Great British Menu ™
Baker:
Season:
Week:
Challenge Type:
"Rough Terrain"
Jack: "My starter is called Rough Terrain. The inspiration is a man called Jim Cameron, who founded the very first mountain rescue in Coniston. So the whole dish is Very earthy elements, and it should look like uneven terrain."
Jack: "So I've got two different types of potatoes for textures. I've got the black garlic, which is going to give us a nice underlying flavor. This dish is mainly about the baker's yeast and how I create a sauce out of that."
Paul Ainsworth: "Where's the acidity coming into this dish, Jack?"
Jack: " I'll hope to get it from some pickled garlic capers."
Notes during cooking
Black Garlic Purée
Jack mentions using "... sugar water, champagne vinegar ..." in the making of his black garlic purée.
Yeast Sauce
Jack moves on to his yeast sauce, to which he's adding miso for an extra umami hit.
Jack: "I'll roast that white miso a little bit. Now you can see the yeast starting to break down."
Jack: "This is the yeast sauce. Consistency wise it's fine. Obviously, when I get it back on the heat, it's going to change and thicken a little bit."
Paul Ainsworth (behind the scenes): "I just tasted Jack's roasted yeast sauce. Nice. It's a bit gloopy and it only needs acidity."
Voice-over: "Jack's now onto the first of the potato elements of his dish.
Jack: "Going to give us a nice little texture with the deep fried crisps on top."
Plating
Jack begins plating with his yeast sauce combined with potatoes.
Jack: "I'm gonna dot over some black garlic puree."
He adds chive oil and a generous grating of truffle.
A dusting of wild garlic powder and 'climbing rope' serving dish finish it off.
Paul Ainsworth: "So first taste, are you happy? Is that how you wanted it?"
Jack: "If I'm being honest, it might be a bit too ... almost claggy, bit thick."
Peers, behind the scenes:
"I think that texturally it's great."
"I'm quite glad that black garlic is there. It definitely gives a bit of brightness"
Paul Ainsworth: "And that black garlic? Happy with how that's coming through?"
Jack: "I might just add a little bit more vinegar to that one."
Paul Ainsworth: "Acidity? Happy?"
Jack: "Yeah. I think the pickled mustard seeds, they pop a little bit in your mouth."
Peers, behind the scenes:
"I'm really impressed by it."
"I think if no one told you this was plant based, it wouldn't even occur to you."
Paul Ainsworth: "The roasted yeast sauce, are you happy with how that sauce turned out?"
Jack: "In hindsight, maybe I'd make it a little bit looser."
Paul Ainsworth: "If you were scoring this dish, what would you give it?'
Jack: "I'd be looking to give it a seven. I think I can make it a little bit lighter. And then also the presentation, I'd like to give it more of a wow factor."
Final Judging
Paul Ainsworth: "For your dish. Rough Terrain, your inspiration was fantastic. Those different potato textures were very clever and were a great representation of the uneven terrain. Your roasted yeast sauce was umami rich. Had those lovely Madeira notes, but it was a touch too claggy. Overall, it was a tasty bowl of food. It just needed some vibrancy, some freshness, and a touch of acidity.
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