I'm Gordon Ramsay,
Michelin-starred chef and CEO of a global business empire.
Now, the food and drink industry has never been more exciting
but it's also never been tougher to succeed.
So I want to catapult someone to the next level
and invest £150,000 of my own cash into their business.
I've hand-picked 12
of the UK's best up-and-coming food and drink entrepreneurs,
who will compete to win my investment.
Over the next eight weeks, I'll set my contenders a series of challenges
designed to test their character, showcase their business skills
and convince me they have what it takes to win my backing.
Who will be my future food star?
This programme contains strong language
Oh, wow.
I've invited the contenders to meet me on a beach in Cornwall.
Where am I going?
Ah!
Of course, I'm nervous because I don't know what's going to happen
but I'm so excited to be here.
Wow, wow, wow.
Amazing.
Love it. Let's do it!
Oh, mint.
How nice is that?
So, when I meet Gordon, I think I might brick it a little bit.
Yeah, definitely.
This is exciting.
Oh, my God. Look at the water!
On this beach, everyone here is a professional
in the field that they're in.
Are you the kind of person that's going to, like, hesitate
or are you just going to do it?
You've only got one life to live
and I would like to say I've done so many things.
I have no idea what is about to happen.
I'm a bit nervous, if I'm honest with you.
I wonder where he's going to come from.
Maybe he'll just come out the sea.
Two minutes out, Gord. Two minutes out.
Two minutes, thank you.
Now, that lot down there have no idea what's about to happen.
What's he going to make us do?
Oh, my God, I'm so nervous.
Here we go.
What height are we there? We are 80ft here.
Here he is, look!
Oh, my God.
THEY CHEER
Hold it there.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. This is crazy.
Come on, Gordon!
Here we go.
What the heck?
Oh, my goodness!
He's ready to jump.
Oh, my goodness!
It's an entrance, isn't it?
That's a big swim.
Oh, my goodness.
THEY CHEER
Guy, so nice to meet you all.
Is everybody ready?
Yes!
Right, listen carefully.
I've invited you all here today
because all of you have some of the most exciting
food and drink businesses anywhere in the UK,
but an idea is only as good as a person, who has it.
And trust me, I don't just invest in a business.
I invest in the person.
I've designed an amazing series of challenges for you all,
so I can discover your true DNA, what you're really made of.
And at the end of that process,
I'll invest £150,000 of my own money...
..in one of you.
How does that sound?
Great! Woo!
Right, all of you, listen carefully.
My first challenge isn't about food or drink.
It's about you because it's a test of character
and you're all probably wondering
why I just jumped out of a helicopter.
Well, let me tell you, if I'm going to take a leap of faith in you,
I'd like you all to do the same for me, literally.
In a moment, you're going to head over to that headland
and you'll jump off that cliff into the sea.
What? Are you serious?
Cos I want to see how you react under pressure.
Good luck, off you go.
Woo!
Oh, my goodness.
How are you feeling about it?
I'm so nervous.
Yeah? Yeah. Are you scared about jumping? I'm so nervous.
I'm the queen of vegan food.
I want you to be able to find my vegan cake mix everywhere.
When you invest in me, you're investing in a person
that is not going to let you down, is going to work her hardest
and is going to not stop.
To be honest, I'm feeling really excited about the job.
This is probably the scariest thing I've ever done. Yeah.
But, yeah, I'm ready.
My name is Bola.
I run a brand called Jitterbug,
a soft drink that is completely guilt-free.
I think for this process, I will find out how competitive I can be.
I'm in it to win it.
So, a couple of years ago, I did something like this
and I had to get down from the ledge
just because I was so nervous and scared,
so this is going to be great for me.
I thought you were flexing for a bit.
Hey, how's it going?
I'm the owner of Savages Mussels, the mussels bar in Macclesfield.
I want to have 12 to 15 restaurants and bars.
Working with Gordon Ramsay - my passion, his knowledge as well -
it would be a dream come true.
Are you feeling all right, Jen? No. You're not, why?
Well, the thing is, water and heights is like my worst nightmare.
Yeah. I just... Yeah.
THEY CHEER
Here we go!
Woohoo!
A mile west of Newquay, on the north coast of Cornwall, is Towan Head.
To get to the cliffs,
they'll need to swim and scramble across the coastline,
before climbing jagged rocks to the ledge, 40ft above the open water.
Look at Amit with his front crawl.
This is a tough challenge because there's nowhere to hide.
But for me, this is not about who jumps first.
It's a test of nerve.
Urgh!
I really need to pee.
Who's got the drive, who's got the passion,
and more importantly, who wants it more?
You doing OK?
I'm just processing it, now.
After stepping off this ten-metre ledge,
it's a two-second freefall into the cold sea water below.
That just looks bad.
These waters are dangerous,
so I've recruited some local cliff- jumping experts to assist me.
Straight out to the right and a nice big step out.
Right, this is it.
Time to jump.
It's only 40 foot, OK?
Only 40ft?!
Let's go.
Are you mad?
Right, who'd like to go first?
Come on, Bola. You got this.
All right, so you're going to put your foot in there, OK?
That's it. OK, are you ready?
Go on, Bola.
Go on, Bola. You've got it.
It's going to be worth it.
You're down in two seconds.
Come on, Bola.
Gordon says, "Go on."
So, I go!
Come on, leap of faith. Well done.
Leap of faith! Yes!
THEY CHEER
Yes, Bola!
Yes!
Bola, well done. Fantastic!
That sounded painful.
Right, who's next?
Next to step up, Indian restaurateur Amit.
Well done. Don't overthink it.
Gordon, you've got to let me cook for you, yeah?
I'll let you cook for me. Yeah?
Just do the fucking jump. OK, mate.
OK?
Let's do it. Trust me. OK, when you're ready.
I do.
Let's go, bud.
Right there, Amit.
