The F Word 5x12

1. - Tonight is the final in our search

2. for The F Word's best local restaurant.

3. For the past 10 weeks, I've been searching for

4. the nation's best local restaurants.

5. From nearly 10,000 nominations, it's down to two.

6. They're about to compete in tonight's final.

7. But only one will go home a winner.

8. It's Indian versus British.

9. Who's it gonna be?

10. Lasan from Birmingham is my best local Indian.

11. - There's only one place for us and that is winning it.

12. - They're up against

13. my best local British restaurant,

14. The Pheasant from Cambridgeshire.

15. - I want to be first.

16. I want the trophy.

17. There's no second place.

18. - Two extraordinary restaurants serving

19. delicious, exciting food.

20. I've put them through the toughest of challenges.

21. Are you two okay?

22. - We're fine, Chef, we're fine.

23. - It's not looking like the most dynamic team together.

24. - You eat it, it's fucking hard!

25. It's fucking bullshit!

26. - And tonight, I'll decide the winner.

27. In tonight's final it's India versus

28. Britain as two outstanding chefs

29. battle it out for the title of

30. The F Word's best local restaurant.

31. Their challenge is to come up with three stunning dishes

32. made with Janet Street Porter's

33. delicious pork, beef and chicken.

34. My first finalist tonight is Lasan from Birmingham.

35. When I first walked in the door

36. at Lasan I could sense straightaway

37. that it was something special.

38. Nice atmosphere.

39. It was cool, contemporary and stylish.

40. - We were the first restaurant

41. to break away from the mainstream and offer alternatives

42. to your baltis and your tikka masalas.

43. - That's exquisitely presented.

44. Finesse.

45. - Aktar how are you?

46. - I'm very well Chef.

47. - In the kitchen, I discovered head chef, Aktar,

48. swimming against the tide, refusing to serve up

49. familiar crowd pleasers like chicken tikka masala.

50. What's the ambition of Lasan, what is it?

51. - It's not food for people

52. who haven't got an educated palate,

53. it is a very sophisticated cuisine.

54. - There's something very special about Lasan's dishes,

55. and they served me some of the

56. best food I've tasted outside India.

57. The murgh makhani and the buttered chicken, absolutely

58. delicious, melt in your mouth and, yeah, authentic.

59. But my winner tonight must also be committed

60. to delivering the very best service to its customers.

61. So for the semi-finals, Lasan had

62. to undergo three gruelling tests.

63. First up, I sent in secret diners.

64. - Is it possible to change it because

65. it's a bit to hot for me, sorry.

66. Aw, thank you!

67. - Attentive service, yeah, good.

68. And then 30 F Word diners visited Lasan,

69. putting Aktar's kitchen under immense pressure.

70. - Aktar? - Yeah?

71. - How much longer, can you give me a time?

72. - Eight to 10 minutes at least.

73. - Another 10 minutes?

74. - At least.

75. - Aktar, he's got to get a grip.

76. There's a customer sat upstairs minus a main course,

77. which is not good enough.

78. Aktar's very confident and

79. sometimes he can be a bit too cocky for his own good.

80. - How did you find the makhani, Chef?

81. - I thought the food was outstanding.

82. - Did you forget about the masala?

83. - Can I finish?

84. - Sorry.

85. - But I love his ingenuity and his fearless determination

86. to take risks with his cooking.

87. Fenugreek and saffron for the potatoes and cauliflower?

88. - No, the saffron's actually in the gravy.

89. - In the gravy? - Yeah, that's right.

90. - In the third test at my flagship

91. restaurant at Royal Hospital Road,

92. Aktar revealed his more sensitive side.

93. - I've always been knocked for our

94. approach by people within our industry

95. for, you know, pushing the barrier.

96. - Wow, absolutely phenomenal.

97. You taste it and it blows your mind away.

98. My other finalist tonight couldn't be more different,

99. The Pheasant from rural Cambridgeshire.

100. As soon as I set foot in this rustic restaurant,

101. I was completely seduced by the warm atmosphere

102. that husband and wife team, Jay and Taffeta, have created.

103. - Let me get you a menu.

104. - Thank you very much.

105. Very cosy, those ceilings,

106. beautiful building from the outside.

107. Thatched roof.

108. Feels and looks and smells British.

109. The Pheasant is a slice of paradise in the heart

110. of the English countryside.

111. - We have customers that'll just turn

112. up and throw a brace of pigeon down,

113. or the other day we had a guy who

114. had gone shooting for some mallard.

115. We trade off, we might cook them a duck supper.

116. That's payment for it, really.

117. They don't want to see anything wasted.

118. - The Pheasant serves wonderful British food,

119. and head chef Jay, is so devoted to the local produce he

120. gets his ingredients from the farm next door.

121. - They've got the cows,

122. pigs and all that sort of stuff.

123. We cook everything off the animal,

124. especially all the offal.

125. I love offal, so why not use it?

126. - Partridge, tough bird to cook.

