah.
With the kitchen teams busy trialling their dishes...
Just start peeling away, like so.
..for the service teams...
The first canape you make in you make in your life.
"Oh, yeah, how was it?"
"I don't know, but Gordon Ramsay tasted it."
..it's all about creating a Scottish welcome for the guests.
Mmm! It's our Scottish twist on bruschetta.
This is "Scotetta".
Scotetta!
SHE CHUCKLES
As well as canapes, I've told the teams
I want to see a signature cocktail at their events.
Oh, my God. Gin and prosecco is amazing together.
We could do a gin and prosecco cocktail with the strawberry.
With some edible flowers just to finish it.
So what are we thinking? Gin, whisky?
Oh, I was thinking gin. I was thinking elderflower.
There's elderflower cordial.
Gordon said Scotland.
The one thing that people say in Scotland is whisky.
Gin...
I know whisky is Scottish, but do people really know of that?
Yeah. They don't say,
"Let's go to Scotland and have an elderflower drink."
LAUGHING: But, then, do they say,
"Let's go to Scotland and have whisky"?
Yes! Yes, they do.
I run bars. I know that people are going to want something
from a place like this.
Craig's... That's his job. Yeah.
I'm the one who sells drinks for a living.
I stand behind a bar in two different joints
that are busy all the time, serving whisky.
I know people like whisky and we're in Scotland.
I know what you're saying,
but I really, really, really feel passionate about the elderflower.
Like, I really, really do.
Please don't take the whisky out of it.
We can experiment with elderflower.
OK. What? With whisky?
Why not?
Yeah. OK.
Me and Craig are definitely on the same page.
I trust him. That's his job.
But I wasn't necessarily expecting so much pushback.
What about if we put, like, one yellow or orange flower?
Like, just literally on the top.
I just think it would look really nice, just a finishing touch.
That looks lovely. That looks really nice.
That looks like it's fallen off the tree.
I have never made a cocktail.
I've drunk a few,
but I do think I have quite a keen eye
and my ideas were better,
so we're going to add a bit of a elderflower twist to the whisky.
I'd like to say that I was right about the flower.
But not the whisky.
We're never going to agree.
I used the fat from the lamb
and I hung it here
and the fat is gonna drip on the...
Vegetarians, though...
Vegetarians. Thank you.
Don't do that, Flo. Well done.
With less than an hour till I trial tomorrow's menus...
I'm going to start making the sauce
and chopping some veg as well.
..the teams will need to work fast.
I was under the impression
that, Gary, you were focusing solely on the meat.
We want to support you as much as possible
so that you can get that meat perfect. Thank you.
So let the meat be your main focus. Yeah, no problem.
I feel like Gary was trying to take on quite a lot.
And I don't see success in that way.
One person kind of carrying the load.
I'm going to make a honey mustard dressing.
Leave the honey mustard dressing with me.
Do you know the quantities?
You don't worry, bud. You stay over there, Gary.
SHE WINCES
SHE PANTS
That was hot.
Working on their fine dining-style menu...
These mushrooms are definitely overcooked.
..the Blue Team.
I think all of this is going to look absolutely shit.
The cauliflower is not doing well.
It's only going to take six minutes to cook on there. Really? Mm-hm.
When I do it in the oven, it takes an hour.
But that's roasting, though.
It's a bit up in the air.
No-one really has a clue about the timeframes.
Nothing seems to be cooking right.
It's a bit of a shit-show.
Meat looks shit.
I think it looks perfect.
Hello. Looking busy.
I reckon you could have more whisky in it.
I'm mainly getting elderflower, but more whisky, up the whisky.
Yeah.
The sides look really unsubstantial,
but it's meant to be, like, carrot, leeks and courgettes,
but they've reduced down really small,
and I think it just looks really bland on the plate.
We've got broccoli here. Can you do a side of broccoli?
Can you do, like, a vegetable medley type thing?
Our problem is that we've got too much going on.
We have too much. We just keep adding, we're adding to our problem.
It doesn't matter what the brief is.
Trying to make a new thing now is beyond. We can't. It's beyond.
Oh. How are we doing?
Hi, Gordon.
Right, let's start off with the cocktails.
Who's tasted this? I have.
I think it's really good.
You're in the drinks business.
Why elderflower whisky? Why would you do that to Scottish whisky?
So we kind of mix it together to try and get the best of both worlds.
Right. And does it go? You know,
I'd never put elderflower in a whisky. No.
Think of the power of whisky in Scotland. Yeah.
OK. So, that needs reworking.
Yep. OK? Absolutely. Yeah?
Main course, where are we going?
Grilled ribeye with some vegetables, which we chargrilled.
We've got asparagus, fennel and some buttered roast potatoes.
Right. And so, how are you serving that?
So you're going to carve at the table? Yeah.
