This programme contains strong language
I'm Gordon Ramsay, Michelin-starred chef and CEO of a global business empire.
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.
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.
Tonight...
First thing, sharpen your knife.
..it's all about raw skills...
What do I know about fish?
..as I send the contenders into the wild.
Argh! There's a dead animal on the floor.
Welcome to the Feastival!
It's raw, OK? Yeah, yeah.
You couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.
You were disorganised, underprepared.
You let your team down.
Who will be my future food star?
Hackney is amazing.
It's a fab place.
Hack-a-ney! Stop taking the piss out of me.
LAUGHTER
This week, I'm sending our contenders back to basics.
I've invited them to Hackney Wick, East London,
for their next big challenge.
Ready for another day in the office?
I'm ready for it. I just wish I knew what it was.
I'm so excited.
The contenders are meeting me at Forman & Son.
At over 115 years old,
this zero-waste business is the UK's oldest producer of smoked salmon.
Wow!
Oh, my God.
Smells beautiful, doesn't it?
I've never seen a salmon that big.
They actually look quite scary, really, don't they?
Hello!
Good morning.
Good morning!
Are we ready to go again?
Yes. Ready to go.
Here's your challenge.
Each of you have a salmon in front of your desk.
I want all of you to fillet into individual 200g portions.
You've got 30 minutes.
Anything you waste will be repurposed
but waste does mean profit down the drain.
OK, all of you, watch carefully, please.
I'm going to show you how I would like it done.
And trust me, I've filleted these things so many times,
I can almost do it with my eyes closed.
In fact, I'm going to.
What? No! Oh, wow!
Oh, my God. What?
First thing, sharpen your knife.
Oh!
Feel the gill and literally... slice through there.
Pull back, run through.
Turn the fish over, find that centre bone.
Let the knife do the work.
Come all the way down and just...
..come through.
Now, from there, this is the tricky part here.
Come all the way down the ribcage...
..carefully, without bursting it.
Once you've got through the ribcage,
you should feel the salmon coming away.
One side off.
From there, up to the top of the head.
Knife goes in.
Come through that ribcage and off.
Lift that up...
..and slice.
Second side done.
From there, 200g portions.
OK.
199.
If you cut it too big, you're wasting profit, OK?
Too small, they can't sell it.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 beautiful pieces of salmon,
around 200g per portion.
I'm going to show flexibility -
20g either way.
Your 30 minutes start...now.
Good luck. Let's go.
I don't want to be in the bottom.
I just want to prove that I deserve my place here,
so, please, hands, cut the fish right.
I'm nervous, cos obviously, I'm on the back foot now.
I got grilled last week, so I've got a lot to prove to Gordon.
This challenge isn't about who finishes first.
It's about precision, taking instruction and discipline -
three key factors in business.
Who's focused? Who's a quick learner?
It's a lot harder than he made it look.
You get one cut and that's it.
Nice and tidy everybody, yes?
Tidy, tidy, tidy.
That knife needs to be precise.
The minute we start hacking something,
there's something going wrong.
Are you all right? No, I'm struggling. I'm butchering this.
I'm Asher. I'm 28 years old.
I founded the business Rogue.
We're on a mission to ban boring breakfasts.
I'd say I'm probably naively confident
about where the business is and where it's going.
But either way, we're going to be successful.
Ash, what happened? I've just wasted so much salmon by accident.
Like... Damn. I just didn't get... I know. Damn, damn, damn.
Fuck, what do I do now?
I'm struggling to get it away from the bone. I'm getting a bit stuck.
I'm Jen.
I have a cocktail business called The Cocktail Pickers Club.
Cocktails ready to pour, straight from the bottle.
I would like to think that mainly Gordon will see my passion.
I don't always get everything right
but one thing about me is I never give up.
Make sure the salmon stays on the skin, not on the bone, OK?
Thank you.
SHE MOANS
This isn't how I want it to look.
So, that's nice and clean.
I can't stop shaking.
Don't worry, nothing to shake about it. You're doing a great job.
You've done this before, right? No, never.
Good job. First time touching a fish.
I'm Michelle.
I'm 45 years young and I have a fantastic...
..clootie dumpling business.
It's a wonderful Scottish fruit pudding.
It started from my granny's recipe and someone said,
"Why don't you do it as your business?" and I just went for it.
Some are doing really well.
Some are really struggling.
God's sake!
What do I know about fish?
Michelle started off really shaky but she's doing such a great job.
Jen is struggling massively.
Asher absolutely gashed his salmon.
I mean, literally cut the thing in half,
so I don't think he's going to pull this thing back.
Halfway, guys. 15 minutes gone, 15 minutes to go.
Minimal waste, guys.
Minimal waste, OK?
By now, you should start thinking about those 200g portions.
Salvage. 200g and they need to be edible, OK?
I've given a leeway of 20g either side.
Perfect!
At £4.50 a fillet, any bigger...
Oh, please, be right.
..or any smaller...
Oh, shit. What does that come in at?
179. 179? Yeah.
What a shame. 1g out.
..then that's wasted profit.
Fuck!
I got 200!
SHE CHUCKLES
On the nose!
Right, a couple of minutes left. Let's go.
Oh, this is actually perfect.
Yes, 197! Yes!
187, boom!
Just leave it. Right, everybody happy?
OK, please, all of you, take one step back from your station.
I'm so pissed off at myself.
We weren't looking for the fastest filleter.
It's about quality and no waste.
Right, time to see how you did.
With each salmon worth around £60...
Nice - 197, on the nose. Yeah, spot on.
..only saleable fillets will make the cut.
