and met co-founders Emma and Bryn Parry, both of whom have received OBEs for their work.
Jude wrapped the venison shin in spinach and parma ham, crepes and mushroom duxelles before covering it with pastry. He made a soy ‘master stock’, combining marin, chilli, ginger, garlic and spices to give the dish an umami twist. Jude’s food had previously been criticised for lacking flavour – would the stock pack the punch that Lisa was looking for? We had a rather tense moment when Jude realised that his oven was turned up to 220 degrees – his wellington needed to be at 200 or the meat would be overcooked!
Serving with a venison and cocoa nib jus, kale, he also placed roast beetroot and carrots in a medal box with the ribbons of the Gallantry medal. Lisa Allen said that the venison pie topped with potato and celeriac mash was delicious, the pastry on the wellington was crisp and finally, Jude’s “flavours shone through”!
She did however add that the venison was a little tough (perhaps due to the oven) and the serving plate was too small for the dish.
Chris Wheeler was looking to score some serious points in the main course. Having been criticised for his theatrical presentation and for taking on too much, he promised that ‘The Ashes, Over and Down Under’ would have less going on. He too was cooking beef and Lisa wondered if Chris or Josh would celebrate the beef best.
Chris’ main was to resemble a cricket pitch, celebrating sporting achievement. With a pea puree with mint for the grass, he made ‘bats’ a bit like spring rolls from braised oxtail and filo pastry. His ‘batsman’ was oxtail wrapped in spinach in a china bone, topped with beef fillet and pan-fried marrow for a hat.
Chris added a few redcurrants as cricket balls and served his veal jus in a porcelain cricket ball. A garnish of pea shoots, runner beans and edible flowers, Chris then smoked the beef under a glass dome – a fitting tribute to The Ashes.
Lisa was more impressed with this dish. She said that the beef was cooked well, the marrow was a ‘great addition’ and the salsify was well executed. She felt however that the oxtail lacked impact and that once again Chris had “put presentation above the food”. She said she couldn’t see Chris’ main fitting in at the banquet.
Scores were eight a piece to Jude and Josh and a six to Chris. He is now in third – but a great dessert and a faltering performance from Josh could change all that.
Last night’s desserts were the decider for the South West chefs as only two points separated Jude Kereama and Chris Wheeler. Josh Eggleton, who was in the lead, was hoping that his dessert would secure his place at the Banquet – could he live up to the ten that his dessert last year received?
Josh’s dessert, ‘The Re-emergence of the High Street’ was a beetroot and white chocolate soft serve ice cream. He roasted the beetroot, then blended it to make a puree before combining it with cream, milk, egg yolks, white chocolate etc to make an ice cream.
There was another rather tense moment as the soft serve machine didn’t seem to be working just before Josh was about to serve but he managed to get the power back on in time.
Presenting his dish on a mocked up high street with market stalls, he had prepared a carrot tuille and frozen raspberry cells as a garnish. He set the hazelnut cones with a dark chocolate base, then added a lemon thyme puree. Lisa Allen served herself the ice cream and Josh topped it with his garnishes.
Lisa called Josh’s dessert “fun, original and exciting” and said it would definitely have impact at the Banquet. She particularly liked the ‘bursts’ of frozen fruit on top of the ice cream but said that the ice cream was too sweet and her cone was burnt.
Jude Kereama’s dish resembled the Royal Albert Hall, and rightfully so as he called it ‘Last Night at the Proms’.
Jude wanted to elevate the traditional Eton Mess, making white chocolate and peppermint macarons and a strawberry liquor jelly to accompany the strawberry, cream and meringues.
He served his Eton Mess on a plate with the macarons, jelly cubes, fresh and freeze dried strawberries, chocolate mint and mint opaline shards.
He also gave Lisa a ‘little tipple’ on the side and said he hoped “the proof was in the pudding!"
Lisa praised Jude for his presentation and said the dish was lovely and light. She said his jelly had set ‘just right’ but felt that it didn’t really have an impact on the plate. She also commented that the mint overpowered his macaron.
Chris Wheeler had once again opted to make an ambitious dish. ‘Showtime’ would be tribute to British musicians and performers and would consist of several small desserts.
The dessert was laid out in the style of The Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover, with a slate ‘zebra crossing’ using coffee snow and traffic lights made of white chocolate and coffee liquor truffles. The plate looked like a 12” record.
