Great British Menu ™
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Where Leach meets West
Joe's using brill for his fish course. He mixes salt, sugar, and lime to cure the fish.
Joe: "The name of my dish is "Where Leach meets West". It's based on a man called Bernard Leach. He basically spent a lot of time in Hong Kong, learning the art of ceramics. Then he came back to St. Ives where he opened a studio. And that's how Bernard Leach became known as the godfather of studio ceramics."
Michael Caines: "So how are you going to get that on a plate?"
Joe: "What I'm trying to do is fuse east and west. So we've got a sashimi. I'm curing the fish, but only briefly. Doing that with some English flavors. So we finish it with a ginger beer granita. And then as a little nod to his birthplace of Hong Kong, we've got like a little dim sum type steamed bun."
Joe: "I'm using brill because it's got a natural sweetness to it. Lends itself to that gentle cure. If I cure it for exactly a set amount of time, I know it's going to be exactly right."
Later ...
Joe is on the punchy element of his dish. A boozy vodka, lime and coconut dressing. And he rolls dough balls, which he'll prove before steaming."
Joe dices his cured brill and adds buns to the steamer.
Michael Caines: "Can I try anything?"
Joe: "So I've got a little bit of the coconut, lime and vodka dressing. It is literally equal parts lime, vodka and coconut."
Michael Caines, speaking behind the scenes
"That's going to be really, really interesting with the fish. East meets west is always a bit tricky. I like the elements that he's got coming together. I've tasted his vinaigrette. I loved it, actually. A bit of great cocktail, frankly."
Joe works on his ginger beer granita.
Plating
Joe is plating his cured brill fish dish first. Steamed buns are dipped in seafood glaze. English sake is decanted into jugs.
Ginger beer granita is first. Diced cured brill, and scallop tartar is added before lime and avocado puree.
Joe: "This is coconut, vodka and lime juice."
Pickled cucumbers and radishes are added. Next, garnishes of fresh chili, fried peanuts, and salmon roe. Steamed buns are topped with spring onion and fresh chili.
"What are those little balls?"
Joe: "It's like a bao bun. I made it with a blend of plain flour and bread flour."
Michael Caines: "Let's go through what you've done with the fish."
Joe: "I've really lightly cured it. I wanted to showcase the ultra fresh brill that we have available to us in Cornwall."
Michael Caines: "And you've gone for this real kick of chili. Do you think that'll overpower it?"
Joe: "It's definitely prominent, but I think that we've got such a huge hit of lime, a huge hit of vodka, a huge hit of coconut. The sweetness and stuff. I think it works well.
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
There's a bit of spice in there, which is really lovely.
Back in the judging room ...
Michael Caines: "The bun itself, the texture and the way that this is going to marry with this dish. Are you happy with it?"
Joe: "I think with the steamed bun, I didn't want it to be, like, a huge, prominent part of the whole dish. I wanted it almost to be like a cheeky nibble on the side."
Peers, tasting behind the scenes
"That bao bun is lovely."
"It's possibly the tiniest bit of bread I've ever seen in my entire life."
Michael Caines: "Do you think these are successfully paired English and Asian flavors on a plate?
Joe: "I think so. I know the proof is in the pudding, but I think so."
Final Judging
Michael: "Joe, your dish. When Leach meets West. Beautifully presented. I can see east really meets west in this dish. And a wonderful display of Southwest produce. The cure on the brill and the scallops gave it a lovely texture and delivered with the seasoning being on point. The coconut, vodka and lime, that was the triumph. I really love that. I didn't like the clumsiness of the chili on top. Maybe a sophisticated brunois or small dice on top would have been much more fitting for the dish. The bun was a little dense, but it was the right dish to choose given the fact that you couldn't eat fish."
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