Right. Well, that's bold. That could be a highlight
at the feast tomorrow. That could be the show stopper.
What do we end with? What do we send them on high with?
What's the dessert? What are you grilling?
The dessert is me. We've got a layered pudding.
So, we've got shortbread on the bottom,
an orange-zest mascarpone and caramelised berries on top.
Right. So I look at the baskets and I'm thinking whisky glaze,
roasted pineapple - something celebrating a feast.
OK, it's the kind of dessert you can get anywhere.
So, think about that again. OK. Use the grill.
Use the grill. That is the DNA of this challenge - the grill. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you.
Gary is attempting to cook ribeye for 30 guests.
That is a tall order. If he gets that right,
they could be absolutely off to a flying start.
But he needs to delegate.
This guy goes into this feast tomorrow as a one-man band,
he's going to crash and burn.
And that elderflower and whisky cocktail,
that's not making sense.
They're just accepting one another's participation.
In business, you need to be stern, stand by your convictions,
and get a standard that everybody else falls in line with.
Are we good?
Trying. Trying? I hope you're trying. Trying.
Right, front of house. Who's running front of house?
We're service. The three.
Who's doing the welcoming?
Excellent. Welcome me.
Welcome to our Scottish Heritage Historical Banquet.
We have elements flowing through every single dish
that you see today, you know, different parts of Scotland.
And, yeah, you're going to have a fabulous time.
Clearly, you haven't practised. No. No.
So, we need to nail that. Mm. But it needs to be engaging.
Mm. OK. OK, so really focus on that, OK? Yep, working on it.
Right, canapes.
The first thing I'm seeing is bread everywhere.
It's very beige, right? Very beige.
Looks like a fucking 1980s cover of Prue Leith's cookbook.
You need to grill that thing. You need to get those marks on there.
You need something that pops in terms of colour. Yeah, yeah.
Menu. Who's in charge of the menu? Yeah, it's me.
Dis-moi. So, we went through a lamb rack, that we portion it,
and then we made a little crust.
And then, we made a sweet-potatoes puree
with a little juice.
You've picked the most difficult... I know. ..cut of meat on a grill.
And then there's a herb crust.
It looks like something that's come from inside the castle,
in the fine-dining restaurant.
How are we serving the guests? By plate.
Wow. It's all plates.
So, that's 90 chops.
Wow. There's going to be five plates served lukewarm,
and 25 plates are going to be stone-cold.
That's going to be a shitshow.
You need to understand what the objective is here.
It's a feast. We're outside.
We have no gas. We have no electric.
Get your head out of the restaurant and think of the feast.
Understood? Yeah. Yes, Gordon.
OK. Good luck.
That was fucking awful.
Blue Team have forgotten the brief.
It's a five-star feast experience, but they're not listening.
It was just tunnel-visioned -
fine dining, fine dining, fine dining.
And how on earth are they going to get 90 chops out on a plate,
all served at the same time?
It's going to absolutely come off the rails.
I think we're trying to do too much. Too much.
When, actually, we could simplify things a lot more.
About halfway through, I realised that we weren't hitting the brief,
and I kept saying - maybe not in the most constructive way,
to be honest - I just kept saying, "This is really shit."
So we take off the crust? And don't individually cut them.
Just cut them into three.
I think we... Out-and-out whisky. That's fine. We'll do that.
We'll do that. We'll do that.
I feel a little bit disappointed in myself
that I didn't stick with my guns,
but I'll be taking the cocktail back tomorrow.
I'll put a much bigger kick of whisky in it
and make sure that it's a Scottish drink.
Excellent. Everybody ready for tomorrow?
Let's go. Yep.
This is challenge one.
I don't think they've got any idea what's about to hit them.
Someone from one of these teams is getting sent home.
They've got to get on the same page quick.
Otherwise, it's going to be an absolute disaster.
11am.
Day of the banquet.
We're all here to help each other, and we're definitely going
to smash this today, folks, you know that?
Blue Team... Let's do it. ..no-one is leaving this week, OK?
ALL: Whoo! Let's go.
Now, when I left the guys yesterday,
the Reds were planning a really ambitious menu
with a delicious ribeye steak as the star of the show.
But, honestly, the service team - they were lacking cohesion.
On the Blues, I'm seriously worried that they missed the brief
with that pompous Michelin-star menu.
60 guests are arriving soon,
and, right now, I'm praying for a miracle.
So I'm going to get this beef on.
Does it make it taste better
if the salt is dropped from a great height? From a height?
If you drop it from a height,
then you are going to distribute it evenly. Ah.
So there is a reason for it. Oh, I've earned something new!
I thought it was just to show off. Oh, well, I'm showing off as well.
Oh, God.
Girls, are you feeling good about this?
Far better than yesterday, I think.
SHE PUFFS
Couldn't have been worse.
