Great British Menu ™
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"The Emperor"
James: "The title of my dish is "The Emperor", and it's a nod to the Romans and the Emperor Septimus Severus from Libya. My primary school and my daughter's primary school is built on top of the Hadrian's Wall. So there was a fort there, and we found out that the Emperor Septimus was actually stationed in Carlisle.
Paul Ainsworth: "What's the headlines of this dish?"
James: "I'm literally making pate, chutney and toast."
Paul Ainsworth: "What's the base of the pate?"
James; "The base of the paté is the mushrooms. I'm using the button mushrooms and the chestnut mushrooms with some morels in there. The other element of it is the chutney. The chutney is a take on a mushroom and a bacon chutney. Instead of the bacon, I'm using smoked paprika to give it that smoky, sort of bacony sort of taste in it. The fennel is going to be a puree. It's going to go on top so that the jelly, then the puree, little pipes of that. Just to give it a little bit of aniseedy taste. I'm making a treacle bread to go with it.
Paul Ainsworth: "Is this well practiced?"
James: "I've done elements of it all together. "
Paul Ainsworth: "So you haven't done it all together at the same time?"
James: "I'm ... I'm confident that it'll all go together."
Paul Ainsworth (behind the scenes) "I think you know what I'm going to say here. Really, really silly to have not practiced it as a dish. If you're coming into the Great British Menu kitchen ... practice!"
Notes taken during cooking
Voice-over: "James begins his pate, making a boozy reduction from brandy, Madeira and port, whilst also sweating down the mushrooms."
James: "So that's got all the different morels, chestnut, some, but mushrooms in there as well."
Later ...
James is finishing treacle bread to serve with his pate and chutney.
James: "This is just a bit more treacle and stout to go on the top and I'm going to finish it with the oats and I'm going to let it prove."
Paul Ainsworth: "Can I taste the chutney?"
Paul Ainsworth (tastes): "Quite meaty. It's quite smoky. Yeah. A little bit of acidity. Sweet enough?"
James: "I think so."
James: "I'm putting the paté in one pot, and the chutney in another pot, the bread separate and then it all comes together."
Later ...
Back in the kitchen, James combines the reduction and the mushrooms for the pate, aware that it needs maximum time possible to set.
James: "I'm worried I haven't put enough butter into it to get it a bit more set."
Plating
James is next with his tribute to the African born Roman emperor who lived and died in Britain.
He portions his chutney, slices his treacle bread and pipes the top of the paté with fennel puree.
The paté pots are topped with fennel fronds and the bread and chutney are arranged on the pass around a bust of Emperor Septimius Severus.
Paul Ainsworth: "Okay, James, let's start with the paté. Is that how you wanted it?"
James: "Maybe it could have done been a little bit firmer."
Peers, behind the scenes
"I think it needs a bit more texture for me. It's all a bit soft."
"Soft, yeah."
Back in the tasting room ...
Paul Ainsworth: "The chutney for you. Is it. Is it a chutney?"
James: "Maybe not in the form of as in like in a jar and set as in like with pectin and things like that."
Peers, behind the scenes
"Smoked paprika is strong, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Maybe a little bit too much but it'Ss a super earthy dish."
"You want to sit down and eat it, and you want to spend some time with the bread, right?"
" Yeah, I'd love to spend a little time with that bread."
Back in the tasting room ...
Paul Ainsworth: "The treacle bread. Exactly how you wanted it?"
James: "Exactly how I wanted it."
Paul Ainsworth: "James, I'm going to be brutally honest with you. It worries me and slightly disappoints me when chefs tell me that they've not really practiced it as a whole, but they've practiced elements. Are you happy with how this has turned out?"
James: " It is an elements dish, so I think, you know, yeah, I'm happy with it."
Paul Ainsworth: "James, if you were to score this dish, what would you give it?"
James: " I would love an eight for it."
Paul Ainsworth: "You've deducted yourself two points. Why?"
James: "Maybe it's got maybe too much of a playful element. You know, maybe the finesse side."
Final Judging
Paul Ainsworth: "James, for your dish, the emperor, I thought it was fun, and I thought it was clever and a really good use of the brief. Your mushroom pate just felt like a set mushroom puree. The jelly on top of the pate was excellent. However, the chutney wasn't the right choice. The bread was more like a soft bread roll. And I feel the soda bread texture is better. Overall, the dish needed a bit more acidity and color wise, I think you'll agree it was just all a bit brown."
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