Let's go!
Amit, well done.
Next up, soft drinks entrepreneur Steph.
Go on, Steph. Go on.
Go on, Steph! You can do it. Go on!
Go on, Steph. you got this, girl.
You've got it.
SHE SCREAMS
Well done, Steph!
Asher...
Go on, Asher!
..Michelle...
SHE SCREAMS
..Leah...
Yes!
..Vincenzo...
He thinks he's fucking Superman.
..Victoria...
Well done, Victoria.
..and Jamie...
Right, let's go.
..all take a leap.
There are three contenders left to jump.
Argh! Oh, take your time. You're fine.
Next up, bottled cocktail company owner Jen.
I'm just going to walk straight up and go. Yeah, let's go.
Can you tell me when I'm ready to go? Yeah, I will do.
Right... Go on, Jen. You've got it.
Jen, you've got it.
Go on, yes!
Woo!
Well done.
Woo!
No, mate, there's no chance.
Matthew, let's go.
Woohoo! Yes.
Yes!
Matthew, well done.
11 contenders have jumped...
Are you all right, my darling? No.
..leaving Valentina as the only one not to.
Let me say something in my defence.
Of course you can.
I genuinely can say to you today that I push it to my limit.
What about this? If we step down... A smaller one? A smaller one.
So, we do together at the same time. From down there.
Yeah, but you do the big one and I'll smaller one. OK. Yeah.
THEY CHEER
You ready? Yeah.
Let's go.
One, two, three, go!
Well done.
Well done. Good girl.
If all of the challenges are like this, I'm out.
What a great day.
And on the back of that performance, trust me, they're all on board.
Bloody brilliant.
A new day, a new challenge.
It's now time to put my contenders' business skills to the test.
So, what are we going to do?
I have no idea.
I just hope it's not going to be like yesterday.
Yesterday was brutal.
Oh, look at this.
This is gorgeous.
It's got to be fishing.
I've asked the guys to meet me in Newquay Harbour for our challenge.
Yesterday was all about the individuals.
Today, I want to see how they work as a team.
It's going to be Cornwall-related, isn't it?
Clotted cream and stuff like that. Pasties. Clotted cream, pasties.
Oh, there he is!
Right, good morning.
Line up, please.
Let's have the big ones at the back, small ones at the front.
Am I big or small?
First of all, you smashed it yesterday.
Feeling good? ALL: Yes! Awesome.
Right, for your next challenge,
I want to see all of you running a business.
OK.
Because tomorrow, you're going to be selling street food
from your very own shacks on the beach.
Woo!
But listen carefully.
Now, I want you all to be ambitious...
..creative...
..shine as individuals, but come together as a team.
Right, teams...
Bola, Asher, Vincenzo and Leah, you are the red team.
OK, Michelle, Jen, Amit and Steph...
What a team. Yes!
..you are the green team.
This is the one. Yes.
And clearly, Matthew, Valentina, Jamie and Victoria,
you are the blue team. We're the winning one.
Now, this challenge is very simple.
The team that makes the most profit...
..wins. Got it?
Yes. Got it.
Right, off you go. Get cracking. Good luck.
Let's go! Let's go. I love our team!
I'm setting this challenge because I want to see how they run a business.
And I'm testing how they work as a team.
It may sound simple, running a food shack on the beach,
but trust me...
..it isn't.
Before they get started,
I've sent them to see what some of the top street food sellers
here in Cornwall have to offer.
They've got Mexican, pizza...
Oh, there's a curry. Morning.
Good morning! Morning.
The guys here have successfully combined locally sourced food
with the finesse of top chefs.
What would you say is the favourite meal for locals here?
We sell chicken tikka kebabs for days.
What's the Cornish element that you bring?
The bacon jam that we've got on here. Bacon jam?
Yeah, so that's what's going to go on the burgers.
Oh, my gosh, that's amazing.
What are people after?
The vegan and vegetarian market is growing really fast.
In less than 24 hours,
the teams will be selling their food from the beach.
So, first job, they really need to suss each other out.
I have a cafe and a bakery,
and I'm vegan, so obviously, you know,
I'm going to make sure we've got some really yummy vegan options.
I've worked at Street Food Fest in London,
so I know what attracts people.
I went from making plantain crisps on my own in my mum's kitchen
and selling them door-to-door on doorsteps
to being in a major supermarket.
So with Gordon Ramsay's funding, I will skyrocket.
My business started from trading on street stalls.
I also taught food to adults in a cookery school.
That's wonderful. I can cook.
I have experience in seafood and market stall.
My business is about producing artisan smoked salmon.
I am really excited about what I do.
When you have ambition and passion,
there's nothing that can stop you.
I've done a lot of management in the Navy,
so I can get everyone's best qualities together. Yeah.
I run a street food kitchen. I run my own pub.
So we might have found our chef.
I run the best foodie joint in the whole of Malvern.
We have customers coming from everywhere.
When it comes to true Indian food,
I might just be the best.
I'm completely gravitating towards the Indian food angle, guys.
I don't think Indian food in Cornwall
is going to be the right food. No, no.
If I'm out there surfing or jumping off 40 foot cliffs,
I'm not going to come back here for, like, loads of curry.
I've got three very driven women working with me.
Is it going to be challenging for me to get my point across?
Not really.
Toasted sandwiches. Toasted sandwiches!
Toasted sandwiches do absolutely amazing at events. I think...
And they're really...they're cheap to make.
Everyone loves cheese, don't they?
I am confident that is going to put us up there.
I think we go tacos. We can make them uniform.
We can make them fun. I love tacos. We can do....
Yeah, we can do that. Sounding good. Yeah. Awesome.
I think we should go for a roll. Like a lobster roll?
Like a lobster roll.
I can't make it vegan, so
let's pick something that I can make vegan,
like arancini balls.
