Great British Menu ™
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Try, try and try again
David: "My dish is called 'Try, Try Try Again' and it's based on Victoria Drumond, the very first female engineer in Britain."
David: "In 1926, Victoria Drummond qualified as a second ship's engineer. She repeatedly tried for chief engineer, but after passing the exam, no British ship ever promoted her."
David: "It's a scallop vermouth martini. There's a little scallop canapé which has got orange and saffron and scallop tartare, Beautiful hand dived roasted scallops, a lovely smoked hollandaise sauce and there's a scallop shell bread."
Notes taken during cooking
With tartlet bases baking for five, David prepares the scallops for the filling.
David: "I'm scoring the top so that you get more surface area when you roast it."
David: "I'm working on an orange and saffron jelly served on top of a little scallop tartlet. The scallops are naturally sweet. There's ginger in there and a fresh lime. Pearls finger limes, so it's very, very fragrant."
Aktar Islam, talking behind the scenes
"Just tried David's orange and saffron jelly. The flavor of saffron comes through. I do like that element of bitterness that's coming through from the orange as well."
Plating
David: "A lot has to happen in this next 20 minutes for this dish to be pulled off."
First to the pass, David with his scallop ode to Victoria Drummond. Each component is being layered in a lighthouse tiffin box, but not before his scallop bread is baked.
A tartlet is filled with the scallop tartar and topped with a din (?) emulsion. His queen scallops are pan roasted before resting in a smoked butter made with scallop roe. A fennel salad is topped with the smoked hollandaise. The scallop shell bread goes on the top.
Aktar Islam: "Are you happy with the cooking of the scallop?"
David: "Yeah, I'm happy with the cooking of the scallop. You don't want a rubber bullet."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"The tartare could have had a bit more seasoning for me"
"The actual main element of the dish is delicious."
"I mean, I absolutely love the scallop. Love that."
"So you got the bitterness of the citrus coming through on the jelly. And then you've got finger lime running through that as well."
"The finger lime adds a real pop and a real acidity."
"That's delicious. I love the scallop combination with the orange and the smoky thing on top."
Back in the judging room
Aktar Islam: "What's your opinion on the bread?"
David: "It's not ideal, Chef."
Aktar Islam: "Where do you think it's gone wrong?"
David: "I rushed the first proof."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"Bread's just not right. Just a bit under, I think."
"Yeah, the bread's a bit under proved."
Final Judging
Aktar Islam: "David, for your dish. "Try, try, try again". I thought the presentation was so playful. The roasted scallop was beautiful and cooked really well. The scallop tartare was a great use for scallops. And finger lime can be quite bitter. It dominated the scallop and you're left with a bitter flavor. The milk bread, I think, was a great idea. I really wish for you it had worked out."
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