Crossing the ‘road’ were a guitar made of a peach and Earl Grey sorbet, representing boybands and the sweeter side of pop music. Chris made a biscuit cake with toffee popcorn, in the shape of a drum kit with chocolate drum sticks in honour of The Beatles. In an interesting tribute to ‘Ginger Spice’ (Spice Girls), he made a spiced ginger and white chocolate panna cotta – which even had Geri’s famous Union Jack dress on it! Finally, Chris made a replica of Elton John’s piano, made from a granola and coffee cheesecake.
Judge Lisa was impressed with how much Chris had made in the time allocated and complimented him on his peach sorbet and his creativity. She added however that the portion was too big, the cake too rich and the flavours in the panna cotta weren’t quite right.
Lisa scored Jude and Josh eight a piece and gave Chris a six. Chris’ low score of meant that he was eliminated and will not be on tomorrow’s show cooking for the judges.
We here at TSC admired Chris’ flair and passion and we’ll be keeping an eye out for his work in the future!
Friday saw a battle between two returning South West chefs, Josh Eggleton and Jude Kereama. Both hoping to get a place at the Banquet, Josh had kept a strong lead for most of the week.
Jude had struggled with his favours but scored quite highly with his main and dessert. Joining the judges this week was Grace Dent, who said that she watched the programme regularly. She loved the brief too, as she is very “proud to be British”.
Josh was first to serve his coronation chicken and he wanted to make the curry mayonnaise more powerful. He also opted to add some croutons to the starter for texture. Taking his terrine out early, Josh said that he wanted it to be the right temperature.
Prue Leith was particularly impressed with the terrine. Matthew Fort was keen on the apricot jelly and quails egg. While Oliver was complimentary about the curry balance in the dish, he said that all of the flavours were outside of the terrine – “It’s good Britain, not Great Britain”.
To add some flavour to Jude’s starter, he added an oyster jelly. He didn’t forget his lotus root crisps this time either! Matthew Fort said that the parmesan ice cream was a brilliant idea but that there was a lot going on for such a small dish. Grace called the jelly/emulsion mix a ‘radioactive puddle’ and did not enjoy the combination of the two. It was a dish that had mixed reviews from the panel.
Josh’s fish course ‘For Services to Maritime Safety’ received a nine from Lisa Allen but she said that his fishcake could do with some potato. He heeded her advice and also chose to pan fry his mackerel last minute. Grace called the dish the ‘greatest medley’ but Prue thought that the hake was overcooked. Oliver said that the course was all fish and there were no counternotes.
For Jude’s fish course, he decided to change the tempura lobster claw to chunks of claws instead. He also added a Yuzu dressing in an attempt to boost flavours. Matthew said that the ‘myre’ of mango stopped the lobster from being the hero of the dish.
Lisa Allen said that Jude’s main ‘V for Valour’ was a bit big – he decided to serve his vegetables in copper pots to give more space on the plate. He was worried that his venison wellington would not have enough time to rest. The judges were not convinced, Oliver said that it was “not the vanguard of modern British cooking”.
For Josh’s main, he decided to cook his beef medium and give it a bit longer. Nearly all of the judges were extremely complimentary of this dish. Prue said that the bone marrow was delicious and rich, Matthew said that the vegetables made the dish lighter, Oliver said that the fat content of the ribeye was just right. Guest judge Grace however said that it was not beautiful and did not feel the same way as the others.
When cooking his dessert previously, Jude was told that there was too much mint in his macarons and that it overpowered the white chocolate. He said that this was a mistake – he had spilt some of the mint. At the last minute, Jude remembered the presentation façade, that made his plate resemble the Royal Albert Hall. He did however forget his strawberry jelly, which did not go unnoticed by the judges!
Josh’s dessert ‘The Re-emergence of the British High Street’ featured a soft serve ice cream machine. The judges were very excited about this, particularly Grace who said that it was a real “showstopper”, a “conversation piece”. Matthew and Prue disagreed over whether the beetroot in the ice cream was strong enough or not.
While it was said that Jude cooked some ‘dazzling dishes’, the win was awarded to Josh Eggleton. His Main course ‘The Heart of Britain, Les Rosbif’ received a ten from all but Grace. He will go on to represent the South West at the Banquet but we will be keeping an eye on Jude too!