127. They go dry within seconds.

128. So, yeah, that was delicious.

129. - My team of secret diners confirmed

130. that the pheasant was just as good when I wasn't there.

131. - No, that's very kind of you.

132. - They're good.

133. And when I turned up with

134. my coachload of F Word diners, they coped brilliantly.

135. The service is friendly, attentive.

136. Everyone was little busy-bodies,

137. running around making sure bread,

138. butter, water, and constantly

139. observing, which is always nice.

140. Jay's a very controlling chef.

141. Very hands on, everything functions around him.

142. He's at the central point on the hotplate

143. and everything comes up to him.

144. He misses nothing, everything's scrutinised,

145. overseen, tasted as well, which is a good sign.

146. When things do go wrong, however, Jay's head can drop.

147. - It's fucking hard.

148. It's fucking bullshit!

149. - Pastry all soggy? - Yeah.

150. - Just sat too long, or?

151. - Just rested like that, needed to be on a rack.

152. - The fucking one day that fucking matters

153. and we can't do it fucking properly!

154. - But in the semi-final at Royal

155. Hospital Road, Jay proved once again

156. what a fantastic chef he is.

157. Does it work?

158. My God.

159. It's amazing.

160. Now Lasan and The Pheasant face one last test.

161. Tonight they'll be battling it out

162. for the F Word's best local restaurant.

163. Service is about to start and this is going to be

164. the fight of their lives.

165. I will have the final say on who wins.

166. So who's it going to be?

167. It's too close to call.

168. Only one can win.

169. This needs to be the best service of your lives.

170. Next on the menu, the battle begins

171. and the culinary skills of my two

172. finalists are tested to the limit.

173. - I'm just zoned into winning and that is gonna be it.

174. - I feel like chewing through

175. my wrist I want it so bad!

176. - I want that accolade of being Gordon

177. Ramsay's best local restaurant.

178. - Tonight we're going to be crowning

179. the F Word's best local restaurant.

180. It's Indian versus British.

181. In tonight's final,

182. the Pheasant from Cambridgeshire and

183. Lasan from Birmingham are battling it out in

184. The F Word restaurant in their toughest challenge yet.

185. They're cooking their own recipes

186. using beef, pork and chicken

187. that Janet Street-Porter has provided

188. from her farm in Yorkshire.

189. Who will I crown the F Word's best local restaurant?

190. Right.

191. First of all, welcome back.

192. What an amazing journey it's been for all

193. four of you to be here in the final.

194. Really well done.

195. Right, Jay, how are you feeling?

196. - Anxious, raring to go.

197. - Aktar, how are you feeling?

198. - Very good, Chef, yeah I am raring to go.

199. - Gentlemen, one of you, okay, is going to win the title

200. of The F Word's best local restaurant tonight.

201. There's one shot at this.

202. No rehearsal.

203. Personally, the journey has been phenomenal.

204. I am so glad that both restaurants are back here tonight.

205. Why, because you both deserve, heavily, to be here.

206. I've packed the dining room, purposely, with

207. food writers, critics from all over the country.

208. They are a tough bunch.

209. Just have a look at them.

210. Look at their faces.

211. This is the final.

212. Their comments are absolutely critical, but I will be

213. deciding who is the winner.

214. Now make it your night, okay?

215. Each restaurant's going to make 25

216. portions of their starter.

217. Then you'll do 50 portions

218. of your unique main course,

219. and then back to 25 portions of the dessert each, yes.

220. So really make it work, yes.

221. Let's go.

222. Excellent.

223. Okay, Lasan, first off, four covers away, table one.

224. Four chicken, four beef, four dessert.

225. No answer.

226. - Yes, chef.

227. Sorry.

228. - When you give me that level of confidence,

229. shout, I turn my back, I can continue.

230. When it's silent, we haven't got it.

231. You know the score, you've been here.

232. Let's start again.

233. Four covers, table one, yes?

234. Lasan, here we go, first ticket, four chicken,

235. four beef, four dessert.

236. - Yes, chef!

237. - Hassan? - Yes, chef!

238. - Thank you, welcome back.

239. Both brigades are cooking with animals from Janet's farm.

240. Here's Lasan's starter with Street-Porter chicken.

241. Aktar's been on an amazing journey during this competition.

242. In the semi-final, the cocky,

243. arrogant facade finally cracked.

244. - I was so disappointed with the way things went.

245. I thought I'd lost it and that was it.

246. But then when chef turned round and said I've

247. made it through to the finals with my team,

248. it was absolutely amazing.

249. Once again, I broke into tears.

250. So I won't be able to walk into our local any

251. more without having the piss taken out of me.

252. - Here's an order for Adraki murgh.

253. - Lasan's starter tonight is chicken

254. tandoori masala with mint chutney.

255. First, Aktar rubs the chicken

256. with garlic and a ginger paste.

257. - We're trying to get as much flavour

258. into the chicken as possible.

259. - Next, he makes a marinade.

260. - Most marinades always start off

261. with mustard oil, so here it goes.

262. - Next he adds ground cumin,

263. tandoori masala, garam masala,

264. ground fennel seeds, and white pepper.

