Great British Menu ™
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Mother of Glastonbury
Nicholas: "The name of my dish is "Mother of Glastonbury", and it is inspired by Gene Evis, the co founder of Glastonbury Festival, obviously a Somerset institution."
Michael Caines: "What are you cooking for us?"
Nicholas: "I'm cooking a dish which is based around cider and mushrooms, both things that might be consumed at a festival. I've got some amazing lion's mane mushroom and king oyster mushrooms. They're going to be the centerpiece of the dish. I'm actually going to fry the lion's mane in a cider tempura batter. And then I'm going to make a ragu with trimmings of the king oyster and some spelt. I'm gonna make a veil out of cider vinegar pickle brine, which I'm gonna dot with food coloring. So it almost looked like a kind of kaleidoscope effect on the top."
Notes taken during cooking
Nicholas starts his fermented red pepper glaze using gochujang.
Later ...
Nicholas moves on to his spelt ragu, frying shallots and thyme.
Nichaolas: "I'm just going to let that toast a little bit and then deglaze it with dry cider."
Michael Caines: "Have you got something for me to taste?"
Nicholas: "I do. I've got my fermented red pepper glaze."
Michael Caines: "Ah, yes. So this is a sort of coating?"
Nicholas: "It's going to be dressed over the top rather than kind of tossed in. And so as you kind of bite through, you're going to kind of get like, pops of that flavor coming through."
Michael Caines, out of earshot, speaking to the camera: "Actually, the sauce is really nice, but there's going to be a lot going on. So how will that stand up next to all those other elements coming together on the plate?"
Nicholas: "Next is the cider veil. Vibrant food coloring is drizzled into pickle brine before setting. It's just another layer of trippy, psychedelic visuals for the dish, really."
Plating
Nicholas is first to plate his starter. He fries lion's mane mushrooms last minute for his tempura. Then plates the cider and spelt ragu. Adds oyster mushrooms and sesame inside a sauce split with chive oil.
Next, the tempura is dressed with fermented red pepper glaze. Candied beetroot is added. And the dish is topped with a psychedelic cider veil.
Michael Caines: "Does cider and spelt work well on this dish?"
Nicholas: "I think it does. The only acidity I've used throughout the whole dish is cider vinegar."
Michael Caines: "Do you feel that you've got the right balance in the flavors here?
Nicholas: "I think there is a really good balance. I think there's a lot going on, but I think they marry together really well.
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"There's a lot on a very small dish, you might do with taking one element off even."
Back in the judging room ...
Michael Caines: "How do you think the king oysters fared with the dish?
Nicholas: "It is quite in the background, but that was intentional. The star, if you like, is the lion's mane in tempura,"
Michael Caines: "The secondary mushroom, the oyster mushroom. Is that a bit lost?"
Nicholas: "Yeah, I think it is lost.
Michael Caines: "Now, this sauce, tell us a little bit about how you fee that's gone.?
Nicholas: "I think it's really good. I kind of wanted it to have a creamy, luxurious mouthfeel. I didn't want it to be too thin and milky.
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
I think the sauce is really nice. It had a nice nuttiness to it.
Back in the judging room ...
Michael Caines: "The psychedelic gel. Are you pleased with what that's brought to the plate?"
Nicholas: "It is there for sweetness and acidity. The base of it is a pickle brine.
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
It felt a little bit weird on the palate. I'm not such a fan of like a coldish jelly on top of a warm dish.
Back in the judging room ...
Michael Caines: "What would you score this dish if you had to do it yourself?
Nicholas: "I think I'd have to go for an eight.
Final Judging
Michael Caines: "Nicholas, your dish. "Mother of Glastonbury", the presentation was colorful and playful. The psychedelic cider jelly didn't quite work for me. It had acidity and sweetness, but the acidity is needed through the whole dish, not just on the top. The tempura of lions mane was a real delight. I really thought that was the tastiest part of the dish. The spelt mushroom ragu. Well, I thought that was slightly under seasoned.
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