Cos there's a system now, innit? Yep.
OK, so we need to start the potatoes and the garlic,
and then we kick them out on the top.
Just don't kill the fire. If you put too much...
Trust me, I know how to set fires.
We're going to make some butterscotch sauce.
On the Red Team...
The butterscotch sauce is covered, Gary.
..working on a new dessert, bakery owner Naomi.
Gary... Here we go.
..don't, cos that's not how you do it.
That's OK.
And I want it precise with... Measurements? Yeah.
I know by looking at it by eye.
You don't need exact amount, but... No.
You need them pineapples grilled first, and then we can argue, OK?
Yeah, I know. I'm just waiting for the space, Gary.
Yeah, no problem.
I'm very good at what I do.
A bit more trust that I can make a butterscotch sauce
would be appreciated.
I need you to follow my lead.
And if you don't follow my lead, one of us are going to go home.
I'm not even going to argue with him.
But I'm just going to stand my ground.
And I think, maybe, that's not what he likes.
Oh, that looks really good.
Foliage is really nice.
We'd better have a little think about the welcome speech.
So it's got some facts about that rock,
that Ailsa Craig is the source of all the granite
for most of the curling stones in the world.
Curling? Like the sport? Yeah, yeah.
Oh, that's so fun.
OK, another fun fact -
from Glenapp Castle,
you can also see 30-foot basking sharks.
That is such a good fact.
SHE CHUCKLES
So, I'm doing the table design,
trying to really make it really natural,
so, like, putting all the leaves and the flowers
and going to make it look really pretty.
I put more whiskey in, a little bit of brown sugar
to take the edge off it, and some soda.
And then, I've smoked the orange peel,
and that's more of a...more of a Scottish thing, I think.
So, I'm quite happy with that now.
Shall we go check the table,
and just make sure everyone's happy with it? Yeah. Yeah?
We've got all the flowers, plants, and we've got the acorns.
And then, obviously, we'll light the candles, as well.
Yeah. What do you think?
I think we need more stuff.
I don't think we should add anything else.
But that candle on a piece of wood with two acorns,
it looks like a cock and balls.
It looks good. It looks good.
I think we need more, like, moss around the candles.
I just think that looks too much.
You think it looks good as well, don't you?
I'm going to go back to the cocktails. OK.
I'll let you two decide. You run away.
That's exactly what I'm doing. I know.
I think it's fine how it is.
Right.
I'm just going to go smash my hazelnuts. All right.
I've found it difficult working with Sophie.
There's certain things that she's standing her ground on,
but it's things that are wrong.
I didn't like the table.
It's difficult when you have got something constructive to say,
and it's not taken on board.
Soon, this place will be full of guests
expecting a flawless 90-minute service.
That's ten people.
That's 20 people.
That's 30 people.
OK, let's make a couple more, then.
Time to see if the teams are ready.
How are we feeling? Good. Excited. Are we good?
Table looks great.
Thank you.
OK, Flo, tell me about the lamb. How are you feeling?
So, basically, we will have the lamb rack,
instead of portioning individually,
we're going to serve three cutlets per person. Got you.
Be careful. Plated is a lot more difficult to get done,
but if you pull it off,
it's going to look fantastic. If. Yeah.
Good luck, let's go.
Everyone's feeling under pressure. Like, we're cooking for 30 people.
If you weren't feeling under pressure,
you're not in the right place.
But right now, I'm just trying to be the best pair of hands
for my team, that's all.
Here, here, I'm good now.
Morning. Where's the service team?
Service team?
Er, right...
..when are we dressing the table.
This is not it, is it?
My concern was I didn't want it to be too messy, but I will go and...
It's not messy. You know, we need some of the beautiful flowers.
Yeah. Some of the heather through the back of the chairs.
You can't just go and dump this in the middle and say, "Bang."
It just feels flat.
Do you know what I mean? OK. OK? Thank you.
Welcoming. Who's taking charge?
I am. Take a seat, you two.
Yeah?
Take five steps back. Come in, and hit me with the opening.
Let's go. Hello. Welcome.
So we've come here today... Oh, fuck.
Let me just start that again. Two secs. How about, "How are you?"
Yeah. "So nice to see you." I know. Sell it, girl. Let's go.
Hello. How are we all today?
We've got the beautiful Glenapp Castle here today.
I'd love to invite you all to...
What do you mean, invite? We're already fucking here.
One more. One more go. OK.
Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you to Glenapp Castle.
We have prepared for you, today, a feast.
It's based completely around natural Scotland.
We've got meat.
Yeah. Fucking hell. No, sorry, sorry, sorry. Yeah. OK.
Do you know what? I'll leave you to it. That needs work on. OK.
Hey, punchy, short, vibrant. 30 guests. Yeah.
Get their attention. Wow them.
But right now, you're scaring the shit out of me.
