Great British Menu ™
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The Feast of Wallace
David: "This is lovely lado fat. Lots of lovely rich ingredients getting minced. This dish is an absolute celebration of Scotland. Every iconic product that we have is on that plate."
David: "The venison itself is quite a lean meat. So the lardo de Coloniata will go right through the venison. And then the whole thing will be poached in a smoked bone marrow."
David: "I could poach my own shoe in the bone marrow, and it would taste nice."
David: "The swede (rutabaga) is being slowly braised in the venison bone stock, and then that's topped with something called scurley which is like a sort of savory porridge."
"I've also got a Scotch pie. Angus will be inside a potato scone."
Notes taken during cooking
David's scotch pie filling is made using venison spices and smoked foie royale, an ethical alternative to foie gras.
David fills the center of his trimmed fillet with pork fat before wrapping it ready for the water bath.
David's venison haggis stuffed potato scone needs building.
David: "These will be steamed and then chilled and then roasted and then carved."
Aktar Islam: "What have you got ready for me?"
David: "The black garlic glaze, which is getting glazed on top of the venison. It just helps to rest and it also allows the toppings to stick to it."
Aktar Islam, talking to the cameras
"David's black garlic puree. That's a powerful, powerful flavor. Am I actually going to lose the venison?"
Plating
With his swede (rutabaga) fondants cooked, David's sauce just needs finishing.
David; "In goes the blackberry purée, and then I start putting the stalks in. And that needs to be reduced."
Next, the haggis-filled potato scone is basted in butter and honey, whilst his poached venison fillet is seared and glazed with black garlic. Each fondant is garnished with the porridge and pickled onions. The Scotch pies are topped with a leek confit and an antler tuille.
David: "Next? Jus. Done. Purée. That's it. Cheers."
Just the poached venison to add.
Aktar Islam: "Cooking that loin in a water bath. Was that the right choice?"
David: "Yes. I've tried a million different ways to make venison sing. Yeah, I'm happy with how I've cooked that venison."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"I'm pretty happy with the cuisson on that. I think it's nice."
"And he's put lardo in the middle. It's an interesting idea."
"It's very techy. It looks great on the plate. It maybe doesn't add too much to the plate other than the aesthetic."
Back in the judging room
Aktar Islam: "Do you think you've got the ratio right with the amount of haggis in the tatty scone?"
David: "Yeah, I do. I think that's a lovely mouthful."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"The sauce is lovely. It's got nice acidity."
Final Judging
Aktar Islam: "David, for your dish, "The Feast of Wallace", I really love the presentation. Your sauce was full of flavour. The potato scone was great. The swede brochette, that was great. But you took a beautiful piece of venison and I think you used the wrong process to bring out the best from that piece of meat. Putting the lardo into the middle of the loin, it had almost like a rubbery texture to it."
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