That is terrible. No, you couldn't serve that.
Now that they've taken it away to be weighed,
I'm like, "Oh, shit. What's going to happen?"
So much meat left on that bone. Tragic.
A lot of yield on that one.
It's salmon with a pair of lips.
HE LAUGHS
No. I mean, we wouldn't have a business
if we served salmon like that. No.
Oh, my gosh. I messed that one up, didn't I?
I just...
Cutting the portions...
Maybe I should've put the blindfold on them...
I thought you did!
..and they would've done a better job.
Having consulted with the experts,
I ranked the contenders from worst to best.
Right, let's get one thing clear -
that was not an easy challenge and I've just been quality checking
every ounce of your salmon.
In last place...
Oh, I know who you are. Thank you, Asher.
..with four fillets.
Within the first 30 seconds,
you hacked straight through that
and it literally left half the fillet on the carcass.
That pains me.
You wasted £45 worth of salmon.
I just had a nightmare from the beginning.
Then it just wasn't my day.
Sixth place - two, four, six, eight fillets...
..Jen.
My first couple of cuts went well, and then I lost my way
when I got to the spine and I just struggled to recover.
I gave you weighing scales for a reason, right?
You wasted £27 worth.
Not good enough.
Both Matthew and Steph are in fifth position with nine fillets.
Valentina is in fourth position with ten.
You could've gone all the way on this one
but there was a lot of waste because your portions were too small.
Bola, Victoria and Amit are in joint third with 11 fillets...
..leaving Jamie, Leah and Michelle all vying for first place.
We have two individuals here in joint second place with 13.
And we have one in first place with 14 portions.
So, the winner of this challenge...
..with zero waste whatsoever...
Wow. Wow.
..Michelle.
Your hands were shaking but you stayed composed.
It was better than good.
Well done.
Today, I was totally out of my comfort zone.
Never had a fish knife in my hand before
and certainly never filleted a fish.
I'm just annoyed at myself, like...
..I feel like I really let myself down.
Now, I have to smash the next challenge. I'm gutted.
That whole challenge was about listening.
Certainly not easy, but the majority of them managed
and did a really good job.
However, it comes down to that waste.
You don't want to be in business with someone
that's constantly wasting a lot of money.
That's not a good start.
Yesterday was all about testing the contenders' raw skills.
Now, I want to see their natural talents in the wild.
Oh, it's a little bar. It's a country bar.
Ooh! Welcome.
Welcome, welcome. Oh, wow.
Cheers, everyone. Yeah, cheers. Cheers, cheers, cheers, cheers.
Oh, gosh, I wonder what we'll be doing today.
I know, right?
I've asked the guys to meet me in this beautiful 90-acre woodlands
in the Chilterns.
Now, it may seem very calm right now.
I promise you, that's about to change.
Yo, check this.
Hello! Oh, my goodness me.
Oh, wow.
Always shows up in style.
- Good morning. - Morning!
How are we?
Good. Well, Gordon.
Welcome to the Chiltern Hills.
Now, for your next challenge, I've brought you all here
to embrace the great outdoors.
Tomorrow, all of you will be hosting the most amazing feast
for paying guests... Ooh!
..offering the highest level of hospitality.
Yeah. Wow.
You've got this amazing, beautiful backdrop.
Use it, OK?
Right, we'll be working in two teams.
OK.
Jen, Amit, Michelle, Valentina, Asher and Bola...
..you are the Red Team.
And clearly, the next team are...
..Leah, Jamie, Steph, Victoria and Matthew.
You are the Green Team.
OK.
Now, the team that receives the best feedback...
..wins.
I want these guests blown away. Understood?
Yes.
Get going.
Woo! Woohoo! Yes.
Deep in the middle of this beautiful woodland, 1km apart,
I've given each team a site to host their events
with a firepit and basic cooking equipment for a kitchen...
Has anyone made a fire before?
How are you going to actually...?
Like, how does that work?
..and the surrounding forest as their market.
What is all this? Is that rosemary?
Tomorrow, both teams will play host to 12 guests,
each paying £50 a head...
Welcome to supper. Yes!
..and their feedback on the three-course dining experiences
will help me decide the winning team.
This challenge is testing their creativity, their raw skills,
but more importantly, their imagination.
The decorations, the whole theme.
I want them to create a true feast of the senses
and absolutely wow each and every guest.
EXCITED SHRIEKING
Half the team will be creating the dishes,
while the other half will be in charge of the guest experience.
The teams will need to get cracking,
as I'll be returning in a few hours for a sample taster of their events.
I'm not about to sit here and sugar-coat what we're about to do.
Putting on a dinner for 12 people is going to be stressful.
We need to be able to deliver a fantastic level of service
and it needs to be show-stopping.
And when we bring home the prize, we will be humble.
Yes, boss. So, let's pick the style first.
You have cones, you have bark and foliage and...
A hunting lodge.
Look at its rustic wilderness. Yeah.
We're out here.
We're going to have a fire.
Matthew's being, like, Team Leader and it's going to be challenging
because usually I'm in control of everything.
I think in terms of the Kitchen Team - Steph, Victoria, Jamie. Yes.
And then, in the guest-facing team, myself and Leah. OK.
I am a qualified party planner, believe it or not.
I did an events management degree.
I can't fuck this one up, really.
Let's just put it that way.
We have got to show we're a team.
Is everybody 100%?
Because one thing we have got to bring into this is energy,
positivity. Is everybody on board?
Yes. Yes, and is everyone happy with their roles?
So, in the kitchen is going to be me, Michelle...
And Amit. Love it. And in the Guest Team... In the Guest Team...