He rocks up, and I look like I've...
..been sat with my thumb up my arse all day!
We can't stick a fucking thistle on the back. I was trying to weave it.
That's the Scottish thistle. Now you're going to stab them. OK.
I was trying to weave it through. You're going to weave a thistle?
I was trying to weave it through. Would you sit on a thistle?
No. Holy fuck.
I'm feeling stressed.
Obviously, I was in charge of the table,
but it's quite a big job.
So now I've just had to try and go round quickly,
try and decorate it a little bit more.
It's been really overwhelming today.
Some of these are a bit over. GARY: No, they're perfect, mate.
What? Not... That isn't. That's what we're looking for.
We're looking for character.
You're sure these aren't too burnt.
No, man. Trust me.
Right, kitchen.
What's happened to that?
Why is it so dark?
Just...just touch that. Yeah. Taste that.
So that's charred? Yep.
I said to take advantage of the grill, but...
Yeah? OK, not as much. No. Fucking hell.
What are they?! Oh, they're some courgettes.
What the fuck?
"They're some courgettes"? Yep.
Let's just close our eyes.
HE SPITS
It's just bitter.
It's bitter. OK. OK?
It's all going to come back.
They're going to start sending food back. Then we're fucked.
Get a plan, quickly.
GARY SIGHS
Just got to try and keep calm.
It goes fast. It goes too fast. It's too fast.
Flo, I think we should check all of this veg.
Did you put these in, right in the middle?
Look. Some of these are, like, completely charcoaled,
and then some of them aren't cooked at all. OK.
These potatoes are completely burnt as well.
I said to her, "You're putting this veg in way too early."
Didn't listen to me.
I like Flo, but it's just not flowing between us
for whatever reason.
Table's ready? Table, I think, is ready.
Sophie!
1pm...
It's the wrong cutlery.
..and the guests descend on the castle.
It's knife on the right. Fork, fork, knife, spoon.
Yeah? Yeah, so...
MAN: Quick march. Oh, no.
BAGPIPES AND DRUMS PLAY
Among them, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Oh, my God. Is that them arriving?
Just keep going, babe. Keep going.
Big smiles. You can do this. Come on.
No setting.
Fucking up against it.
I've been saying all day we're up against it. Come on.
What's all that shit behind the table?
Is that all your props? Um, yeah.
Can we move it, please? Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
What's it all there for? Sophie! Oh, my Lord.
Whose idea was, "Leave all that there"?
Amy, who's...?
I'm not in charge of the table.
They're literally second's away.
Here we go, guys.
Whisky with...whisky with ginger. Yeah. From GlenDronach Distillery.
You've got it.
Hello, everyone.
Welcome. Welcome, guys.
I've got a non-alcoholic version here, as well.
Hello. Hi, guys. How are you?
Whisky with ginger, distilled in Baldock?
Welcome, welcome.
There is a non-alcoholic option, if you'd prefer one.
Five? OK, so, six. Perfect.
OK. Seven.
Craig, we need seven non-alcoholics.
We had none set up on the tray? There are a couple now.
Yeah, there wasn't a couple set up. Nothing. You know, out of 30,
at least 10 or 15. Yeah, that was my fault.
I filled up the last... OK, work and talk at the same time.
The guests are here now, guys, yes? We're live. Let's go.
Oh, my God, I'm shaking.
So, you've got here smoked salmon with capers, beetroot,
and then, like, a little dill creme fraiche.
Help yourselves.
So here we have some locally sourced crab meat
with salmon, caviar and edible flowers. Great.
Hebe, it's sunshine, keep them there, they're all sitting down.
Oh, OK. But let's enjoy the sunshine.
Yeah. We don't see this in Scotland. Let's go, back out, quick.
Come and enjoy the sunshine, everyone.
If we could all bring our refreshing cocktails
and come and stand in the sun with us all, over here.
Oh, my good God.
When you sit a table down too early, all it does is back up the kitchen.
Not a good start.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I'm so happy to welcome you to Glenapp Castle.
Today, with the aid of this amazing outdoor cooking space,
we've created for you a feast based around natural Scotland.
So, for the main course, for the last few hours,
we have been cooking the most amazing rump of beef.
WHISPERS: Ribeye.
Ribeye? Ribeye.
Sorry, it's a ribeye.
It's a ribeye. Shit, I'm so sorry.
It is still delicious.
I'm going to invite you to sit down and then
we'll start serving the meal. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Amy's announcing the main course as a rump.
I'm sorry.
It's not a rump, it's a beautiful ribeye.
You need to be knowledgeable.
Hi, guys. Non-alcoholic cocktails.
Sorry about the wait there.
Right now, they're like three headless chickens.
If they don't get their shit together, honestly,
the Red Team are going to go down.
So, welcome, everybody, to our Scottish banquet.