I do not agree. It's going to take too long to cook.
Can you just one second? Sorry...
We need to look at the options around here.
There's people doing burgers, there's people doing Mexican already.
I think we should go for something like noodles.
Noodles? Noodles. Fine. Yeah, noodles, sure.
Let's do noodles. Yeah. Yeah. OK.
You going to get behind it?
I mean, I don't have any other choice, do I? No.
When you are your own boss,
it's really hard when someone else is telling you,
"No, let's do this," and you don't agree.
That is definitely a challenge for me.
Decisions made, now the teams must put them into action.
I've set up three prep kitchens for them
to devise their street food menus.
Tomorrow, they'll be selling to the public from the beach below.
Here is our kitchen. Where we're going to make the magic.
Look at that. That looks all nice and shiny.
This is actually good!
Do you recognise what this stuff is, Amit? Yeah.
Jamie. Oh, brilliant.
Oh, hello, hello, hello.
A proper kitchen. Yeah, I'm at home now.
Right, guys, come over. Oh, hello. Hi!
Line up over here.
Right.
I've sourced some of the best fish, meat, vegetables
that Cornwall has to offer.
Amazing.
Here's the good news.
- Each team, you've all got £600... - Wow!
..to spend on your ingredients. OK.
Is that clear? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Good luck. Off you go.
Let's go. Thank you. Let's do it.
OK, what would go with cheese...?
This challenge is all about understanding what sells...
So you want a vegetarian option, a meat option.
..and then creating the most appealing menu.
Chicken wings could be the side. Yeah, absolutely.
But they'll need to be smart with their budget,
as any money spent will be taken out of their profits.
I'm happy to take control of the numbers
because I've got a background in accounting and finance. Yeah.
So if we're looking at chicken, then what's our second option?
Bavette steak, I think we go with... You want to go chicken and steak?
I... Well, it's a quicker cooking time.
But do we want to do the things that everyone always have?
We are in the seaside. Why would you go for meat?
We are in Cornwall. We need to use some fish.
Yeah. Monkfish is an option. It's incredible.
I really want to do fish
because it's definitely one of my biggest friends.
We are in the seaside, so fish has to be a must.
What are we thinking? Monkfish and chicken as our two main options.
We're going to do tacos. Yeah.
Monkfish, you don't really see in a taco that often,
so that's a tough one to execute.
The Red Team is going down the taco route, which is a smart move.
They're very popular in this neck of the woods.
My one worry is the monkfish.
That is a very difficult fish to get right.
We're going to agree with the scallops? Yeah. Yes.
And the mushroom.
Those mushrooms are amazing.
On the Blue Team, vegan chef Valentina
is eyeing up pricey mushrooms for her main.
But we know they're expensive.
Just because it's vegan, it doesn't mean that has to be cheap.
Right, where we going? What's the ideas?
We're going to have noodles, one served with scallops
and one served with mushroom.
So everybody on board with this? Did we all have an input? Yeah.
I'm going to be on the money, so I'm looking at the financials. Good.
So I'm making sure that we're... Play to your strengths.
Right. Good luck. Thank you. Thank you. Cheers.
We've got Cornish Yarg, which is like a Cheddar.
On the Green Team, taking the lead with her toastie idea, Steph.
So we're doing cheese toasties with mushrooms... Uh-huh.
..a plain toastie and a bacon toastie. Yeah.
And then the side is mac and cheese with lobster. Yeah.
I don't think the toastie thing's going to work...
OK, it's too late now. We're sticking with what we got now.
We've got cheese this, cheese toastie here, cheese toastie...
They just sound boring. It's not, mate. Seriously...
Lamb mince, we can just make little meatballs, we can spice them.
You just need to listen because we have agreed it. Yeah.
We've got a knockout thing.
If we just press believe,
and we'll go cheese toasties. Mm. Yeah.
Right. You don't look very happy. What's wrong?
We've got a little bit of conflict in the team.
Conflict? Why conflict?
They just want to do cheese toasties. They... OK...
Hold on. Are you part of this team?
Of course. I'm 100% part of the team. Girls, have you taken him out?
No. No. We want him in. He's our chef. We need him.
I just think we should be picking some of that fish
and some of the lovely produce that we're able to use
and play to my strengths. You lot said, OK...
I'll leave you guys to sort it out. OK. Thank you.
The Green Team, you know,
they can absolutely make a fortune with those toasties here, but
it doesn't feel like they're on the same page.
Now, you've got a chef at the helm, Amit, that's
not even in love with what he's executing,
so they've got to come together as a team.
Let's go.
You sure you don't want to get some chicken and some minced lamb?
No, please, Amit! Huh? Please.
I've given the teams two hours
to create sample dishes from their menus.
I then want to taste what they're planning to offer
on their food shacks tomorrow.
In the kitchen it's very important to have someone in charge.
And I think, yeah, I really trust you on that. OK. Yeah.
I trust you on that as well. OK, good. Yeah.
It's totally fine with me.
I want to be head chef all the time. Yeah.
Let's just get these floured so they're ready.
Valentina, do you want me to start slicing mushrooms?
Yeah, that'd be great.
As Valentina preps her vegan main...
Just this in half? Yes. Yeah.
..Victoria has had a chance to crunch the numbers.
Valentina, the specialist mushrooms are really expensive.
It's a profit task.
I really think we should use the other mushrooms
and change it. No, I disagree.
I mean, Valentina, to be completely honest with you,
how many people are going to buy a vegan dish?
We use the mushrooms that are less expensive.
Come on, it's a no-brainer.
Why are we choosing specialist mushrooms in a vegan dish?
Because it has to please everyone,
not just the vegans. Can I make the decision?
As you have put me responsible for financing...
I haven't put you responsible in finance.
I don't even want you to be responsible for finance.
Well, I've put myself in the position of finance.
We haven't done the order yet. I run a restaurant.