265. Then he adds coriander, coats the chicken

266. and leaves it to marinade.

267. - I think this marinade's definitely going

268. to work wonders for Janet's chicken.

269. - Aktar then fries

270. the marinated chicken to seal it.

271. - Just trying to get a bit of colour on it.

272. - And finishes cooking in a hot

273. oven for about eight minutes.

274. He serves with a salad in a

275. coriander dressing and mint chutney.

276. This is typical Aktar.

277. He's fantastic at using great presentation to take Indian

278. food to another level.

279. Chicken tandoori masala with mint chutney, served.

280. Now, even from here, that smells delicious.

281. I hope it works for you tonight, you know that.

282. Guys, taste, taste, taste, yes?

283. Hassan, everything you taste, yeah?

284. Nice.

285. Did you go foraging for them?

286. - Our man did, who goes foraging for us.

287. Had a nice phone call from him at midnight last night.

288. - Saying what, good news or bad news?

289. - Telling me to tell you that he got

290. stung picking them, by wild bees.

291. - He got stung by wild bees at midnight?

292. What the fuck's he doing with

293. wild bees in the middle of winter?

294. Was he somewhere he shouldn't have been?

295. - I think he might have been.

296. - The Pheasant are using Janet's pork for their starter.

297. Head chef, Jay, has upped his game

298. at each stage of the competition.

299. He likes to use every part of the

300. animal, so for his starter he's going

301. to use the pig's head to make a

302. brawn, quite an ambitious dish.

303. - It's really important not to waste a thing.

304. So you've got to be inventive in how

305. are you going to scrape the bones

306. down to make a tureen, or whatever.

307. That's what we practise here.

308. The Pheasant is what life is all about.

309. We do put everything into it.

310. I want to be the best.

311. I want that accolade of being

312. Gordon Ramsay's best local restaurant.

313. - Check on, one brawn.

314. - The Pheasant's starter tonight

315. is brawn with crisp pork belly.

316. To make the brawn, Jay cooks the pig's head with

317. vegetables, herbs, spices and pig's trotters.

318. - Brawn is a traditional English coarse pate.

319. - Once cooked, he removes all the flesh from

320. the bones, along with some of the skin.

321. - You'd be surprised the amount of meat

322. that there is actually within the head.

323. That's the cheek there, a lovely little nugget of meat.

324. - To flavour the brawn, he adds parsley,

325. green peppercorns and mixed spices.

326. Jay uses half the brawn to make the carpaccio.

327. The other half is breaded and deep fried.

328. Jay's brawn carpaccio is served with hard-boiled

329. egg, baby leeks, and a chopped apple salad.

330. Finally, the dish is finished

331. with a slice of fried pork belly.

332. Brawn with crisp pork belly, served.

333. Tell me about the recipe.

334. - Brawn is brawn.

335. The reason for the carpaccio, just to

336. sort of lose the ick factor for the ladies, really.

337. - It's a very robust.

338. It's made of pig's head. - It's what the pub does.

339. They're all foodies.

340. Even if they don't like the idea of brawn,

341. they'll try it, I'm sure if they try it, they'll like it.

342. - Okay, guys well done.

343. Jay, they look fantastic.

344. Are you happy with those?

345. - Yes Chef, yeah yeah.

346. - They look amazing.

347. Really good indeed.

348. Service, please, guys.

349. First table, let's go.

350. - Why are you slicing it upside down?

351. Presentation side down.

352. - No, presentation side.

353. - No, no, no, the other way.

354. - You slice from the presentation side.

355. Have you not been watching me?

356. - Aktar, Jay's got a table out already.

357. But it's not a race, yes.

358. - It's all about getting it right.

359. Come on, Hassan, please.

360. No problem.

361. I've got to put it this way now.

362. - Aktar, happy with them?

363. - I'm very happy, thank you, chef.

364. - They smell delicious,

365. by the way, absolutely delicious.

366. Love the colours.

367. Service, please.

368. Nice and gentle on the plates.

369. Four on table one, please.

370. - Yes, chef.

371. - Aktar, they look fantastic.

372. Love the smell.

373. - The chicken dish was really close to being a great dish,

374. but it just wasn't quite there.

375. In the spicing, there was just too much chilli

376. and therefore they lost the harmony of the dish.

377. - I thought the chicken was excellent.

378. Really moist, really juicy and tender.

379. It's fantastic because it's on the bone

380. and that's really where the flavour comes from.

381. I loved the mint and coriander chutney.

382. - Jay, are you a big lover of Indian food?

383. - It's my favourite cuisine, yeah.

384. - It won't be tonight if you lose.

385. - He's promised me a free meal.

386. - I thought the pork was really,

387. it melted in the mouth.

388. It was cooked to perfection.

389. The crackling was lovely and

390. against the tartness of the apples

391. and the sweetness of the leaks, it was lovely.

392. - The carpaccio was quite fatty.

393. The small crispy squares were quite fatty.

394. Fat done very well, but also

395. a little bit too much of it.