We are situated
in the beautiful grounds of Glenapp Castle.
We have prepared for you today,
we have hand-selected, local Scottish ingredients.
So, for the main, we have Scottish lamb
and then we have a dessert for you,
which will be stone fruit with a whisky sauce.
So, in the spirit of Scotland,
can we raise our glasses
and cheers to the Scottish spirit and enjoy our banquet.
Cheers. Cheers!
Thank you.
Welcomes done...
..time for the main course.
Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go.
On the Red Team, mains are ready to be served.
All hands to the pump. Potatoes on the left.
If you're coming to me, I need to go slice, OK?
At the Blue Team's banquet...
What is happening with this lamb?
How long will it take? Ten minutes.
..they're running behind.
I just want yous to cook the lamb
and then we're going to concentrate on cooking all the veg.
What a mess.
The big issue with the Blue Team
is that they are not across their timings.
Put it on neat so we can fit as much as we can on.
You can't fast track a rack of lamb.
30 hungry guests waiting for something exciting.
It's just not good enough.
In full view of their guests...
Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry to interrupt your conversation.
May I just introduce Gary?
..it's the moment of truth for head chef Gary.
So, today, what we want to serve you is the most amazing
Limousin cross Aberdeen Angus beef.
It's very local and, hopefully, it's cooked to perfection.
Excellent. Excellent, excellent, excellent.
Beautiful.
Get a wee bit of salt on that. Absolutely. Beautiful. Let's go.
This is looking really delicious, isn't it? Beautiful.
The beef was fantastic.
I can't deny it, regardless of how we work together,
credit where credit's due. It's a show stopper.
How long, Flo? We need 15 more minutes.
15 minutes? Enjoy the sun, guys.
Shout us when you've got portions ready to go,
cos we're just going to keep topping up wine.
Anyone for a top-up of wine? White or red?
Oh, it is on the way.
We're just checking it's all cooked thoroughly.
I think it's cooked.
You put them in?
Oh, Flo, it's cold. It's cold, look.
It's not cooked. It's cold. Yeah.
Um, maybe about six...
I'm not sure.
Maybe about seven, ten minutes.
It will be worth the wait.
Flo! It's on fire.
What the fuck?
WHISPERING: Fuck me.
Right, what do you want me to do?
Do you want to get two dishes?
Do you know which side you're going to? No. Go left.
So I'm going this side here? You're going to the left. OK.
Your other left.
These are potatoes in garlic butter sauce.
Two at a time. And what's these again?
It doesn't matter, we've done all of that. He's...?
Yeah, we've done all that.
She seems so nervous.
Sophie?
Is it...? One for here, please.
Oh, nearly forgot that. There you go, sir.
Flo, how long for the first ten, please?
I know we're behind, but I'd rather wait and get it right,
but that's half an hour we said 15 minutes. How long is the lamb?
I don't know. No-one's asking this.
Flo, how long do we have till the lamb...?
Or do we just check it now?
FLO: Fuck, it doesn't cook, it doesn't cook.
We are ready, go. Take it, take this one.
One. But is there a point in lifting one if the rest aren't ready?
Three. Yeah?
Four. I've got another one here.
That's definitely not cooked.
Make sure these are cooked through, guys. As soon we you start serving,
we can't stop. Hey, guys, look - just stop for two seconds.
This is a shitshow right now.
We're not thinking this through, OK? That's undercooked.
What we're doing is grabbing stuff and throwing it on the plate.
OK, we need to get organised.
Restaurant team out, front of house.
Kitchen team, stick together, please. Let's go.
What about if I cook all of them like that?
You put them, you fry them, and we are done? I think so.
Any water?
CHUCKLING: Keep hydrated.
We had people waiting almost like 45 minutes to get food out.
Any white or red? A top-up?
So, to deal with the delays, we make sure that people
are well topped up with wine. That's our job as a service,
to try and deal with that as best we can.
Fuck!
Are these ready to go? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
You need three bits for each plate.
Right, we need to adjust. Right?
You can take that, that and that.
That is cooked. That is cooked.
Show me those.
Flo? Oui? Yes, yes.
Flo, I've got one with two chops and one with one chop on.
Is it one, two, three? We started with three.
How many is that got on there? This has two chops.
There's one chop on there. It's two each.
You shouldn't leave with only one.
These plates are a riot. There we go.
Can we have a proper chop?
It looks like we've dug up our grandad's fucking toenail.
Please.
Come on, guys. Two nice chops, nice and thick. Yeah?
Hey, young lady.
If you've given up, I'll take over. I don't give up.
I have no problem taking over, you know that.
I don't give up. I have no problem taking over, I'm just saying.
Don't take over, just don't throw the meat.
It wasn't meat, it was a bone. OK. Some people... Ah.
And I said please don't serve it.