I know how to price and do margin with food.
OK. Right, let's look at this from...
Let's look at this from a practical point of view.
Can we...can we try with both?
Ah, da-da-da-da.
Valentina is very strong on what she wants to do,
and if she's decided that she wants it and you disagree,
you're enemy number one.
Come on, now. Play nice. No, I won't.
You're going to stop it now. No, I won't.
Because... No, you are going to stop because this is not OK.
I'm not even engaging with you.
Well, you're going to have to cos we're working in a team.
Come on...
I just want her to shut up. I'm not going to shut up.
You can't tell me to be quiet. I have to talk. Stay away.
I don't want you any close to my face. Move. Come on.
It's pathetic. Let's just get on with this.
I'm furious. Can you not see it?
You see it, yeah? I'm furious.
She didn't even weigh them
so she has no base to say that that is too expensive.
OK. Asher, you want to push down on that chicken,
get it really cooked.
With Leah in charge...
I want that to start to look a little bit more like that.
Sounds good.
..cooking is well under way for the Red Team and their tacos.
I love to, like, delegate.
"You do this, you do this, you do this."
It's almost like my superpower.
I'm not being too bossy, am I? Am I being too bossy?
Go for it, girl.
THEY LAUGH
So we're called Toast Of The Town.
Toast Of The Town. When did you lot decide the name?
I literally just wrote it on this board. OK, I'll give you that.
The name's not bad.
On the Green Team, head chef Amit is rustling up
an Asian inspired bacon chutney.
I'm just going to do my thing now.
Would I have loved to do many different things? Yes.
But hey-ho, we'll get there.
Oh, look at that cheese. Oh! It's fantastic. Oh, nice.
Do we have a team effort going on now? We do. Yes. Yeah?
We're over that. We're over that now.
OK, how long before we can taste a toastie?
We should have to ready in about ten minutes. Ten.
Great. Looking forward to it.
Ah!
Before I get to taste the team's menus,
I've arranged to meet up with a couple of young guys
who have cooked up a storm in Cornwall's street food scene.
A few years ago, Blaise and Robbie teamed up with four other friends.
Calling themselves the Taco Boys,
they became a street food phenomenon,
serving Mexican inspired food with a high-end twist.
I remember when I first met you guys.
I'm off for a run early in the morning
and I see this massive queue on the beach.
I'm like, "Damn, there's been an accident."
And then I could smell this food,
and there was this tiny shack with a 150-metre queue.
Mm-hm.
What do you think it was that made you stand out?
We were trying to bring fine dining to the people.
We all come from a fine dining background,
and we felt the rest of the competition in that area in particular
was very much flipping burgers.
Just putting some of those fine dining processes into the elements.
It made it so much better.
I've asked the boys to come along to the beach tomorrow
to give me some of their expert feedback on the teams' shacks.
What advice would you give my lot tomorrow?
Communication. Yeah. Teamwork.
You may not like someone in that specific moment,
but you have to work together.
Can't wait to get your feedback.
I can't wait to dig into this thing
because the breakfast... Look at that thing.
I mean, honestly, seriously.
Quick question. Does that hair come with the hat?
It's getting a bit urgent now.
We need more kick. We need more spice.
Back in the prep kitchen... More heat! Bring on the heat!
It's time for me to sample what the teams will be serving tomorrow.
OK. We have got one minute.
First up, the Red Team.
Got the monkfish almost ready.
Do you want to put more paprika on it? No, not paprika...
OK, he's coming. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming.
Go, go, go, go, go.
I should have actually tasted it.
Oh!
Love the colours. Bright, enthusiastic.
Right, monkfish. Who cooked the monkfish? I did.
I cured it with lime and then I cook at high heat.
The actual monkfish is cooked nicely. Yeah.
But there's hardly any monkfish. One tiny little slice.
What's this one? Cajun chicken with a mango and lime sauce.
Bit of chilli in there. Mm-hm.
So that is way too hot.
Those spices are absolutely obliterating everything.
Have you all tasted this? Not yet.
You shouldn't be giving me food that you haven't tasted. Right?
And that there, that's paprika.
SHE LAUGHS Yeah...
I'm not laughing. Who put that on there? I did.
Yeah, you won't eat that raw.
I'm underwhelmed.
I love the idea of the tacos.
I think they'll fly on the beach. They need refining.
Come on, get it together. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We still have time to fix things.
The Red Team, they're not even tasting what they're doing.
How can you sell an amazing taco to customers
when you haven't even tasted it yourself?
That's basic stuff.
I just don't want to let them down.
I don't want it to be my fault that...
..we lose.
I always cry.
Next up... Oh, my God. ..is the Green Team.
Toast Of The Town. Fingers crossed.
Lead me through it.
This is the plain toastie, which is the Yarg, the local cheese.
Have you all tasted this? Yeah. Yes. Yes.
Love it. We're confident.
So that just tastes plain. The cheese is not even melted in that.
What's the secret of a good toastie?
Melted cheese. Melting the cheese.
OK, what's this one?
So this is the bacon chutney.
That tastes nice.
Does taste good, that one. Yeah. We're proud of that one.
What price are we thinking? £8 for those two.
£8 each? £8. OK.
So we're going to have an outcry
and we'll all be banned from Cornwall if we charge £8 for that.
It's all about the execution now.
Make sure it's the best fucking toastie tomorrow in Cornwall.
I'm serious. Yes? Thank you. Thanks, Chef. Thank you.
OK. Well, the bacon jam was an absolute success. Yes. Yeah, yeah.
We've just got to pull it together.
Chicken's done, I reckon, Jamie.
My final tasting is with the Blue Team.
Very salty. Chicken is, yeah, it's too much.
Right, let's start off... Let's start from the top.
What's this? This is our salt and pepper chicken wings.
It's overseasoned, we know that.