396. - Really vibrant start in there.

397. Jay's got off to a very confident, composed,

398. energetic start, keeping himself to

399. himself but focusing on his flavours.

400. That dish is very, very ambitious.

401. Aktar, however, has come in almost lacking

402. confidence, which is a big change around for him.

403. But more importantly he's started to communicate

404. to his sous chef like he cares,

405. which is a really positive sign.

406. Who's in the lead right now?

407. This is neck and neck.

408. - Welcome to you both.

409. You look amazing.

410. - Thank you.

411. - And you look beautiful.

412. - Thank you very much.

413. - How are you? - I'm fine.

414. - Now, Jabbar, he seems to eat,

415. drink, sleep, breathe food.

416. Is he a workaholic?

417. - He is, yeah, very much so.

418. In fact, I don't know how he

419. does it but he does it well.

420. I think that's largely supported by the amount

421. of passion he has for food and what he does.

422. - Jabbar is making money out of this.

423. He's not particularly bothered

424. about him being a workaholic.

425. Do you have any concerns about the level of commitment

426. that guy puts into his cooking?

427. - There is concerns.

428. I always ask him to lighten up and ease up,

429. but that's his passion and that's

430. where you get the best of Aktar.

431. But out of all of this, Gordon, I

432. have to thank you, he has changed.

433. He has simmered down.

434. He has calmed down.

435. I think he takes on positive criticism.

436. - Good luck, really good to see both.

437. Enjoy the main course.

438. - Thank you.

439. - My goodness me, how are you feeling?

440. - I'm feeling on tenterhooks, nervous,

441. incredibly excited, everything.

442. - He is very calm, yet again, in there.

443. What is it with this guy that cooks in

444. that unassuming, calm style?

445. What is it?

446. - I have no idea, but I have to say he is looking

447. incredibly calm today.

448. It looks like he's enjoying it

449. today, which is another thing.

450. - What's he been like over the

451. last seven days to deal with?

452. - A pain in the arse.

453. Bless him!

454. - Would you love him more if he wins?

455. - Yeah!

456. - Really enjoy your main courses, and you both look great.

457. - Thank you very much.

458. - Thank you.

459. - Tonight, I'm deciding the winner.

460. And I'll be judging Jay and Aktar's

461. dishes by my highest standards.

462. And every dish they cook needs to

463. do justice to Janet's fantastic meat.

464. Janet, good to see you, my darling.

465. Great job for this.

466. - Thank you.

467. - The Mangalitsa pig is quite rare.

468. Having had the Royal Berkshires,

469. yeah, I was excited about it.

470. I've never tasted anything as exquisite.

471. - It was a real talking point in

472. the valley because obviously

473. they'd never seen these pigs

474. in our part of North Yorkshire.

475. Loads of people came to see them and when I showed

476. them in the show they were really, really popular.

477. And they had great personalities, they really did.

478. - What were the individual characters like?

479. - A bit evil.

480. - So you got on well?

481. - Yes, I did, I bonded with them.

482. And they ran around very, very fast.

483. They like rolling in mud.

484. They were very entertaining.

485. - Talk to me about the chickens.

486. - Waste of time.

487. - Come on!

488. Be a bit more sympathetic than that.

489. - I'd rather talk to my cabbages

490. than talk to a chicken, or you!

491. The meat tastes great, but as an

492. experience they are not that rewarding.

493. - Beef, extraordinary stuff, dense, delicious.

494. And quite a unique flavour.

495. - I think that is because the animals

496. run around a lot more.

497. They've got their little short legs, but they're agile.

498. It was interesting in our valley because you could see

499. the other cattle in the other field munching away,

500. and my Dexters were much more lively.

501. - Again, another amazing job.

502. From the chickens, the pork, and now the beef.

503. Thank you.

504. - It was really worthwhile and I'm glad you enjoyed

505. it because there would have been nothing worse than

506. to go through all that nightmare and come up

507. with meat that was average.

508. But it was good.

509. - Having two restaurants in the final

510. You've made their life a lot

511. easier producing fantastic meat like that.

512. Thank you so much.

513. - I've got a present for you.

514. - Really?

515. - This is a rug for you from one of the Dexters.

516. - Seriously?

517. - It's a rug to have sex on, basically, Gordon.

518. It is the kind of rug that people

519. put in front of the fire.

520. - In the history of my cooking career, I never

521. thought I'd touch Janet Street-Porter's rug.

522. Give me a kiss, thank you, my darling.

523. Absolutely amazing.

524. Job well done and exquisite produce.

525. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of

526. applause for Janet Street-Porter.

527. Amazing.

528. Thank you, darling.

529. Well done and thank you.

530. Much appreciated.

531. Can't wait to taste the Pheasant's starter.

532. It looks fantastic like the little Mangalitsa

533. pigs have been running around in the backgarden.

534. Phenomenal.

535. Very cheffy.

536. Now the taste.

537. Flavor's amazing.

538. You can really identify that pig is unique.

539. The brawn, delicious.

540. You've got the crispness of

541. the deep-fried little beignets.