Wait, don't start lifting stuff until we're told, OK?
Just wait a minute.
Just stop two seconds. Just all stop. Just all stop.
I've just thrown a piece of meat away cos I don't want it served.
Can I ask what that is doing on a plate?
I think our guests deserve something better.
Nobody is setting a standard, and I am begging for a standard.
And if anyone can't give me a standard, then please go home.
Let's go.
Right, let's sort it out.
Is there any plates with potatoes down there? Let me check. Two.
Right, we need to get a head count because we're starting to run out.
Yeah? There's a two here if you need that.
I'm going to give you a fresh plate here. Thanks.
Sam, how many potatoes on there?
No potatoes on there? We've ran out.
We've run out of potatoes? Serious?
We can do big tomatoes instead.
Go, go, go. We had the right number, how this is even possible?
How the fuck do we run out of potatoes?
Can I just take your plate for you?
Thank you.
On the Red Team...
Can we have some more creme on that one, please? Thank you.
..it's the final course.
Here you are, pineapple.
Here we go, guys.
I'll just take that for you, sir.
Grab another plate. I'll hold this.
Just take that for you, madam.
Jesus Christ. Hebe, Hebe.
We can't go around... I know, I'm just trying to do it quickly.
You can't do that, like a trough.
We can't do that. There's three on there, come on.
You can't walk around the table like you got a trough of food.
Jesus Christ.
I've never seen a table being cleared like that.
It's like a slop bucket following the waiter's behind,
right next to the guests' shoulders.
A bucket full of slop, how disgusting.
Excellent. Thank you.
We've got 15 minutes to serve and for them to eat.
Yeah, you're fine. We're literally two minutes away.
Good, this looks good.
This looks very good.
I think I'm going to cry after this. SHE LAUGHS
Do you want to go and have a cry in the bar?
Let's go. Caramel sauce. Wait, you need to add more sauce.
There we are, sir.
Here is dessert.
Thank you.
And for you. Enjoy.
Excellent, thank you so much. Well done.
Right.
Is that it? Finish service? Yeah.
Take a breather.
Banquets complete...
We did well. We did what we could, though. We did what we could.
..the guests will now feed back on the food and the service.
We had an amazing time cooking food for you.
Thank you, everyone.
Thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoyed it.
Thank you so much.
Tomorrow, at the restaurant, I'll deliver my decision.
I would compare today, honestly, to the most stressful situation.
It was just horrible.
There were a few times where Gordon came up to me and said a few things.
That's what I'm a bit worried about,
if I do end up in the grilling.
FLO: Whatever happen, I don't have any regrets at all.
I think I've done a good job despite everything.
And the guests were happy, it looks like.
So let's see how it turns.
Nervous? Like, still nervous. But, like, nervous excited.
I think we did everything we could.
Want to hear the feedback, man.
Cut to... Cut to the chase.
I'll be gutted if we lose. Yeah, me too.
Right. First challenge is now done.
Hosting a banquet in the grounds of that stunning castle
for 60 esteemed guests, including the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
That was a massive challenge to open up this competition.
Now, let's start with the Blue Team.
Your objective was to create a five-star event.
Were you all in agreement that this Michelin-star experience
was right for the occasion?
I felt like we understood that we were in a beautiful place
and we wanted to deliver the best experience.
With this beautiful Scottish produce, we wanted to create
something that they could really remember,
and we thought we'd do that with beautiful food.
You were putting on a banquet in the grounds of a castle.
Did you not just look at the kitchen apparatus,
what you were grilling on?
Definitely, but... Charcoal, wood.
I think... No electricity, no running water.
I think we held on to the five-star experience probably a bit too much.
Flo, you were instrumental putting the menu together,
yet you've been the most silent. I messed up with the lamb.
I completely take the responsibility of that.
We had problem of communication at the beginning.
When we were just putting the lamb on the grill
and were like, "OK, they're on the table." I was like, "What? Already?"
They might have sat down a little bit early,
but they all had full glasses of cocktails.
We even made them extra cocktails to pad it out a little bit more,
to give the guys some more time.
For me, the major shortcomings came from the kitchen.
The confusion. We were half serving, no, we were bringing it back.
It's not cooked properly, it's cooked properly.
I think we got a third of the way through serving
and we ran out of potatoes.
So, for me, those are the basics.
If we can't get enough food on the plates that we expect...
We improvised, though, we improvised with what we had.
Service team. Hebe, Kris and Sam.
In fairness, you did pretty well keeping the guests content
when the food's backed up and nothing's coming out of the kitchen.
But in 35 years in the food and drink business,
I've never seen anyone drag a slop bucket
behind guests and clear tables.
What were you thinking?
Yeah. I mean, now, it is ridiculous that we did that.
I said a five-star experience, that ending was not professional.
Clear? Yes.
Red Team.