..will be Jen... Myself. ..Asher, I think you'll be brilliant.
And you could bring some glam to our front of house. I like that.
I don't always think of myself as a natural leader
but I do feel that, in this, we need a calm leader
cos we've got some strong characters.
Right, so, style-wise,
does anyone have ideas on what they want to do there?
Well, I think it's summertime, it's really hot,
the weather's been fabulous,
so we should definitely have a menu and a theme
that is kind of like mirrored there.
I'm personally a big fan of the summer vibe.
Let's go with the summer theme, then.
People are spending £50 each, so we'd better deliver.
Let's go!
The teams must now divide and conquer.
Wow! Look at the veggies.
For the Kitchen Team, devise a menu from locally sourced ingredients...
Look at the trout!
HE GROANS
..while the Guest Team head off to forage the woodland
for wild ingredients.
Oh! Woo!
Awesome. What an amazing find.
What are we getting? Fir tips. Fir tips? Fir tips.
Fir tips!
Leah, I think I've found it. All right.
I don't know if this is it, you know.
What would happen, if you ate it?
It's a nerve toxin.
It's deadly poisonous.
Let's get elderflower. Yes.
This is what wood sorrel looks like.
Oh, there it is! Well spotted!
It's got a sharpness to it.
It could be nice in a drink.
What are you guys thinking in terms of our main?
Venison. Yeah, I like venison.
Red wine jus, celeriac mash. Beautiful.
And a dessert...
Boozy berries with pancakes.
Yeah.
There's elderflower, there. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Do you want to get that one
and I'm going to jump up here and get this one?
SHE SHRIEKS
There's a dead animal on the floor.
There is a dead animal. Oh, I can smell the... Urgh! Come on.
Oh, mother-crusher.
I'm swaying a little bit more to the rabbit.
I think once that's put on the fire,
that would just be... I would've thought tripe cos it was lighter.
I think rabbit makes sense to me.
I've never cooked with rabbit before,
but I like throwing myself in a challenge.
I've got the recipe and the spice blend in my mind,
so I've got no doubt that it's going to be exceptional.
So, we're going to have one main for the meat eaters,
one main for the vegans.
Grilled fennel as a starter,
and then you have three salads to share and a pudding.
It's started to sound like it's quite a lot.
It has to fit in a time...
That's what I'm always concerned about.
It's 50 quid a head and it's a feast.
So, obviously, you have got quite a bit going on there.
There is some concern.
It's a feast. I'm going to show those guys
that we can make all the food in whatever time we've got available
and it's going to be beautiful.
Woo. Woo! You make it look easy.
Nice. Yes! Wow.
With the cooking under way...
The venison's on.
..for Matthew and Leah, a chance to create canapes
from their foraged elderflower and nettles.
It is a perfect canape.
Mmm... Take time.
Mmm... You're itching, aren't you?
You're itching to say, "That's fucking wrong!"
Yeah, I don't like it.
I don't like that.
Well, then...
..what do you think?
Basically, things need to work in threes.
All this elderflower on top.
Yeah. We've got 45 minutes to service. Clear this.
My job is to make...
..things look pretty.
Our canape is going to be like a pepper gazpacho soup.
We don't even have to chop it that finely,
we can just get the ends off. OK.
Over on the red site,
as the Guest Team put their foraged ingredients to use...
We could do with, like, a little glass shot glass.
..the Kitchen Team are still developing their menu.
One of the salad is on, it's nearly done.
So, this was chicory. Chicory, apricots, nuts and onion? Yeah.
Lovely. What are you doing, Amit?
We're running out of time.
Oh, here they come.
Ciao! It would be nice for us to have a fresh idea of everything
that's happening and then have it plated.
You will need to wait until the very last.
You have to wait at the end
and then I'll tell you everything that is in each dish.
I'm a little bit concerned.
I don't want things to be disjointed.
If Gordon asks us, we've got no idea.
We've got to be a team. We've got to pull this together.
Guys, we need to get on with this because... We need a bit of time.
..we don't get there, there is nothing to...to try.
Yeah, that's fine. We're just trying to pull together as a team.
We need to know. Yeah, but it's not helping.
They need to tell us exactly what's in the meal.
I'm going to be front of house, speaking with guests.
I need to know what's going on!
SHE SIGHS
Incredible.
It's now time for the teams to give me a rehearsal of tomorrow's feast.
First up, the Green Team.
It looks tender.
Right, Matthew, I'm the guest. I want a...
..I want a little run-through.
Good evening. Good afternoon and welcome.
Hold on, already, I'm confu... "Good evening, good afternoon."
You're fucking backwards. Sorry. Now, what time is it?
Well, it's going to be four o'clock
when we serve our guests... Yeah, so it's...? ..so, good afternoon.
Exactly. Right, Matthew, welcome me back again.
Good evening and welcome to...
Oh, my God. Midday - "good evening". Oh, fuck, fuck.
Daylight in the woodlands - "good evening". Holy shit.
Good afternoon, Gordon, and welcome to our feast in the forest.
Thank you so much. Wow. After you, sir.
- Good afternoon. - Hello.
Nice to see you. It's hot here, isn't it? It's beautiful.
What's the theme going on?
We really want you to be taken back to the medieval days.
No. It's not medieval. No? OK, no. No. Cut.
Don't say medieval and it's not Viking, OK?
What theme are we going for?
Feast in the forest. Yes.
We've got some fantastic canapes to start with -
chicory leaf with, erm...
..stilton. It's got, um...
Pine nuts. ..pine nuts and...
Pea shoots. ..pea shoots.