542. Very earthy.

543. Very dense and slightly sweet.

544. It needed that mustard mayonnaise

545. to really sort of bring it together.

546. Yes, they've done that Mangalitsa very proud.

547. Delicious, really good.

548. I want to see what Aktar's is like.

549. He's got the chicken drum, marinaded, smells amazing.

550. And the breast's sort of char grilled.

551. I honestly never thought I'd

552. see chicken tikka from Aktar.

553. That is delicious.

554. I mean really good.

555. It's the kind of dish I'd expect Aktar to come

556. up with because it's packed with flavour.

557. It's very mellow, very cleverly put together, and more

558. importantly it has great finesse from start to finish.

559. Looking at both dishes,

560. this is a tough one because that is Jay

561. through and through, and this chicken

562. here is Aktar through and through.

563. Which one do I prefer?

564. It's hard to call.

565. I like them both.

566. If I had to choose one,

567. I'd go for Aktar's chicken.

568. - We've got 50 food critics out there.

569. We get one or two at the restaurant and you just

570. happen to find out and that's it, you're all over

571. the place, making sure everything's okay,

572. double-checking everything, triple checking everything.

573. I am a bit nervous, but fingers crossed we will do it.

574. - Every dish went out, looked pretty.

575. Let's just hope they want to try something different.

576. Brawn, pig's head, it's quite controversial

577. but hopefully they'll be brave.

578. - If the diners don't like the starters, they don't

579. have to pay, but it's still only a guide for me.

580. Okay, before we get the results from the diners, I

581. want to let you all know they are an indication.

582. At the end of the day it's my decision.

583. Jay, how are you feeling?

584. - There's a lot of ladies in the audience, so maybe

585. it don't appeal to every lady but, you know.

586. - Do you not like ladies?

587. - I know they don't like pork.

588. - Oh, they don't like pork.

589. - I love ladies.

590. - Out of 25, how well do you think you did?

591. - I'd like to get 25, but 20 would be fine.

592. - Brilliant, Aktar, you seem to have a

593. lot more confidence this

594. time round in terms of opening up and communicating.

595. Where's that coming from all of a sudden?

596. - Through this experience, obviously, I've started

597. to talk more and we're talking back to each other.

598. So, it's helped.

599. - You were having a conversation

600. earlier and it was about the food.

601. How nice is that?

602. Great change.

603. So out of 25, what do you reckon?

604. - Let's say 20.

605. I'm going to copy them.

606. - Interesting, JB?

607. These are the toughest diners we've ever had, trust me.

608. Serious foodies with strong opinions.

609. Okay, let's start with Pheasant.

610. The number of customers out of 25 that

611. are happy to pay for your starter is.

612. 15.

613. 15, not brilliant but not bad.

614. JB, what do they like?

615. - They find it very well presented, great flavours.

616. - 10 guests didn't enjoy it, why?

617. - The pork too fatty.

618. - Too fatty?

619. Oh, come on!

620. Of course it's fatty!

621. Right, Lasan, the number of customers that are happy to

622. pay for your chicken is.

623. 22.

624. Well done, well done.

625. Really good indeed.

626. 22 out of 25, great start.

627. Very good start.

628. What do they like?

629. - Chicken, very tender.

630. - Tender chicken, yeah.

631. Marinated beautifully.

632. - The marinade, great, great taste.

633. - Right, Jay, I do not want to see your head go down.

634. You bounce back.

635. 15 out of 25 is not a terrible score, so stay with it.

636. - Absolutely.

637. - Aktar, great start.

638. Don't let that go upstairs.

639. You've each got 50 main courses to cook now.

640. Make it count, yeah.

641. Well done.

642. Clear down, let's get ready

643. for the next course.

644. Well done.

645. Next on the menu, the battle for the title of

646. The F Word's best local restaurant continues,

647. as Jay puts his heart and soul into the main course.

648. - What are you going to do with

649. the heart, put it in the bin?

650. - And Aktar threatens to boil over.

651. - Fuck's sake, Hassan!

652. If this F is facing the customer, am

653. I going to put the beef behind them?

654. - The competition is on a knife edge.

655. Remember one thing, tonight I will have the final say.

656. Tonight, we're gonna be crowning

657. The F Word's best local restaurant.

658. Who's it going to be?

659. Thousands of your favourite local restaurants

660. were whittled down to 18.

661. And now, there are just two fantastic finalists.

662. British restaurant The Pheasant from Cambridgeshire.

663. And Indian restaurant Lasan from Birmingham.

664. In the starter, I was impressed by Jay's ambition.

665. The terrine and pork belly had great flavour,

666. but the brawn carpaccio was a step too far for some diners.

667. Aktar played it safe with his starter,

668. tandoori chicken with mint chutney.

669. It was delicious, and definitely a popular choice,

670. but I would like to have seen

671. something a bit more adventurous.

672. In the end, it's my opinion that counts tonight

673. and there are still two courses to go.

674. If Jay wants to stay in the game,

675. its essential he keeps calm and confident.