Again, the concept was super-ambitious.
You created this theatrical experience for your guests,
carving the meat at the table.
Whose idea was that? That was me.
I wanted to give them the best experience possible
without going over the top.
Everybody happy with that show-stopping ribeye?
Very happy. Very happy, yeah.
Gary, the beef needs a great sear,
but when you've got the courgettes and the pineapple and the asparagus,
there was more charcoal in there
than there was in the local crematorium. Yeah, I shat the bed,
Gordon, I was relying on my two team members to help me along,
and that's what happened. Well, breaking news,
get used to being uncomfortable if you want my investment. Yeah.
Right, let's look at the service team, Amy, Craig and Sophie.
From day one, it didn't feel like you guys were united.
Would you agree? When it came to the cocktails,
I thought whisky, Craig thought whisky, Sophie thought gin.
I thought that they would enjoy the elderflower and gin.
We basically got to this point where Sophie was like,
"I am dead set on a gin cocktail."
I didn't say that, you actually suggested...
You said, "I'm not moving." I said I was passionate, and so was Craig.
The idea was the customer's experience, not yours.
Understand that. No, I thought customers would enjoy it more.
It was just about too many cooks in that situation.
Too many egos in one glass.
Let's move on to the banquet.
You were all over the place.
It was chaotic when I walked in there.
The table was unfinished.
There was seven boxes behind your guest chairs.
Where was the preparation? I have never done a table design.
I've never done the table before. So I did my best.
You have both seen the table as well.
Nobody noticed that the boxes were there.
That was a massive mistake by all of us.
Maybe a lack of communication, yeah.
Front of house was so fragmented.
It's all about being prepared and you guys were underprepared.
Look, I didn't expect it to be perfect, let's get that clear,
but I do expect you to use your business sense
across everything you do.
Right, most importantly, the results.
Coupled with feedback from the guests...
..and what I saw first-hand at your events...
..it was close.
But I've decided the winning team is...
..the Red Team.
Yes!
Get in. Well done, folks.
Excellent.
Well done.
The food made the difference here.
And, Gary, you clearly had some issues on the execution,
but you did lead that team well.
Thank you, Gordon. Well done. Thank you.
Blue Team.
Unfortunately, it just wasn't good enough.
The only thing that stopped this from being a total disaster
was the service team keeping the customers happy
and I feel the real problem was in the kitchen.
For that reason, I'd like to see Flo...
..and Rachel...
..in the restaurant to grill you both on your performance.
Andy, honestly, for someone who's never been in a kitchen before,
you did so well. You took direction, you did as you told,
and you just followed suit. Thank you, Gordon.
Now, Red Team...
..you may have won,
but nothing gets past me.
The only reason you got this win
was because of the team in the kitchen.
The service team was way underprepared
and disorganised from the get-go.
And for that reason...
..Sophie and Amy...
..you'll also be meeting me in the restaurant.
One of you will be leaving tonight.
I'll see you in the restaurant.
OK, that was a curveball. Fuck.
I was so relieved, I thought we were OK.
When he said that the Red Team had won, I was relieved.
I was like, "Oh, thank God.
"Like, I've got another week to show my best."
And then, obviously, I'm getting brought into the grilling.
But I've just got to show Gordon
that he needs to keep me in the competition.
I don't want to start throwing people under a bus
because that's not what I'm about.
But at the end of the day, Sophie was instrumental
in blocking decisions
but isn't prepared to take any responsibility for it.
I think that Flo was in over her head.
It was just chaos and I think that she's the reason that we're here.
Oh, I'm going in fighting.
You're going to have to drag me out of here if you want me out.
I know that I have made mistakes.
I took massive risks and it pays off or I leave.
It's that simple.
Rachel, take a seat, please. Thank you.
Amy, sit down, please. Thank you.
Flo, take a seat, please.
Sophie, take a seat.
OK. The brief was a five-star feast outdoors.
What went wrong? I fixed on the stars in my mind,
so then it was like, "OK, three stars, Michelin."
And it's at that point where I made the mistake.
I've had three Michelin stars for 21 years. I know.
I've never done a table above six, and that's with 55 members of staff.
Why would you think attempting a 30 top, in a field,
would be anything along the lines of three-star Michelin?
The first day when we did the tasting,
you made it clear I made the mistake about the menu.
I change everything. Flo, we had no gas.
It was the wrong environment for that dish. Yep, I agree.
I made mistakes.
Food was going out late. It did go out late.
We ran out of potatoes, there was probes going everywhere,
it was just a shitshow.
Can I just say, Flo had chucked all the veg into the fire,
like, two hours before service.
I told here it needed to be half an hour beforehand.
I started putting the lamb on the grill in order,
so we knew what went on first and what was coming on.
Flo was coming in, chucking it all on randomly.
I can't control what she was doing,
but I feel I tried to bring order to the chaos.