Sorry. Do you know what's going on?
I do, I do know what's going on.
Gordon, I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
No, I'm just trying to...
Cos it's like you've got somebody with their hand up your back.
I'm very sorry.
First impressions, we need to be way more relaxed.
You're scaring the shit out of me.
Starter, what is that?
So, this is a yellow courgette with some roasted tomatoes.
That's really tasty.
It's attractive. It makes me feel like I'm in summer.
A touch more seasoning on there, OK? Mm-hm.
Main course, what have we got?
Venison and we have also got a celeriac puree to go underneath it,
and then, sorry, a lovely red wine jus with that as well.
A red wine jus in the middle of the forest. Yes.
So, on the outside, that venison's cooked beautifully.
In the middle, it's raw. Right, OK.
It needs to be seared, and then, it needs to be turned and basted,
and just try to stay away from coulis and purees.
This is supposed to be a forest feast experience,
not a Michelin-star experience, and so bring the forest to the table.
That's fine. OK, noted, yeah.
You need to relax.
Absolutely. OK? Thank you.
Right... Thank you so much, Gordon.
..see you tomorrow. Thank you.
Matthew, what was the degree in again? Events management.
Events management? Events management, yeah. Jesus Christ.
Well done, well done.
I think, for tomorrow, we just need to bring it back to basics
and really wow them with the presentation.
We're under pressure now.
Let's do the final touches.
Just pull it together, make sure your food's right. Yeah.
What have we got here, then?
We're having a fennel salad for starter
with mint, garlic, pine and orange,
and then, we have...
The main is rabbit.
Welcome to the Feastival.
Oh, hello.
What is that?
So, this is our, erm...
..canape? This is our gazpacho with pea and mint,
and we've also used sorrel that we foraged locally.
Love it. Where's the starter?
Right, Bola, off you go.
No, you stay where you are, my darling,
unless you'd like to come down and eat.
I'm asking you to describe what we're eating. OK.
That one, you got me there.
This is a grilled fennel with mint, olive oil, lovely pine nuts...
Guys, you guys, front of house. We will get it together, honestly.
If you don't know, just tell me, that's all. I don't know what it is.
You don't know what it is, OK.
My colleague is going to go through that.
The main course, then. There's some spices running through that.
Yeah. And obviously, we've used the grill for that.
Did you not cut it up? Expecting the customers to do this?
No, no. I was going to just...
I just wanted to get it cooked,
just so I could get an idea of what was what. Well, that's raw.
Give me a touch of fur and I'll put it back in the fucking woods.
Who's cooked with rabbit before?
Cos no-one would choose rabbit if they've never cooked with it.
No. No, so you've never cooked rabbit?
I've never cooked rabbit. OK, what's the sauce on it?
It's just like a basic Mughlai type sauce.
It's nice. I like that sauce. Yeah?
What is this?
It's like the bear splat in the woods.
It's, erm... Whipped cream.
Whipped cream, raspberries, sorrel and some roasted nuts.
Mm-hm. Try and get more flavour in that cream.
I was going to put some citrus in it. Yeah, zest.
So, Guest Team, front of house,
tell me, what's the wow factor across this table?
We're going to be working on this even more later.
Sure, but it just looks a little bit mismatched. It's just...
We're going to keep working on it tonight,
and tomorrow, we will bring the wow factor to the table.
I think we need to regroup.
This is a competition. I just expect your best.
Right now, you're just not giving it your all, OK?
Yes. I'll see in the morning. Thank you. Thank you.
Right, we've got some work to do, folks. Just a little bit.
What worried me is when Gordon came over,
it wasn't the Kitchen Team that fell apart.
It was our side of things and I'm worried.
I'm really nervous.
These guests are real guests. They're paying top money.
And I've got one team that are trying to deliver
a Michelin-star experience, way over the top.
And another team that I'm not too sure
if we're going to get any food out there.
Right now, it's not looking good.
It's the following day...
Right, let's go.
..and if yesterday was the warm-up, today is the main event.
Right, we're going to be the winning team, now. No fucking around.
In a matter of hours, guests will be arriving,
expecting a first-class woodland dining experience.
So, we need loads of energy today. Absolutely.
We need to keep it positive.
If you've got anything that, you know, is really concerning you,
we need to bring this up.
But let's just do it in a positive way because we're up against time.
We've got a lot of work to get done this morning. Yeah. OK?
Communication between the front and the back
is going to come from myself and Jamie.
Am I like a silent partner?
No, no-one is a silent partner.
Do not cross over, keep focused, keep in your lanes.
All on the same page? Mm-hm.
Thank you very much. Smashing.
What I'm going to do is I'm going to quickly just spice this rabbit.
You OK?
Yeah, yeah, it's just the fucking time. It doesn't matter.
Is there any way we can get that griddle on sooner?
We can put the grill one on, if you're happy to use a frying pan.
No, no, I need that.
We need some big flames. Erm...
Right, OK. Right, I need to get that venison on in a minute.
So, my main concern for today, really,
is just the venison cooking on time.
Obviously, that was our main pick-up yesterday from Gordon.
I need to get this venison on...
..rapid.
Ugh!
Leah, how are you doing? I...
Yeah. Are you on track? I...I don't know.
This table's really big!
Once we've decorated all of this,
we'll put some tealights and things like that around it.
I'll sort all of that out.
I think what I'll do is I'll try to, like,
basically, look after this table.
When we're finished, you guys can come and check it out.
We haven't got long to go before the guests arrive.
We've got work to do.
That table needs to be stunning.