676. That's tough, that.

677. Jay, in the chef world, it's a kick in the balls,

678. but you've got to stand strong up there, yes?

679. Liam, I don't want you dropping your head.

680. - No chance.

681. - Yeah lets go.

682. Now, both restaurants are going to cook their main course.

683. First up, The Pheasant.

684. The Pheasant's head chef Jay needs to

685. stage a comeback with his main course.

686. He loves cooking with British meat

687. and he's got ambitious plans for Janet's Dexter beef.

688. - I like all the braising and

689. all that sort of wintry stuff.

690. That's the food I like cooking.

691. I love eating it as well!

692. - Check on, one Dexter three ways.

693. - Check on, one Dexter three ways, please.

694. - The Pheasant's main course

695. tonight is beef three ways

696. with beetroot and horseradish puree,

697. mash and pickled red cabbage.

698. Jay's recipe uses a combination of rib, shoulder blade

699. and, bravely, the heart.

700. - We get the whole animal, we use the whole animal.

701. - For the shoulder blade,

702. Jay fries chunks of beef that have been marinated

703. in red wine with vegetables.

704. - You want to sear these, lots of colour,

705. keeping the juices in.

706. - He then fries the beef

707. with vegetables and bay leaves.

708. He returns the meat to the pan

709. and leaves it to cook slowly

710. with red wine and veal stock.

711. Next, Jay slices the heart and grills.

712. Serving heart is a real risk.

713. I think it can be delicious,

714. but it's not to everyone's taste.

715. The heart is served with pickled red cabbage,

716. beetroot and horseradish puree.

717. - Big bold flavours, earthiness of

718. the beetroot and then the kick-arse

719. heat of the horseradish.

720. - Next, the rib of beef.

721. Jay seasons the rib and fries, adds butter.

722. - Yeah, I like butter, and it's

723. going to give it a good flavour.

724. - And puts it in the oven to finish cooking.

725. For the sauce, Jay fries finely chopped vegetables,

726. adds fried onion, lardons

727. and a cooked shoulder blade and its sauce.

728. This dish is classic Jay, sophisticated comfort food

729. with amazing attention to detail.

730. But it's very complicated.

731. - Makes life a bit harder, but it's not supposed be easy.

732. - Finally, the mashed potatoes.

733. Then Jay plates up.

734. This is hearty, rustic food,

735. but the presentation is refined.

736. He adds the mushrooms, a chunk

737. of beef rib, pickled red cabbage,

738. the beef shoulder and Jay's big gamble.

739. - Nice piece of heart.

740. - And finally, the beetroot and horseradish puree.

741. Dexter beef three ways.

742. Served.

743. Jay?

744. Start off with olive oil, you're basting with the butter?

745. - Get it all nice and sealed.

746. - Again, you seem to love that three ways.

747. - What are you going to do with the heart?

748. Put it in the bin?

749. - No not at all.

750. A lot of chefs would take the easy route

751. and just cook it one way.

752. I love that level of ambition.

753. - It's not supposed to be easy is it?

754. - Definitely not, no.

755. Not to be crowned The F Word's best local restaurant.

756. You're absolutely right.

757. Okay, Aktar, you've got six now.

758. After the six, you've got four, please.

759. - Yes chef, we're good.

760. Here's what Lasan are cooking tonight.

761. Aktar has complete confidence in the modern

762. exciting food he serves up at Lasan.

763. - I'd say we're pioneers in understanding

764. Indian food for what it is.

765. We've got food from South India,

766. we've got food from West Bengal, North India,

767. Kashmir and Pakistan.

768. So we've got India on a plate,

769. really, when you dine at Lasan.

770. One masala beef, table 14.

771. - Thank you, one masala beef.

772. - Lasan's main course tonight is

773. masala beef with curried pumpkin

774. and a cardamom-scented sauce.

775. First, Aktar marinades medallions of rump steak.

776. - A light tandoori-style marinade,

777. so it's a good all-round mix.

778. Janet's put a lot of care and attention into rearing

779. this wonderful meat for us and

780. I think it's just a befitting end

781. for us to take as much care

782. as possible in cooking it up.

783. - Next, Aktar makes the masala sauce

784. with green cardamoms.

785. - At Lasan, we grind all of our spices,

786. we make all of our own pastes,

787. so that's another thing that sets us apart.

788. - To make the curried pumpkin,

789. he heats mustard oil in a pan,

790. adding cumin and coriander seeds.

791. Then he puts in garlic, onion,

792. salt, ground tumeric and chilli, along with chopped tomatoes.

793. Aktar adds the diced pumpkin and water.

794. Once the pumpkin is soft,

795. he finishes with chopped coriander.

796. He fries the marinated beef for

797. a couple of minutes on each side.

798. Just before serving, he stirs in cashew nut paste.

799. Once again, Aktar shows real flair with his presentation.

800. Masala beef with curried pumpkin

801. and a cardamom-scented sauce.

802. Served.

803. You're using the eye of the rump?

804. - Yes, Chef. - Marinading first?

