Great British Menu ™
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A Chemist's Lunch
Amber: "My starter is called "A Chemist's Lunch", and it is inspired by the celebrated chemist Humphrey Davy, who discovered lots of different earth metals. We, funnily enough, have got earth metals, earthy vegetable flavors going on, but really a lot of the story comes from how the dish is presented."
Michael Caines: "So what are we going to do with the beetroot then?"
Amber: "I'm going to pressure cook it to really intensify that beetroot flavor. I'm going to be slicing that and doing some cornets and then serving that with a toasted sunflower seed sauce. The lemons are used to make a little lemon gel to really elevate the earthiness of that beetroot. There's a few little surprises in there."
Notes taken during cooking
Amber pressure cooks beetroot in an infusion of thyme.
Amber finishes off a soy oil to dress her dish before moving on to sunflower seed sauce.
Amber: "Half of the sunflower seeds have been toasted, half of them haven't been toasted."
Michael Caines: "Maybe you've got a little bit for me to taste?"
Amber: "Of course, this is my sunflower seed sauce."
Michael Caines: "Oh, yeah. And you're happy with the viscosity?"
Amber: "Yes. It's a good place at the moment. It's a funny one because when you blend it and warm it up, it thickens. So it's just keeping that balance throughout the whole process."
Michael Caines: "I'm looking for where the other flavor profile is going to come from. I get the earthiness of the beetroot, I get that creaminess of the sauce, but I need another element bringing to that plate to really set my palette alight."
Plating
Amber's next to the pass and plates beetroot ketchup, followed by pressure cooked beetroot cornets and a zesty lemon gel.
She adds pickled beetroot and toasted sunflower seeds, and tiny flowers.
The plates are accompanied by vials of pickle beetroot reduction, sorrel oil, and smoked rapeseed oil which is designed to be interactively mixed with the sunflower seed sauce.
Michael Caines: "Let's start with the beetroot cornets. Are you pleased with that?"
Amber: "Yes, I wanted just a really clean flavor of beetroot running through that dish.
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
I think she's done really, really well at concentrating the beetroot flavor. You really do get hit in the face with the beetroot.
Back in the judging room ...
Michael Caines: "Turning to the sunflower seeds. You talked about that nuttiness, the balance of that. Are you pleased with it?"
Amber: "I am disappointed with the consistency."
Michael Caines: "Is it too thick or too thin?"
Amber: "Touch too thick."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
I think the sauce is really nice.
Back in the judging room ...
Amber: "I would have liked a little bit more acidity just to lift it."
Michael Caines: "If you were to redo that dish, what would you think the dish could do with?"
Amber: "I would only toast a third of the sunflower seeds rather than a half of them to get that better balance in the sauce."
Michael Caines: "So if you were to score this dish, what would you give yourself?"
Amber: "I think I would give myself a 7."
Final Judging
Michael Caines: "Amber, your dish. "A chemist's lunch". I like the presentation. It was fun, and it got me connected with the brief. I really thought that was really fantastic. The beetroots were cooked nicely, but underwhelming. The sauce is very comforting. I love the viscosity. Yes. It was a little bit too thick. Perhaps if the sauce hadn't been so thick, you might got that balance, but it's got great potential.
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