Masterchef UK Professionals
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Gurnard Chowder
Gurnard Chowder with Leek Disc, Mussels, Cockles, and Razor Clams
{Patrick}: "To follow, I am doing a take on a chowder. It's one of my dad's favourite dishes, something I've sat beside him in plenty of pubs in Ireland, where he's from, so it's a dish close to my heart. I try to reinvent it and, you know, upscale it in a way. So I've used gurnard fish, something that you often don't see on a plate in restaurants."
{Marcus}: "The sort of fish that you cook and you crush it up in your bisque, your classic bisque, I get that."
{Patrick}: "But I think it's a beautiful fish. It can be amazing, and I'd love to show that these cheaper fish, they're amazing to work with as well. You know, we don't just have to use them for soups and stocks."
{Marcus}: "How's that fish cooked?"
{Patrick}: "I'm going to sous vide it. It'll just be lightly poached at 56 degrees for about 12 minutes."
{Monica}: "Patrick's main course is using gurnard, one of his favourite fish."
{Marcus}: "It's a fish that you normally use for making a lobster bisque. It's got big flavour, and it's nice to see it being used. You've got to scale it properly, you've got to skin it well, and you've got to make sure there's no bones inside. Then he's got some beautiful shellfish. He's got cockles, he's got mussels, and he's got razor clams. He's using the stock of those three shellfish to make his chowder. So he's using absolutely everything up. I think that's great."
{Patrick}: "For my main course, I've served you a gurnard chowder. On the top, I've done a disc of leek, and I've garnished that with some mussels. You've got some cockles and razor clams. On the side, you have the chowder sauce. Hope you guys enjoy."
{Patrick}: "A lot to do today. It's going to be a big push to get these dishes ready for the judges."
{Patrick}: "Food always tastes better when there's a meaning behind it. It's so much easier to make something taste amazing when you are cooking with some sentiment and some love. That's what I'm doing today."
{Xanthi Clay}: "I'm not sure I've ever seen such a pretty chowder."
{Jay Rayner}: "Creamy, it's rich. There's acidity, there's depth. I mean, really, that's fantastic. I would happily, you know, can I have a pint of this, please, and a table in the corner?"
{Xanthi Clay}: "I am enjoying this so much. The chowder sauce is just sublime. So deep, beautiful consistency. The gurnard is just perfectly cooked, just flaking away, just opaque."
{Leyla Kazim}: "This just makes me wonder, why do we not eat gurnard more? This is an absolutely spectacular bit of fish, and the whole thing is just dreamy."
{Marcus}: "That gurnard actually quite surprised me. That's a delicious piece of fish."
{Monica}: "The chowder sauce has got warmth from the ginger. Patrick has managed to really pack it full of shellfish flavour. It's a good tasting plate of food here from Patrick."
OVERALL JUDGES VERDICT: A stunning turnaround from Patrick's starter. The chowder sauce was sublime, rich, creamy with acidity and depth. The gurnard was perfectly cooked and the critics were blown away. All three critics and both judges praised this dish highly.
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