I really want the guests to come in and be wowed
because it's so easy for people to come in and be underwhelmed.
That's priority for me.
Bola, just with that, remember to cut from the bottom, not the top.
And it needs changing, that sunflower, cos it's...
The petals have come out. Bola, build out the pine.
These flowers are nice but we still use some of the nettle.
We said we were going to have something
that brings a wow factor in.
How can we then just have everything low
and everything green and no colour?
Let's just get on with it. But, no, the thing is... I have heard you.
Don't speak to me like a child. We talked about colour.
Just stop! Just stop one minute.
One second... No, just stop. Listen to each other.
I'm not going to respond to you if you shout at me. Fine, don't speak,
then. You can't take any feedback. You're not listening.
That's your problem and that's not on me. No, no, no.
Right, have you said what you need to say? You can't take feedback.
Jen, I don't appreciate this. I don't appreciate this.
I'm trying to lead. If you're trying to lead, you're supposed to listen
and you are supposed to take a neutral ground.
Yeah. Don't speak to me like I don't know what I'm talking about.
Speak to me as an adult.
You couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery.
Stop, stop. Just pack it in now.
You can't be upset. The day hasn't even begun yet.
Let's rewind the clock back.
Right, just stop, now. I've had enough!
Let's all pull ourselves together,
remember we're all adults and let's sort it out.
Let's just end this, now.
We have 12 guests to cook for.
I'm trying hard to pull us all together,
but at the end of the day, I can't teach people to have manners.
That's not my job.
I just feel like everything I've brought to the table,
you guys decided that it's not good enough.
We're all adults. We're all supposed to be running businesses here.
What the hell is going on?
Yeah, Amit, how come the rabbits are off the...?
You know, I've just got better control
over the temperature that way.
Will it not be hotter down there?
SHE GASPS
Amit, you weren't to put oil on the flames. Oh, my God! It's OK.
What's that...?
That's too fierce, now. That'll burn them!
With less than half an hour until the guests arrive,
the kitchen and the Guest Teams will need to work together
to be ready on time.
Is that...is that the venison I hear? Yeah. Well done.
Oh, that sound is absolute music to my ears, mate. Yeah, yeah, nice.
Right, Leah, I'm going to need you to get on cutlery
in a second as well, please.
I'm going to do one place for you,
and then, you're going to copy what I do. OK. Yeah.
Looking good. Nice, that looks amazing.
Right, we've got just over ten minutes.
Oh, wow. There's no time.
Yeah, the gazpacho is here, now.
We've done some... Yeah, we've got some honey, some mint...
You added honey? Yeah, I added some honey. Fabulous, I like that.
Added honey and then it's got sorrel.
This is really starting to come together, now.
Let's just keep pushing on and we're going to get there.
Matthew, careful of that fire.
Last thing we need is you tripping and falling into the pit.
Got four minutes. Hey, how are you going, Victoria?
How is it? Yes, I'm just trying to plate up as best as I can.
Oh, Christ.
Feeling stressed.
Table looks fantastic.
The canapes are nearly there.
Guests are literally minutes away.
Matthew, we good? Yes.
Kitchen, we good? Yes, good. Excellent.
Matthew. Yes.
The guests are arriving. Yes, I can see, I can see.
- Hello, good evening. - Hello.
Psst, it's lunchtime!
It's lunchtime. Oh, my God!
We've been here for so long, it feels like dinner.
Hello. Hi, welcome.
We have some canapes on the way past.
And welcome to your feast in the forest.
May I ask, who's the vegetarian in this group?
So, I can put a nice... I got you a nice hat. No, that's not true.
I've made you a special, separate dinner.
It's just as tasty, just as amazing,
so you don't have to worry about that.
Did you just say to that vegetarian, "I've got a hat for you"?
And then I laughed and made her laugh. Oh, my God. Leah.
Oh, I thought it was funny. Oh, my God.
"I've got a special hat for you."
I'm so embarrassed. Why did I say that?!
Why did I say that?
I know why I said it - because I'm just a goof and I say stupid things.
Ladies and gentlemen, we welcome you to please take your seats
so the feast can start.
It's the first time I've seen Gucci trainers in a forest.
Cheers!
Cheers, guys, Cheers.
Over with the Red Team...
Welcome, everybody.
Welcome, welcome, welcome. Thank you so much for coming.
So, today, it is what we themed Feastival! Woo!
This is my colleague, Jen,
and Asher over there is preparing some magic for you.
Feastival!
Eh?
I think the guests are probably thinking
they've turned up to a pantomime or something.
Is everyone all right? Are you all enjoying yourselves?
Lovely. Thank you.
First to whet their appetites...
..Asher's gazpacho canape.
Thank you.
It's all vegan, yes.
We've taken care of all dietary requirements.
That's really nice.
It's fresh, it's very summery.
So the starter you had there with that canape
was a Gestapo - er, gazpacho, sorry -
with pea, conference pears
and then a touch of honey.
Thank you so much for joining and I hope you enjoy the experience.
What happened? Um...
We were told it was vegan and there was honey in it.
There was honey in there? Yeah.
But it's OK. My apologies, OK?
INDISTINCT CHATTER
We served honey to the vegans. All three... I didn't know that...
Yeah, I know, but I'm just trying to...
Guys, I was just... I said to you, we...
It's my responsibility.
It's everybody's responsibility.
We can't serve honey to vegans. Period.
Right, so, Victoria... Yes.
..you just need to speed up a little bit now.
Our starter this evening - we have roasted heritage tomatoes
with courgettes.
And you've got these ferns at the end.
They foraged them for you yesterday.