805. - It's a pretty light marinade.

806. - What have you done with the cashews?

807. Have you dried them, toasted them?

808. - Dried, toasted and then just

809. blitzed down with a bit of water.

810. Fuck's sake Hassan!

811. How am I supposed to?

812. If this F is facing the customer,

813. am I going to put the beef behind them?

814. Against the F.

815. One o'clock.

816. That's not one o'clock.

817. That's three o'clock.

818. Do you not have a watch?

819. - One o'clock? - Yes.

820. - The masala beef I thought was fantastic.

821. It was a beautiful piece of beef.

822. It just melted in the mouth.

823. There was an explosion of taste,

824. particularly with the pumpkin.

825. - Traditionally, you don't really see beef in curry dishes.

826. It was an incredibly good cut of

827. beef and very well cooked.

828. - Aktar, tonight's the night?

829. - Yes, Chef.

830. - Yours looks plain and delicious.

831. Jay's looks refined.

832. - I've gone for plain and delicious that because of

833. the battering you've given me over the last

834. few months about garnishing.

835. - Are you less confident because

836. Jay's gone for beef three ways?

837. Not just the heart, the blade and then the rib.

838. - More isn't always better, is it?

839. Like they say, less is more,

840. so I'm hoping on less is more today.

841. - So you're confident these two things in the bowl

842. tonight can beat seven things on Jay's plate?

843. - Jay's got a fantastic plate.

844. I'm not going to say anything else

845. other than that cos it is amazing.

846. I tasted it earlier.

847. Utmost admiration for it.

848. But I'm hoping simplicity will win through.

849. The marriage of the pumpkin with the cardamom gravy

850. and the way the beef has been marinated,

851. I'm hoping people will recognise that.

852. It took a lot of skill and

853. understanding to put that together.

854. - Jay those look fantastic.

855. They smell amazing.

856. Again, perfect accompaniment with the beef.

857. Let's do it.

858. Beautiful.

859. My God, look at that!

860. I could lift that now and

861. run down to Royal Hospital Road

862. and put it out on Table 7.

863. It looks amazing.

864. - Good. - Really good.

865. - The Dexter beef three ways was

866. a wonderful plate full of ideas.

867. I don't know if it quite came

868. together as an overall dish.

869. - Dexter three ways, the different

870. textures of beef were fabulous.

871. Full marks, I loved it.

872. - This is amazing because Jay's dish is very accomplished,

873. a very difficult dish to pull off.

874. Beef three ways.

875. A very bold move.

876. Not everyone wants to go out, especially in The F Word

877. dining room, and eat heart beautifully grilled.

878. But it's clearly obvious

879. he's putting his heart and soul on that plate.

880. Aktar started with such confidence,

881. yet there's only three things on his plate.

882. There's an amazing cashew sauce, spiced pumpkin

883. and then a really nice eye of rib of beef.

884. So quite interesting.

885. He's calm, very, very confident,

886. but he's letting the food do the talking tonight.

887. Which is refreshing.

888. - We've just found a piece

889. of wrapping, a plastic film.

890. - What table? - Table 11.

891. - That's Pheasant.

892. - Shit.

893. - Apologise to them, would you?

894. Please, damn.

895. Damn, damn, damn.

896. Leaving a piece of clingfilm on the plate is a sign

897. that Jay's really feeling the pressure.

898. I hope this is just a one-off mistake.

899. Seriously excited about tasting both main courses.

900. Let's start off with Lasan.

901. It doesn't look like the kind of dish you'd cook normally

902. because it's just so simple,

903. but tonight he's depending on the flavours.

904. Rump done with a wonderful sauce with toasted cashew

905. and a spiced pumpkin puree.

906. There's only three things on a plate there

907. and they complement each other absolutely brilliantly well.

908. Delicious.

909. If I've got one complaint in how Aktar puts food together,

910. the base of the bowl is always coated in far too much sauce.

911. He doesn't need all that.

912. Great flavours, great balance.

913. Jay's, look at it.

914. I mean, it's beautiful.

915. Glamorous and it oozes passion.

916. So the braised blade.

917. Slowly cooked and reheated in the cooking juices.

918. Taste that one first.

919. Wow.

920. Melts in your mouth.

921. The heart.

922. It's a shame you go from the braised

923. blade of Dexter's beef to the heart

924. of beef and it doesn't hold

925. the same quality in terms of taste.

926. Little bit rubbery as well.

927. What a shame.

928. The rib.

929. Lovely.

930. So two out of three things work.

931. Unfortunately the one that doesn't

932. grab me is the grilled heart.

933. What a shame.

934. - Getting 50 dishes out was hard work.

935. You know, each little piece of meat

936. needed 100% attention.

937. We're in the final, we wanted to win today, you know.

938. We don't want second place.

939. - At the moment, it is very close.

940. I look at them and find similarities between us both.

941. Ultimately, it's going to be Chef's decision.

942. I think this could be the toughest one for him.

943. So I feel sorry for Chef.

944. - I'm deciding the winner tonight, but the diners'

945. opinions will help me make up my mind.

