Great British Menu ™
Baker:
Season:
Week:
Challenge Type:
'NHS'
Lewis: “The dish is called “NHS”. It's an acronym of Nasturtium, Horseradish, Scallop, the main components of the dish. The scallops can be served raw. So I've basically packed it in some shio koji in a bowl with some horseradish custard. And then we're going to make a beef fat and brown butter dashi, which is going to be poured over it and it should just heat the scallop through. “
Spencer Metzger: “Make sure you get all your temperatures right. I think that's a big thing in your dishes, isn't it? If your scallops too cold, you're pouring a hot broth over the top.”
Lewis vacuum packs his scallops with the koji and starts on his horseradish custard.
Judges talking behind the scenes
“So let's start with Lewis. There's nowhere to hide at all on this.”
“The oil's got to be amazing. The horseradish custard's got to have the perfect texture. All those little things would go at the end, which could cause a little bit of a problem for him.”
Notes taken during cooking
Lewis chills his dash, finishes his nasturtium oil, but isn't happy with his custard.
Lewis: “I’ll add a bit lemon zest to help lift the whole thing. But it's got a really bit of a waxy bit of taste to it. I think I’ll start over.”
Plating
Lewis is plating first and has finally cracked his custard.
Lewis: "I wasn't happy with my horseradish custard. What I've done, though, I've smoked the roe. I've reserved the smoking liquor, and I've sort of whisked that through there, and it's just given a nice bit of smoky flavor."
The custard goes onto the dish first.
Raw koji-infused scallops are next.
He dresses the scallops with caviar.
The dashi is poured into bottles.
A drizzle of nasturtium oil is added to the dish and a shaving of scallop roe.
Spencer Metzger: "So let's start with the scallops. Do you think they're the right thickness, the right temperature?"
Lewis: "No, I. I think I should have gone a little bit thinner and make the dashi a bit hotter."
Peers, talking behind the scenes
"I think it's a risk doing the whole scallop raw."
Back in the Judging Room
Spencer Metzger: "And then we've got, obviously, the horseradish custard at the bottom. What do you think about the flavor, the texture, the amount of it in the dish?"
Lewis: "I think, yeah, it just needs a bit more punch. It needs more fresh horseradish.
Peers, talking behind the scenes
"I'm definitely getting enough horseradish"
"I think it's well balanced."
Back in the Judging Room
Spencer Metzger: "And the nasturtium oil is coming through?"
Lewis: "Yeah, not very strongly, but they both have a peppery element."
Spencer Metzger: "And if you had to score this dish, what would you give it?"
Lewis: "Going to go six. Nothing on this. Perfect. There's just lots of little errors, as I say. So I think everything can be tweaked up a bit."
Final Judging
"About the cooking, Lewis, for your dish. NHS, I like the dashi served in the old medical bottle. I think you could have been a little bit more creative with the presentation of dish. The scallops, I thought they were sliced perfectly, and they had a nice bite. The nasturtium oil was a little bit weak. I think it could have been a bit more fiery. The horseradish custard had a good peppery taste. I think you could have made it a little bit firmer so it didn't all curdle in the bottom of the bowl."