If you'd like to take a little pinch and then you can garnish the top
of your dish yourself, if you would like. All right?
We were trying to find it and then I picked this one.
I went, "Is this it?"
I went like that and he went,
"That's deadly poisonous, you get nerve damage with that one."
Nerve damage?!
Looked exactly the same, though? Looked exactly the same.
Enjoy your starters.
Are the starters ready to go?
Remind me. Grilled fennel, apricot,
mint, garlic, um, pine nut dressing.
You got it? Do you want me to say that again?
What is this? Mint, garlic, pine nuts.
It does look nice.
Thank you so much.
For your starters before you,
you've got grilled fennel,
toasted and grilled apricots
on a bed of mixed vegetables.
Thank you. GORDON WHISPERS: What the fuck are you on about, Bola?!
You didn't announce the dressing. What's the dressing?
The dressing is made of pine nuts. Exactly. Yeah.
Would you mind, just in case anyone has an allergy to nuts?
Because if there is an allergy to nuts, you and I are fucked.
Please explain. Let's go.
Oh, my Lord.
Guys, I'm so sorry. I forgot to tell you what the dressing
is made of. Pine nuts.
A bit of garlic in there and fabulous seasoning.
Please enjoy it, and I will try not to forget again.
BOLA LAUGHS Thank you.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Oh, my gosh! Mm.
First thoughts on the roasted vegetable salad?
The tomatoes are fantastic. Pine tips - what do you think?
It works, yeah. A little bit acidity on the end of the palate?
Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Good to see you. Thank you.
Starters complete, time for the main course.
Boom! Venison time.
Let's try and make this main course a little bit more exciting.
Yes? Proper. Thank you. Let's go.
Um, Jamie...?
Do you think we should carve that on the table, then, in front of the guests?
I'm worried because of fucking yesterday.
If you'd like me to, yeah, I can do, yeah.
Yes, Jamie!
Ladies and gentlemen, everybody, we are about to serve your mains.
We have slow-roasted venison and we're going to carve
it here for you. OK?
It's nice that it's carved here, isn't it?
You don't often see that - it just arrives on the plate.
Do you eat venison often? Never tried it before. Really?
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Can't serve that.
Ah, fuck! Fucking... It's not cooked.
No, I'm going to flash it on...
I know, but it's not cooked.
Why would you present it first without checking it?
It's fucking raw.
OK? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Stop carving and get back in the kitchen now.
OK. I'm on it. Shit.
Oh, my God.
OK? OK, perfect. Just going to carve these,
I'm going to flash them quickly.
Ladies and gentlemen, your venison tartare.
Over in the Red Team...
How many of these do you need - nine?
Yeah, just hold first. Let's get... Get six ready.
..Amit and Valentina are ready to dish up their mains.
Let's get those plates out. Come on.
Is that definitely coriander? Help me get the potatoes on here, then, please.
Is that definitely coriander? Sorry, everybody's talking.
Let me just plate this first. Everybody's asking questions.
OK, guys, so these two can go,, right? Right,
keep calm everyone and pull it together.
Oh, three?
Yeah.
Yeah. So sorry.
Would you like a risotto instead, or are you happy to wait?
I'm happy to wait. Yeah, I'll wait, as well, yeah.
What the fuck is going on? There are two more mains.
Two more mains. Right, OK, fine.
Got it. How many portions do you have?
Just, like, all keep it together.
We've got two missing meals.
OK, it's coming now, it's coming now.
Just two minutes. I'm happy to relax, but...
We're all asking the same question, so we're not
relaxing are we? I'm sorry... But we've got people on the table without... Yes. OK.
They're coming now. They're waiting and it's going cold. You are
the chef. You know how many dishes are going out. They need to be laid out and done.
I will just apologise to them once we get there.
Put the meat... Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Fuck.
Thank you so much.
What happened with the meat? Why did we not have enough?
I had it all right and I counted it in my head, and then, obviously,
with service, I've got a bit flustered. Sorry, guys.
Interesting just how quick everybody just runs with
something so negative. Like, Jen's just annoyed, and you can just tell
that she's just having a moan on her own.
It's like, don't start the morning off and say, "Oh, we're positive
"and we're a team," when, really, you're not like that.
She likes to work singular, on her own.
She's not having a good time.
First of all, my sincere apologies for that delay.
What we've served to you today is rabbit.
We'd recommend a red wine with this.
Would anyone care for red wine?
So sorry.
It's really tough. I can't even get my teeth through it.
It's a shame, cos the sauce is incredible.
I hope the dessert is going to be big.
It's actually... It's OK.
No, I can't, I can't.
Well, let's hope that we've done enough, really, now.
We can't even think like that, cos we're not finished yet.
Yeah. Let's just finish first.
Back on the Green Team, and Jamie's venison is finally ready
to be served.
Why did the mushroom come to the party?
Why was he invited to the party?
Cos he was a fun guy!
There we go. A fun guy. A fun guy!
Fucking heartbroken.
Absolutely heartbroken.
But, er, shit happens.
Take a deep breath. It's fine. Yes, I'm all right.
Don't worry about me.
What we have here is roasted venison with celeriac
and garlic with carrots,
and then this is our summer berry sauce.
I feel a bit disappointed that we didn't get to see them
actually carve the venison, when they promised us
that they were going to, and that's part of the experience.
The theatre. Yeah, quite right.
I'm so sorry. We will make sure that you see a little bit of drama and theatre for your dessert.
- All right? - Oh, it is nice and tender.
Something was bound to happen, wasn't it? Um, but, yeah,
but we've overcome it.
Got it out and people are enjoying it and everyone's eating.