So you've overseasoned it and you know that.
Yeah, that's... Yeah. They're a bit too salty. Right.
I was half panicking and I just went...
Popped it in.
Holy fuck. Massive...
Yeah, yeah.
Like, literally, I was like, "Fuck." Shit.
Jesus Christ. I know, yeah.
The saltiness on there is insane. Ridiculous, off the charts.
You've just sunk your shack.
LAUGHTER
All jokes apart, that is inedible, right. Next dish?
The noodles have been done with premium mushroom.
The actual mushrooms taste nice. Really nice. Thank you.
Just make sure they're cooked,
cos inside they can taste spongy if they're not cooked.
We've got one more dish for you to try, which is these mushrooms,
so we're deciding whether to go for these ones or...
These are more expensive ones.
I would like to use this because they're better quality,
they're local produce. I mean, I'm open to...
I can't do the challenge for you.
You have to adjust in terms of where you use those mushrooms.
And be smart. OK.
Definitely, yeah. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thanks a lot. Cheers. Man...
Tomorrow, when we have got people in front of us,
we cannot have any of this attitude.
When it happens, you ignore it and then you walk away.
Yeah, that's it.
Last job of the day, the teams have to put in
their final orders for ingredients.
How much are the mushrooms?
So you've got a minimum order quantity of 20. It's £100.
I think putting those mushrooms in there,
we shoot ourselves in the foot.
But still do a vegan option with the other mushrooms.
Yeah. We need to win this. OK, perfect.
I knew that I was going to have some problem because I'm a character.
Of course, there's going to be a clash.
But I didn't quite envision it quite as soon as now.
So I'm a little bit worried
because I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow.
Did you do the chilli? Chilli flakes.
Then we've got the Yarg.
Tomorrow, as long as we're organised,
we know exactly what we're doing.
When that money starts rolling in, which it's going to do,
we are going to be absolutely happy.
Big day tomorrow. Yeah. Don't forget...
Tensions are running high at the moment cos we all want the win.
We all know that someone's going home and so
I don't want the fear to get the better of us.
Here we go.
Oh, my God, this is where I'm doing my magic!
11am. Look at this!
I've given the teams an hour to prep their food
and get their shacks ready... That's a lot of work.
..before they open to a beach full of hungry paying customers.
Come on, then, guys. We better get started.
If the teams get it right today, they could turn a healthy profit.
Ah!
Get it wrong, and for one person in the losing team,
it could be the end of the line.
So let's just sort out who's going to do what.
The teams will need to be organised and efficient
if they're going to be ready in time.
I need to really get cracking with the bacon.
Of course. You've got to get bacon on. Yeah.
I'm doing the cheese sauce.
I'm going to be serving customers, reeling them in,
taking their orders.
And I'm going to be stood on the grill, making the cheeses.
I want to run this like a military operation.
I'm in charge.
Amit's a great chef.
He's doing a good job as head chef,
but ultimately the running of that stall is on me.
Let's get the jam off there and get it clean.
Yeah. Oh, smell that bacon.
I think a kitchen, to work, needs a leader,
and I think that Jamie is the best person to do that.
I'm taking that. Right, let's go. Let's go. All right.
Gordon spitting out my food yesterday
was an absolute nightmare.
But I know what I did wrong, anyway, so today we'll absolutely smash it.
Gordon said that we need to come together as a team today.
He picked up on a bit of tension that was happening yesterday.
It's stressful. It's a stressful thing we're doing.
But I think if we just keep focused today, we'll do it.
The problems I had with Victoria yesterday, they still remain.
It's not that they disappeared,
but it's not about me and her.
It's about the team and not silly stuff.
Touch them like...like you love them, you know,
like you're giving a massage to someone you love.
VICTORIA LAUGHS
It's true!
I think I'm not strong enough to cut the corn.
I think everyone on the team is frantic,
maybe a little bit all over the place,
but trying to keep it cool.
Whoa! Oh, shit! Oh...
Well, yeah. Calm down. We've still got some mango left. Ah!
Bola? Yeah? Shall we do a lighter dressing, then, and make it hotter?
Leah, what do you think?
I've stopped thinking. OK.
Leah was the lead in the kitchen yesterday,
has then taken more of a backseat now.
There's not enough clarity at the moment
in terms of what people are doing, which I'm a bit nervous about.
I can't do it.
There's too much to do.
It's nearly lunchtime...
I'm not sure we've got enough coleslaw.
..and before the first customers start to arrive,
I want to check in on the teams.
Toast Of The Town, how are we feeling?
Good, Gordon. We're good? Yeah.
Any adjustments to yesterday? Yes. Yeah.
We sliced the bread slightly thick
so people feel like they're getting a good deal. Got you.
What's the pick up time executing at? Three to four minutes.
Good. So stay front of those, OK? Yeah.
Don't get that queue too long. Yeah. OK. Good luck.
Oh, my God, people are starting to arrive, guys!
Mayday, Mayday!
Dear, dear. My sweet Jesus.
OK, how are we feeling? Good. Yeah?
Good, smells good. For me, yesterday, slightly fragmented.
We're together. We've worked well as a team today. We're together.
I'm not asking you to be best mates. No. No.
They come here to have a good time, not to see us fighting, so, you know...
Trust me. Yes. Get serious and sell, sell, sell.
Remember. Good luck. Thank you, Gordon.
Oh, my God, I need to pick up the pace.
Right, how are we doing? Are you guys going to be ready?
Yes. Yes. Yeah.
It's all about the prep at the moment. It's all about assembly.
But that beach is packed. Yeah. Yeah?
And...there's nothing on here. I'm doing it now.
Where's the pen? Oh, it's there.
Let's go.
OK, guys, it's crunch time now.
We've literally got about five minutes. Let's go.
Can we do one practice run with me doing it...? No.
We're here now. This is it.
How many sandwiches have we got?
