Generally speaking, less is more. In this competition, there’s a time and a plate for gold leaf and popping candy, but, when it comes to personal accessories, simple styling can be the key to success. Et voilà – enter this week’s veteran chef, Tommy Banks, looking beautifully understated in a modern interpretation of chef’s whites. And then two competing chefs decided to dress him up a bit. Worcester born Sam Ashton-Booth, development chef for Tom Aikens at Muse in Belgravia was responsible for the gold laurel crown. Liam Nichols, head chef of Store in Norwich opted instead for a Danish-style coronet. In fairness, Tommy pulled off both looks with aplomb, but it didn’t stop Sam from going home after the fish course and Liam following after dessert. Coincidence perhaps, but a lesson worth noting nonetheless - if you want to get ahead, think twice about giving Tommy a hat.
Taking a more classically refined and restrained approach are Adam Smith, executive chef at Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park in Ascot, and Louisa Ellis, a private chef who creates bespoke tasting menus for clients in and around Nottingham.
In the judging chamber, Ed, Nisha and Tom are joined by renowned Paralympian sprinter Jonnie Peacock and the chefs are straight out of the blocks with two tasty canapés. Adam serves a Thai-flavoured cured chalk stream trout tartlet with trout roe. Louisa’s is lightly cured salmon with chilli emulsion on crispy salmon skin. ‘What a start!’ exclaims Tom, as the judges are evenly divided over their favourite.
‘Definitely not chips and dips,’ has been Adam’s insistent claim about his starter – a colourful tribute to the Olympic oath. Meticulously arranged petals complete his sunflower illusion of tomato jelly with tonburi, elderflower-glazed roast tomatoes, sunflower hummus, diced avocado and a linseed tuile. Nisha says she’s struggling with the petals, but Tom insists ‘they’re lovely’ and tells her to ‘think of it like a salad leaf’. Jonnie loves the avocado, Tom doesn’t, and Ed says if he’d had a mini pitta bread he’d have ‘whammed it all in.’
Inspired by the new Olympic sport of breaking (aka break dancing), Louisa serves up ‘Breakin’ Beets’ – a tartare-style disc of barbecued beetroot, fermented beetroot, beetroot jelly, blackberry and chard, mixed with wasabi and smoked seaweed oil. Perched on a black caraway and hazelnut tuile designed to look like a vinyl record, it comes with tiny finger-sized sneakers and instructions on how to bust some moves in them. Poor Tom can’t even get them on and sadly, the dish itself doesn’t seem to be a good fit either. Ed and Tom agree the tuile is too sweet and Tom concludes ‘it’s not gelling.’