Everyone's got enough food. Some of those are ready, guys.
If you'll take it, those are ready.
Final courses for both teams.
Thank you very much. There you go.
Thank you!
I think that's amazing. And I love these raspberries. They're lovely raspberries.
I'll just go get the plates.
One more course to get out. Yeah. OK.
A bit of a mishap with the main course, but finished strong, OK? Don't lower the tone.
Lift them. Send them out on a high.
When are we ready to get these out? We've got three ready. Getting that flambe done now.
That is a little bit of concern, especially if you don't get that right. Here we are.
Just got to make sure that we wow them with that last bit.
So, ladies and gentlemen, we have our crepes with summer
berries, and I'm going to attempt to flambe it for you.
So we'll do a little bit of drama for you.
No. GUESTS LAUGH
Ooh!
Oh, bugger!
No. We're going to be... We will be here till Christmas, so
we'll just pour it for you. I'm sorry about that.
The rum's great!
Mmm. That tastes amazing.
I'm quickly filling up. Oh, good, we've done a little bit of our job, then -
if you're full, then we've done a little bit of our job well.
Excellent. Thank you.
Just like to thank you all for coming today.
Safe journey home.
Thank you, guys. Really appreciate it.
Thank you.
Feasts complete, I've asked the guest to leave me feedback
on their experiences.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
And, tomorrow, we'll be back in London,
where I'll reveal the results.
I mean, I've worked in some pretty tough environments, but, er...
This was tough. This was... This was tough.
I know things could have been significantly better.
Could you do better? Yes, I could.
Am I disappointed? Yes, I am.
But we can't do anything to change it now.
I think our team are at risk. I think we did an amazing job,
but there's no doubt that there's definitely big mistakes
that could cost us.
- Right, good morning. - Morning.
OK. This week was all about sending you back to basics.
For your first challenge,
I asked all of you to fillet and portion salmon -
following my instructions right to the letter.
Then, all of you were asked to host an amazing forest feast
in two teams. When I set that challenge in the middle
of that stunning forest,
I told all of you to give your guests an experience
they would never, ever forget.
It's safe to say both teams did just that.
I'm starting to feel that a few of you are hiding in this process...
..hoping that you'd sneak through these challenges unnoticed.
And that's not going to fly with me, because, in business, we need
clarity, understanding and great communication.
- Is that clear? - Yes.
Thank you.
Let's start with the Green Team.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening.
Have you worked out which one it is yet? Yes, Gordon.
Thank God for that. Yes, just about.
Matthew, you obviously stepped up and took the lead.
This was your moment to shine, yes? Absolutely. I like managing teams and I felt like it was
a time for me to step up and to show what I can do.
The customers were after a wonderful experience, right? Yeah. Yeah.
Leah, at one point, you offered the only vegetarian a hat to wear.
What were you thinking?
It came out my mouth and I couldn't get it back in and I can only
apologise. I'm so sorry.
How did we get into the state like that with the venison,
cos that was shambolic?
I fucked it up. Full responsibility for it.
You know, once I got into it, I dealt with it well by getting it back on there and cooking it.
But, yeah...
OK, moving on to the Red Team.
Question - did anyone step up and take the lead in your team?
I think within our team, Jen took that responsibility.
Is that right, Jen? Yeah.
And the reason that I stepped up was not necessarily
because that's my strong point.
The reason that I did it was because we've got some strong
characters, and I felt like I could play a good role in bringing people
together and keeping them positive. Go back to the strong characters,
you're right.
It was so obvious there was friction going on.
Bola and Asher,
can you explain what this was, please?
I can absolutely explain. Truthfully, now.
Don't sugar-coat it. Just tell me the truth.
I felt like every time I brought an idea to the table, it was always
cast aside. And I just really felt frustrated and I felt I needed
to speak up, cos otherwise, it would continue.
I strongly disagree. We completely disagree with that, Gordon.
There was a running... You said... There was a running theme throughout.
You do not listen, you are not good enough
and your ideas are terrible.
Kitchen Team - Michelle, Amit, Valentina -
who wanted rabbit and why?
I'll be honest, Gordon, I thought, OK, it's going
to be a little like chicken.
It's a protein I haven't cooked with.
It would have been a showstopper if you'd nailed it. Yeah, I know.
But if you've never fricking cooked the thing, I don't understand.
In all your businesses today, there's no way on Earth
any of you would take a risk using something in your business
you've never, ever worked with.
And then we didn't serve two of our guests.
I'm disappointed in myself.
Listen, I've heard enough. Time to reveal the results.
Right, let's start off with the Green Team first.
Out of the 12 customers who came to your event...
HE SIGHS
..seven of them said it was good value for money.
Just over half.
Now the Red Team. Out of the 12 guests that came
to your event...
..11 of them... Ah!
..said they wouldn't pay.
Oh! Ah!
I agree. I wouldn't have paid myself. I wouldn't, either.
One out of your 12 guests
said they would pay for that experience.
One!
That's pretty conclusive for me. Congratulations, Green Team. Well done.
Oh, my gosh! Well done. Well done.
Well done.
The feedback from the food wasn't great,
but your guests loved
the service. Oh, that's so good. They felt welcomed.
They loved the experience in the woods and, every step
of the way, they were being notified of what's happening. Well done.
Thank you very much. OK. Great job. Thank you.
Red Team,
disastrous.
For me, whilst the food was somewhat substandard...
..the failure in this challenge ultimately lies
with three individuals -
the Service Team.
Disorganised, underprepared.
You let your team down.
Bola, Jen, Asher,
I want to get to the bottom of what happened in those woods.