We've got enough for about 100.
It's starting to feel like we need 200.
We're not clear on who's doing what.
Can we try to mix things up?
With only minutes left to open,
a last-minute change for the Red Team.
I can serve. Yeah?
Leah is going to be doing the final touch
and then Bola's going to take care of the fish.
So who's doing the sides, then?
It's suddenly changed positions
as to who's going to be working on what,
and I'm quite surprised at that,
considering how passionate Vincenzo was about the monkfish,
that he's now putting that on Bola.
I'm going to try to stay on top of it.
But, yeah, bear with me. OK, we're ready.
Come on, get your cheese toasties, folks!
Midday, and the team shacks open to the public.
They've got three hours to make as much profit as they can.
Hi, folks.
Can I get a Yarg cheese toastie, please? Yes, you can.
Yarg cheese toastie, first order!
So what do you fancy?
Bacon toastie.
Three Yarg toasties.
Three of the bacon toasties.
Cheese toastie. Pop it in.
Hang on. It's not ready yet.
What can I get you?
They need to keep on top of their orders...
Oh, good choice.
Where are you going? This way.
This is the right line.
..deliver food quickly...
Once chicken, one mushrooms, one scallops.
We've got two chicken wings.
Enjoy!
..whilst making sure it's cooked to perfection.
Can we get five monkfish tacos, please? Of course you can.
And I'm so happy because the monkfish was the product
I decided to have, so I'm so glad you're excited to have it.
Come on.
Bola, have you ever cooked monkfish before? Never.
This is new for me.
That's still raw.
It's just not getting hot.
We'll have two of the monkfish. Sure.
I was so happy with your order cos the fish was my preparation.
How are we doing with the fish?
It's taking its time to cook.
I'm really disappointed in Vincenzo,
who said he was so confident in the monkfish.
If I was backing something that much,
I'd have stayed till the very end.
I don't want to overhear him saying to customers,
"I'm really pleased that you picked that because that was my choice."
I'm so happy you're going for the fish,
cos that was my decision of using the monkfish.
I just think it's utter bollocks, to be honest.
We've got one combo chicken.
We want one watermelon, one corn...
Vincenzo? Yeah? I thought you were doing the monkfish this morning.
Yeah, I did the preparation and then...
So I've been cooking the monkfish.
Have you cooked monkfish before?
No, but I put myself out to do anything that needs to be done.
Why aren't you owning your monkfish? Why Bola?
Bola doesn't know to cook monkfish.
Because I wanted to be here and help the customers.
Leah. Yeah? We OK? Yeah.
Remember, the essence of this is teamwork. Yeah. Yeah?
Teamwork, teamwork.
Hey, how are you?
Man, it's like headless chickens.
Mid-service, and it's time for me to deploy my secret shoppers...
Hello!
..the Taco Boys.
Can I get the bacon chutney
and the mac and cheese as well, please?
The first port of call is the Green Team.
They're just coming. Cheese toastie! Oh, there you are. Woo!
So we're running about ten minutes, if that's OK. That's cool.
We'll shout your number when you're ready. Is that all right? Sounds good. Thank you so much.
Right, two more cheese.
I need a cheese and I need a bacon. Get me some bacon now.
Right, you've got people waiting.
Sorry, folks. I wish you weren't waiting so long.
That's nice. That's melted. That's good to go.
How much more do you want to melt that?
I'm not selling an undercooked toastie.
I've been waiting for about 20 minutes so far.
As the backlog continues to build,
I want to find out if Robbie and Blaise think the toasties
are worth the wait.
How was that?
The food, I think, could have been cooked a lot better,
especially when you're doing something as simple as toasties.
I couldn't taste any truffle in the mushroom toastie.
We were really keen to try out the asparagus,
but they just didn't serve us that part of the order.
So you ordered it, but you didn't get it? Didn't get it. Yeah.
Sorry to keep you waiting, sir.
I love vegans! Any vegans? Any vegan people?
She's a vegan, if you didn't realise. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
The next shack I want them to check in on...
What do you fancy? ..is the Blue Team.
I fancy trying the tempura mushroom.
Yeah, I'll go...I'll go scallops, please.
Scallops. Do you fancy some chicken wings to share, as well? Yeah.
Blue Team, what did you think?
So the noodles were a little bit stodgy
with, like, a load of things kind of thrown on top.
Scallops were good, though.
I think it's a good choice, it's local produce.
Did they seem on the same page as a team?
Yeah. Everyone had a set role and they were communicating.
Their sections were clean.
They were quite, you know, happy in their roles. Good.
Last shack for Robbie and Blaise...
Fuck's sake. Ash, you need to tidy up that area. Yeah.
..is the Red Team.
One fish, one chicken and a side of the watermelon, please.
Guys, can we please have two fish, two chicken, one watermelon?
If you can just please wait on the side,
we'll serve you the food as soon as it's ready. Perfect.
What's the next order?
It was, yeah.
Can you throw on the floor whatever we don't need?
OK, now I don't know what I'm doing.
The Red Team. How was that?
The whole team, when we were being served,
didn't seem to know what was going on.
Everyone had a very messy section.
So we had chicken and a monkfish?
It was the same taco each time, just a different protein,
and then a dollop of pineapple on top. It felt lazy.
If I can't trust that you're going to work clean
and provide me with a good food, then why would I buy from you again?
Having you both here today, unbeknown to them,
has been a big advantage for me.
Continued success. Thank you so much. Thank you so much.
Safe trip back. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Take care, guys.
What's my next toastie?
Anybody 26?
Lunch is in full swing...
Is anybody 26?
..but not everyone has had their food.
We're now giving them 40 minutes to wait.
That's what we're telling them when they're ordering, basically.
I think people have been waiting so long,
they've gone somewhere else. Yeah, 26 has gone.
So we've been waiting for an hour.
