It’s awful to go last. How heart sinking to see that your ‘original’ interpretation of the brief turned out not to be unique and that the chefs who went before you had annoyingly similar ideas. Ah well, with only the banquet itself ahead, this is the contestants’ final chance to give us: something dedicated to Nye Bevan involving coal, an overseas cuisine or fusion dish that celebrates the rich heritage of the NHS workforce, a ready meal homage to shift workers and… soup in a teapot. Fortunately the Northern Ireland contingent doesn’t disappoint and manages to tick off all of the above.
Last year’s regional winner, Tommy Heaney is about to open his own restaurant in Cardiff. He starts with an all-day-breakfast-inspired dish called ‘Eat, Sleep, Nightshift, Repeat’. Confit tomatoes, pickled mushrooms and Coco de Paimpol beans are cosily tucked up under a blanket of bacon foam, then topped with a crumb-coated, deep-fried poached duck egg, pancetta crisps and slivers of toasted sourdough for extra crunch. His toast consommé is served in a teapot, ready to pour and Andi thinks the flavour is lovely – ‘it’s got real depth to it’. Guest judge Shehan Hettiaratchy, lead trauma surgeon at St Mary’s Hospital, London says ‘I’m loving the egg’. Matthew adds ‘the pickled mushroom is an Oscar-winning supporting act’, though Oliver says ‘I don’t think this is a meal of a lifetime dish’.
Tommy’s rival is newcomer Shauna Froydenland, a protégée of Marcus Wareing who is now chef patron at his Michelin-starred restaurant in Knightsbridge. ‘Importing from Overseas’ is a celebration of spicy flavours and of the invaluable contribution of NHS staff from overseas. Shauna serves coriander yogurt and tomato chutney in Indian thali bowls. Coated in butter chicken sauce, a slab of spiced and barbecued potato terrine sits on cauliflower and cumin puree, garnished with pickled cauliflower, red onion, crispy potato glass, chicken skin and dots of coriander yogurt. Shehan politely comments it’s ‘not too spicy’, though Matthew and Andi agree the chutney is too sweet. Uncharacteristically quiet at first, Oliver eventually confesses ‘I’m trying to find a reason to like it – that’s the problem’. Andi says ‘I’m getting a lot of mediocre impact from an enormous amount of ingredients’ and Shehan admits ‘it’s not got that lifetime memory flavour that we’re looking for’.