Um, meet me in the restaurant.
Shocking.
Oh, my word!
I'm gutted to be going into the grilling for a second week in a row.
We were against a really strong, strong team, but, like,
there's no excuses.
I'm just gutted.
This is Asher's way and this is Jen's way.
What can I do - two tigers on me?
I can only just state my case, so I'm just getting my mind ready.
Whatever happens happens.
I honestly feel that Asher and I could have pulled the front
of house off absolutely fine.
Unfortunately, Bola had no interest in working as a team with us.
It was her way or the highway.
How the hell do you work with that?
Jen. Please, take a seat.
OK. Bola.
Sit down, please, Asher.
Right, first off, second week in a running... Yes. ..back again.
Yes. There were two quite simple jobs across this challenge -
learn your dishes and keep your guests fed and happy.
Yeah. You didn't do either. Why? I was trying to make sure those guests were happy. I was trying to
make sure those guests had drinks. I was trying to keep them entertained.
The Chefs Team didn't want to know, and I was the only one
that was trying to get all of the food out there, as well.
What you're saying now is that you made no faults?
No, I did make faults and I took complete ownership of that.
I made faults on the gazpacho. Yes.
I was nervous at the very... Stop there for two seconds.
How the hell did we serve honey to a vegan?
I know, I'm mortified for that. I'm sorry.
Bola, second week in a row, we're sat here.
Painful. Yeah, very painful.
Two simple jobs on that day -
learn your dishes and keep your guests fed and happy.
I learnt my dishes. You got it wrong.
Customers said to me they were unsure to what they were eating.
Out of the three of you running front of house... Yes.
..what happened to that team spirit?
Last week, I promised you that I would step up and I would make sure
that my voice was heard and not necessarily fade away in the back.
It's unfortunate that, somehow, they thought I was being negative
or putting them down, but it was really, really for the better
for the team.
Jen, I identified two key problems across this challenge -
the service and a total communication breakdown.
Why?
Very early on, we had a total clashing of characters.
I basically decided to step up and try and defuse the situation.
Customers did not want to come and experience a toxic relationship
front of house. I totally agree.
If I hadn't have done that, it would have been a lot worse.
We got worse, Jen.
As the lunch progressed, customers were served incorrectly.
Food was coming out - we didn't know the description... It was like a domino effect.
You were silent. I wasn't silent. I couldn't hear your voice.
Early on, there was some big issues in terms of confrontation,
but I did manage to pull that back together.
The problem that we then had was as soon as everyone
was under pressure, people cracked.
Do you know what the guests said on their feedback forms?
Their service was chaotic.
I read that four times. Wow.
How can three of you - that's one more person than
the Green Team - have so many issues serving 12 people?
What am I missing?
I came into this week after having a bad week last week
where you've clearly told us, "Show leadership, communication."
I tried to lead by example and say "This is how we're going to serve,
"this is how we're going to take the plates away together" - everything like that.
Jen did that, Bola did not.
We were always up against it,
and Bola made it ten times harder.
Honestly, Gordon, it was tough dealing with Asher and Jen.
It felt like they had tag team
and I just was left on my own.
Basically, Bola said to me very early on, "I want to be heard."
Unfortunately, what she really meant by that was that it
had to be her way. There was no other way.
Asher, second week in a row, you're here.
I saw more friction. In those situations,
I just need one fricking leader and the other two need to understand
that and fall in.
I can take on your feedback and I can work on it the next week
and I can come back stronger.
One thing's become very apparent -
across all these issues... Yes.
..your name keeps on appearing in all the problems.
Why aren't you bedding in with the team?
This is what I hope you see, Gordon -
that I was willing to stand up.
I was willing to point out where we were falling short.
When you see the work I do, my work speaks for itself.
Some people are good at mouthing off.
I always say, "Let your work speak for you."
I've seen how young you started your business off.
You didn't get there by blending in.
You stood out. Yeah. For all the right reasons.
I didn't see that yesterday.
Yeah, but, ultimately, one of the big things I've learnt in business
is surround myself by the right people.
I am not scared of people shining more than me. No way.
That means I've done a good job as a leader.
What I have an issue with is people not wanting to pull together
and not working as a team. Right.
But if you're running a team, then you need to know
how to control that team. Yeah. Thank you, Jen.
Please, head back.
Thank you, Gordon.
Enough, thank you. Head back.
OK. You all had a chance to open up and talk honestly in the restaurant.
And I've now made my decision.
The person who I will not be investing in
and will leave the process tonight is...
..Jen.
Jen, you stepped up to lead and then didn't lead.
I didn't hear you, I didn't see you,
and, for that reason, we're done.
Jen was a leader in title, but nothing else.
Business is all about dealing with strong characters.
If you can't deal with THEM, you have no chance of success.
It's fine.
I'm definitely gutted, but I came here to give everything
and, genuinely, I have done that, so I'm proud of myself.
I've been in the bottom three now twice in a row.
Next week, I need to either show leadership,
or, if there is a leader, support them 110%.
I hope I don't fall out with people next week.
You can't pull the wool over Gordon Ramsay's eyes.
He's just got these eagle eyes - he sees everything,
he sees right through you.
Don't mess with that man.
Next time...
Gordon! I'm coming for you!
..I'm testing how adaptable my contenders are.
I didn't want to say, guys, but I'm not very good with height.
Before I shake things up...
Why is it that colour of unique urine?
You need this, this, this, this.
And don't give me this.
..getting them to create non-alcoholic cocktails.
Holy sugar! HE COUGHS
Do you feel warm and happy now?
No.