OK, just give me three minutes. I'm on it. OK?
Right, how are we? We're just about holding it together.
What do you mean, just about holding it together?
How long are the customers waiting?
So we're advising them 30 to 40 minutes at the moment.
But it's a toastie. Yeah.
Get some pans on, nonstick pans on there,
and just try and speed that up. No-one's going to wait 40...
What you're going to end up doing is actually losing customers.
They'll go further down there.
Unbelievable.
40 minutes for a fucking toastie. Are you kidding me?
Right, folks.
I'm going to stop serving. We need to get caught up.
Get your own ticket and get on with it.
I cannot take money off people without getting the orders out.
If the Green Team don't tackle their backlog of orders,
they may have to issue refunds to their customers...
Two scallops, two mushrooms? Two of each.
Two of each! Let's go wild, yeah?
..which can also happen if supplies run out.
It looks like we're running a bit low on the noodles.
Have we got some more? I don't think so. Mate...
No. No?
We needed to keep an eye on fucking how much noodles we've got.
Don't have noodles. Oh, fuck.
You should have... Oh, man.
OK, it's fine. Guys... It's not. It's not. It's not.
I know it's not OK. I know... It's not OK. Those things happen, though.
If we keep taking orders... Yeah. ..and we've not got the food,
there's no fucking point, is there?
I'm actually going to refund you
the £9 for the mushrooms, OK? Okey-dokey.
Right, we're ending on a low here, aren't we?
While the Blue Team have ground to a halt...
Look at all that monkfish.
..the Red Team have a load of stock still to shift.
Can we give the fish a discount? Yeah. Yeah? Yeah.
Can we do £4? Yeah.
Last orders, get your orders in.
Come and get you cheese toasties while they last.
This challenge is based solely on profit...
£5 toasties!
..and with lunch drawing to a close, one final push for sales.
Last orders!
We've got loads and loads of veg here.
Loads and loads. Offer it without the noodles,
just stir fried veg.
We've got one minute. Come on!
Monkfish tacos! Come on!
Yes!
And station is closed.
Oh!
Oh, that was horrible.
God, I'm, like, broken right now.
Are you OK? You just look like you're in a bad mood.
I was surprised how long the monkfish took to cook.
The teams have done everything they can.
We had to do that refund at the end,
but we just don't know how well they've done. Yeah.
It's fascinating, watching those teams work together
for the first time.
Each shack had their ups and downs,
but it's all about the figures.
Tomorrow, they'll meet me in London and I'll reveal the results.
INDISTINCT CONVERSATION
Right.
That was a busy few days.
How are we all feeling?
Yeah. Good. Yeah, good.
Now, at the start of the week, I got you all to jump off a cliff.
Yeah.
That, for me, was a great test of character
because I wanted to see how all of you reacted under pressure.
And that is what this whole process is about.
So let's talk about the food challenge, shall we, on the beach?
Yes. Yes.
Blue Team. Jamie, Valentina, Matthew and Victoria.
What I saw on day one was an absolute bloody disaster.
Yeah, it was. Arguing. Yeah. Yeah.
Slow to make decisions.
It was embarrassing on day one.
What happened?
Well, first of all, we don't know each other,
so we never worked together.
Guys, I said to you from day one,
shine as individuals, stand out as a team.
You don't need to like everybody you work with,
but you do need to get on.
Right, Red Team. Bola, Asher, Vincenzo and Leah.
Tacos on the beach.
On the prep day, Leah, you took control. Yes.
Right. Good leadership? Yes. Yeah.
Now, on the big day, when I turned up before we opened,
you hadn't even written out on your board what you were selling.
Who was in charge then?
Because, Leah, that wasn't you, was it?
You handed the reins to Vincenzo.
What happened?
Um... I think when we realised people were about to come,
we were a bit confused on who was going to do what.
Let me stop you there. In business, you've got to be ready.
If you're not ready, you get swallowed up. So just own it.
You fell behind. Yeah.
Right, Green Team. Steph, Michelle, Jen and Amit.
Day two, opening of the shack.
Listen, I'm not going to lie, guys. There were some long waits.
40 minutes for a toastie. We did get that back to 20 minutes.
I could have gone to fucking Tesco's,
bought my own fucking Breville toaster,
come back within 40 minutes and made one there and then.
And I think you missed out on prolific business... I agree.
..due to the lack of execution
and not being thought out properly. Yeah.
I felt there was no team dynamic.
GORDON SIGHS
OK. Time to reveal the results.
The team that has made the most profit wins.
It's as simple as that.
One team ended up with a impressive profit...
..of £754.40.
The winners this week are...
..the Blue Team.
THEY CHEER
Well done, guys! Fantastic, well done.
Well done. Well done. Well done, well done. Well done. Yeah.
Well done. Well done.
Those bloody noodles won it.
LAUGHTER
On the prep day, you were a shambles.
All over the place. Absolutely.
On the selling day, it was a total 180. It was.
You were in sync, you were efficient,
and clearly, the customers loved your food.
Well done. Thank you. Thank you. Seriously. Thank you very much.
So it's now between the Red Team and the Green Team.
Red Team,
you took a profit of £391.
Green Team,
you spent the most of all teams on ingredients.
I said from the get-go,
"Guys, we shouldn't be spending more than 300."
Psst, you're two days too late. I know.
LAUGHTER
OK?
You spent £500.40,
but you did make good sales,
and the profit across those sales was...
..£454.60.
Which means the losing team are the Red Team...
..by about 60 quid.
That is just ten tacos.
Gutted. Absolutely gutted. That's it. Yeah.
So, sadly, someone in your team will be leaving tonight.
But before I decide who that is,
I want to give you a chance to explain yourselves.
I want to grill you one on one about your performance.
I'll see you in the restaurant.
Ugh. Pff.
Ten tacos short is ringing in my ears.