In business, Rachel, I'm looking for someone that will be listened to,
so when problems arise, they're heard.
I'm listened to by my staff. Flo is a hard person to work with.
Everything I said, she wanted to counteract.
I think the reason that we failed this task is because of Flo.
Amy, you may have won, but I was at your event
and I witnessed everything.
And the biggest shock for me
is the 15 years' experience you have in hospitality.
I didn't see that person across that feast.
OK. I can understand why that's a concern for you.
But we were constantly up against Sophie being, like,
"I disagree, I disagree. That's not right."
In business, you need to be assertive.
I have no interest in going to business with you
if you just crumble every time you hit pressure.
I don't crumble every time I hit pressure.
So how did you allow that to happen, then?
I expected that somebody that has also built a business up
would have certain levels of, like, common sense.
You took the ownership of setting up that table.
You were told clearly that it was lacklustre and unfinished
and you refused to listen to your team. Why?
The table, I didn't want to have green bits that Amy wanted
on the table, so I felt like I really stuck to my convictions.
In business, you must understand that product is number one. Yeah.
Not the ego and then the product.
I don't believe that it was my ego.
I did back down when we got your feedback.
Guests arrived, panic set in.
We left all the empty boxes behind the guest chairs.
With the boxes, the team had also seen that
and no-one thought to move it.
Day two, there was a huge communication breakdown
in the kitchen. Why couldn't you delegate better?
When we did the mise en place, I think I've delegated really well.
When the service started, with the pressure,
we had a mix-up and things went wrong.
You sent the plate of lamb and it was a charred piece of gristle
that was burnt. I felt somewhat embarrassed
that we were serving such a terrible standard. Mm-hm.
Were you proud of that performance?
Not at all.
This is not the type of plate that I would like to serve to my guests,
clearly not.
The service felt underprepared and disorganised.
But there was three individuals, there was no leader.
I said, "Put your best foot forward. Somebody step up and lead."
So why didn't you lead across that challenge?
I did. In the lead-up to it, it was a complete mess.
And you said to me, "You need to work on that."
And I did.
Did you get sidelined? Were you ignored?
I think, where I am slightly younger, I did feel like I was put
out of the side a little bit, as much as I was trying to be involved.
Who was leading your team? There wasn't any leadership at all.
And that's where, ultimately, I think, everything went wrong.
Why should you stay in the competition?
I should stay because I should be given the chance to lead a team.
And if I get into next week, I will lead the team
and I'll show you what I'm made of.
Are you willing to fight for my investment?
Give me one more week.
If you are not happy with me next week, kick me out straight.
Why weren't you more prepared?
Sophie wasn't on the same page as us.
She wasn't even in the same book.
Did you feel that you're out your depth?
Yes, I was overwhelmed. I was overwhelmed.
But I stick by the decisions that I made.
If I have another chance,
I will show you exactly what I'm made of.
Thank you, Sophie. Thank you.
Thank you for your time. Bye.
Thank you.
Hmm.
I went in and bossed it, I think.
HE SIGHS
Tough week. Really tough week.
Rachel, Flo, Sophie and Amy,
thank you for your honesty.
It was really good to hear you all speak up.
That's important in business.
Rachel, this challenge, young lady, was in your back garden.
And, unfortunately, you didn't get your voice heard.
That worries me.
Flo, you were in charge of that kitchen. Yes.
But you did completely miss the brief.
Sophie, you seemed overwhelmed by the occasion.
Amy, 15 years of experience in the hospitality sector,
I felt that you were completely unprepared for that event.
I've made my decision.
The person I will not be investing in...
..is Sophie.
Sophie, very few people ever get the chance to go into business
in their teens. You've done that.
But right now, I feel like this competition...
..may be too much, too soon for you.
Good luck for the future.
But for now, we're done.
Sophie, sadly, got lost in that challenge.
I feel, honestly, that she's got a bright future
with those vegan, nut-free iced coffees,
but right now, truly, she's out of her depth.
There was a lot of things in the challenge
that I'd never done before,
so I'm really proud of myself for doing my best
in a really high-pressure situation as well.
I am only 23, I was the youngest in this competition,
so I would just say, Gordon Ramsay, watch out,
cos in a couple of years, who knows where I'll be?
AMY: I just keep thinking he's going to walk back out.
RACHEL: I'm not going to be in this position again if I can help it.
Yeah, I'm determined. Not here to take part, here to take over.
Can't believe I just said that.
Next time...
Try and remain calm.
Whoa!
My eyelashes!
This is all about quality control.
Oh, my God! A crab!
Ooh!
It's literally like Italy.
What are we doing here? Make some pizzas.
I'm far behind, I really need help.
That whole oven's on fire.
Your pizza is ready!
And if you don't come and eat it, I'm going to eat it.