Great British Menu ™
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Beef Fillet with Triple Cooked Chips
Beef Fillet with Bone Marrow and Ox Tongue Sauce, Beef Cheek on Confit Carrot, Triple Cooked Chips with Wensleydale and Malt Vinegar Mayo
Jack's main course is a beef fillet dinner with multiple beef elements. The beef fillet is seared in a pan for caramelization, then finished on the grill/barbecue for a touch of smoke. The sauce is a super rich beef sauce enriched with bone marrow for creaminess and roasted ox tongue (brined for two days, cooked for three, incredibly soft). The sauce is served in small jugs with pieces of tongue. Beef cheeks are pressure cooked with heavy caramelization first, building an old-school sauce base with celery. The soft, pulled beef cheek is bound with a little sauce and served on top of a carrot that has been confited in beef fat, topped with pickled carrot. Triple cooked chips are finished in the fryer, then topped with microplaned Wensleydale cheese, served with a malt vinegar mayonnaise (reduced malt vinegar folded into mayo). A courgette and basil salad with sliced olives provides some freshness. Jack's research involved watching chip shops to understand deep frying. His chips unfortunately overcook in the fryer while he is distracted setting up the pass with props. He has no choice but to serve them. Jack is self-critical, scoring himself a 6 or 7, saying quite a lot of work needs to be done. Daniel gives it 10. Paul gives it 10 (then jokingly drops it to 9 because Jack made him wear a hat).
Lisa Goodwin-Allen: Really original and playful presentation. The beef fillet was cooked really well and full of flavour. She really liked the sauce - it was not overpowering. The beef cheek was soft and inviting. The chips were in the fryer too long. For such a rich plate of food, Jack balanced it really well overall. With a few tweaks, if he takes one or two items off so he can concentrate on the ones remaining, this could be a banquet-worthy dish. Lisa scored Jack 9.
Aktar Islam: He loved the energy Jack brought to the pass with this dish. It was fun, a little bit crazy. Aktar scored Jack 8.
Fellow contestant scores: Daniel scored it 10. Paul scored it 10 (jokingly reduced to 9 for the hat).
During tasting, Paul noted the beef fillet was "like butter, beautifully cooked." Jack acknowledged the carrots could be thicker so the pickle is more intense, and the chips needed more care. Daniel commented he would have preferred the marrow cooked in a pan or on the grill rather than added raw to the sauce. Aktar noted the malt vinegar emulsion with the chips was a winner. Total main course score: 17 (Lisa 9 + Aktar 8).
FINALS JUDGING -- Changes: Made a Wensleydale Caesar dressing (using Wensleydale instead of Parmesan) for the chips, addressing Lisa's note that the cheese doesn't melt properly. Went bigger on the chips for fluffier inside. Seared beef fat carrots for more flavour and texture. Added fresh mustard to pulled beef cheeks.
Debbie: "Delicious chips. Crunchy on the outside and very soft inside."
Tom: "The beef fat chips I think are an absolute triumph flavour wise. I think they're a little fatty. The beef fillet is fantastic. The sauce I've spilled all over the table is magic. The carrot is delicious. The cheek is fantastic. I'm not quite sure about the courgette salad. The cabbage is better than the salad."
Lorna: "I really love the chips. The beef actually tastes really nice for being that kind of leaner fillet cut. It does taste very nice. I just don't know if it excites me that much."
Phil: "The chips are really fatty because the beef itself is so lean. It kind of complements it. The Wensleydale sauce, I thought the cheese sauce would be too rich but because it's got that tang, it does balance out quite nicely with the meat. I'm not sure what the vinegar emulsion is for though."
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