Ten...ten tacos.
It hurts.
I think we lost because everybody really wanted to shine,
but lost sight of what it was all about.
It's a nerve-racking experience
to be thinking about being grilled by Gordon. But I feel like
I've tried to do enough this week to justify my place
in this competition.
I knew we didn't do well.
Um, I felt it.
Right now, the only thing I want to do
is to be right in front of Gordon and prove him,
I'm the right person to stay in this process.
Sit down, please, Asher. Thank you, Gordon.
Hi, Bola. Hi, Gordon.
Hi again, Gordon.
Please take a seat.
Time to catch up properly, just you and I. Yeah.
Right, Asher, could you see things going wrong over those two days?
I was critiquing doing the monkfish tacos.
I felt that we should have gone for sirloin steak tacos,
so we could be really quick when cooking everything,
getting it out as hot as possible.
And I should have stuck with my guns at the very beginning
and pushed... Absolutely right. So why didn't you?
That's the bit I need to understand.
Because I wanted to be maybe the nice guy to other people
and support them.
If you can't get three people standing alongside you in a shack
to listen to you, how are you going to make your business global?
Leah, day one looked good.
Strong, confident. Yeah, I know.
There was a sense that I was running the show.
I felt like maybe I was taking too much control,
and I also wanted to give other people an opportunity.
If you control the day before... I know. ..so well... Yeah.
..how do you expect it to run to perfection
with no leader at the helm? But why did I have to be the leader
on the first day and the second day?
But I couldn't... Because your team needed one.
OK. Vincenzo, you got so excited with that monkfish taco.
You said to me and to your team that you're going to make this
the best taco in Cornwall.
Come the big day... Yeah. ..you off-loaded that responsibility
to Bola. It was not an off-loading.
When we got to serving clients,
there was a missing leader.
I felt there was no-one who was willing to take a step
to say, "You go there, you go there."
So, I had two options -
either flipping fish and letting my team work
with no leaders, or I could step up.
I know my skills, and I know that selling
and being in front of clients were my skills.
You promised to propel that dish to the winning dish.
You conceptualised that. That was your idea.
You were the last person on Earth that I expected to see
running that window.
Have you ever cooked a monkfish before?
I haven't, but I'm quite confident with my cooking skills.
Why would you take that role
of a dish you've got no idea how to execute it?
Why would you put yourself on the chopping block?
I had to pick it up because, without me, nothing would have been done.
I took on board quite a bit more than I should have.
If I wasn't on that team, it would have fallen apart.
It did fall apart!
Unbeknown to you, I had two street-food phenomenons
secretly tasting all of your food,
and this was their opinion of your shack. OK.
"Messy kitchen, disorganised service,
"slow execution."
Oh. That is shocking.
I expect a better performance.
Sure. Yeah, I expected better, too.
Who's accountable? Yeah. Who dropped the ball? Yeah.
What let us down was we had a lot of fish underneath the stall
that we could have sold.
Vincenzo was meant to be cooking,
and I felt that he let that side of it down.
I gave to Leah every single possibility to shine.
She was not willing to take it.
There was a sense of panic.
I took control in that first day, but I'm not about to, like, start
mothering them and controlling them the second day.
In terms of the kitchen being messy,
I kept telling everyone that I couldn't work that way,
but others felt that that wasn't the most important thing.
I need to see confidence, passion,
delegation, and you stand by your convictions
if you are to continue in this competition.
What am I not seeing?
I really deserve to be here, and I want to prove to you,
every single week, that I am here, that I deserve my place
in this competition.
I'm going to make sure that I'm thinking quicker,
thinking smarter.
This was our big day to shine, and in future, I will be at my best
and give my best, whatever the task.
I see the way your business has taken off.
I see the way that you are comfortable
dealing with some very high-profile clients.
I was expecting a much bigger leader on the big day in that shack.
The leader in me did not shine.
The person who you saw in the last days,
it was a scared boy.
The person who is sitting on this table now
is a man hungry.
Head back to the lounge.
HE CLICKS HIS TONGUE
HE SIGHS
OK.
That was intense.
I've hand-picked all of you because you've got some of the best
food and drink ideas anywhere in Great Britain today.
And across every challenge, I need to see you stepping up.
I'm not here for excuses. Yes, chef.
I've made a decision.
It's been a tough one,
but I've got to go with my own instinct.
The person that I will not be investing in...
..d will be leaving tonight...
..is Vincenzo.
Oh! Oh, man.
Vincenzo, the fact that you already have a successful business
is a testament to you and your ambition.
But I'm sorry...
..we're done.
SIGHING
I had to let Vincenzo go, because, in business,
you need to put your strongest people in their strongest positions.
He did the opposite.
He created something, and then he dropped the ball.
You OK, yeah?
We were very close, and if we could have sold just a few more tacos,
I wouldn't be in this position.
HE MURMURS INDISTINCTLY
So, it was just a combination of silly things
that made this happen.
I'm just going to take it as a drive to do even better in my business.
I'm going to go home and feel even more motivated than I was before.
Next challenge, I'm going to be tougher,
make sure that my voice is heard,
and I'm going to show that I totally deserve my place here.
I'm gutted for Vincenzo,
but I never want to be in this position ever again.
It's...it's brutal.
I didn't know how much I wanted it until I sat opposite Gordon.
I'm on fire now.
So, next week, same time next week.
Next time, it's back to basics,
testing raw skills...
Oh, what do I know about fish?
..laying on a feast in the forest...
Festival!
We can't serve honey to vegans.
Oh, don't speak to me like a child.
You couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.
..and someone is heading home.
Disorganised, underprepared.
You let your team down.
Hi, guys, it's Gordon. Now do you have what it takes
to be my future food star and win my substantial investments?
Now, if you have a great business and the passion to succeed,
then please get in touch for Series Two at...
Good luck.