946. Right.

947. How well do you think you did?

948. Last time round in the F Word

949. kitchen, 40 out of 50 paid.

950. Tonight?

951. - Mid-40s, Chef.

952. - Mid-40s.

953. - 45 out of 50?

954. - I'd like to see that.

955. - I love that confidence is oozing back in again, isn't it?

956. Right, Jay?

957. - Well, we need 50.

958. Got to beat 36 from my last one.

959. And need seven on them.

960. So 45?

961. - JB, please.

962. Excellent.

963. Thank you.

964. Right, Lasan first.

965. The amount of customers that are

966. happy to pay for your main course,

967. out of 50, is.

968. 39 out of 50.

969. Well done.

970. Really well done.

971. Really well done!

972. Good.

973. Very good indeed.

974. Well done.

975. 39 out of 50, good score.

976. JB, what did they like?

977. - They loved the pumpkin.

978. Delicious, spicy.

979. The 11 people that didn't like it, why?

980. - Mainly because they said the sauce was bland.

981. - The sauce was a bit bland?

982. Really?

983. I thought it was delicious.

984. - Jay.

985. Pheasant.

986. Loved the colours.

987. Loved it.

988. Work of art, clearly.

989. The number of customers happy to pay

990. for your main course, out of 50 is.

991. Wow.

992. 28 out of 50.

993. 28 out of 50!

994. What's all that about?

995. - Too complicated.

996. - That's 22 guests not paying.

997. - As well they didn't like the heart.

998. - They didn't like the heart.

999. What do you mean, they didn't like the heart?

1000. It was a heart salad.

1001. - Yes, but they didn't like it.

1002. - Maybe I should just put

1003. the heart in the bin, then.

1004. - And the meat, slightly overcooked.

1005. - What meat?

1006. - Which one?

1007. - The cote de boeuf.

1008. - I thought the dish was amazing.

1009. Loved the composition, and to have

1010. the balls to stick a heart salad on

1011. a plate in the middle of the most

1012. amazing beef, extraordinary.

1013. Yeah?

1014. Remember one thing, tonight I will have the final say.

1015. I've got a lot to think about, yeah?

1016. And you've still got to cook 25 desserts each.

1017. So make them perfect, okay?

1018. Impress me.

1019. Impress the diners.

1020. One final hurdle, yeah?

1021. Well done.

1022. Clear down.

1023. Let's get ready for dessert.

1024. Next on tonight's menu, can the brigades hold their nerve

1025. for the final showdown?

1026. Come on, guys.

1027. The ice-cream's melting.

1028. Please, please, please.

1029. Ice-cream has to be last if you're going

1030. to take ages to put it on the plate.

1031. I'll be facing one of the toughest

1032. decisions I've ever had to make.

1033. Who shall I crown The F Word's best local restaurant?

1034. The restaurant that has consistently

1035. delivered in every mark across the board is.

1036. Tonight is the final in our search for

1037. the F Word's best local restaurant.

1038. We had 10,000 nominations, we're down to the final two.

1039. Lasan and The Pheasant are battling it out in the final

1040. to decide The F Word's best local restaurant.

1041. - I want to be first.

1042. I want the trophy.

1043. - The only place for us and that is winning it.

1044. - I'm going to decide the winner, not just on

1045. tonight's service but how they performed

1046. in the past few weeks.

1047. So far tonight, Jay's ambitious

1048. dishes have divided diner opinion.

1049. But Aktar is playing it safe

1050. and his brilliance hasn't always shone through?

1051. The competition is neck and neck

1052. and heading into dessert,

1053. there's everything to play for.

1054. This was The Pheasant's strongest

1055. course in the British heat.

1056. 23 out of 24!

1057. But Lasan have been less consistent with this course.

1058. 12 out of 25!

1059. Who's got the edge?

1060. There's only one more course before I decide the winner.

1061. Guys, final round.

1062. Everything's still to cook for, okay?

1063. It can be won or lost on this course.

1064. Please focus, go for it.

1065. Jay, Aktar, good luck,

1066. let's go, last round.

1067. 25 desserts, here we go.

1068. The Pheasant's head chef Jay had a tough

1069. time with his starter and main tonight,

1070. but he's hoping to pull things back with a

1071. French twist on a classic British apple pie.

1072. - What's the point in coming second?

1073. There is no second.

1074. You may as well be last.

1075. You've gotta win.

1076. - Check on, one tarte tatin.

1077. - Check on, one tarte tatin, please.

1078. - The Pheasant's dessert is tarte tatin.

1079. To start, Jay peels and cores apples.

1080. - The apples you want to use are Braeburn apples.

1081. They're a firmer texture.

1082. - He lines a saucepan with sugar and

1083. leaves it on the heat to caramelise.

1084. - I've got a knob of butter to put in.

1085. It makes it a bit richer, it helps it

1086. get that butter scotchy taste.

1087. - He lays the apples in a pan,

1088. lets the caramel darken.

1089. Next, Jay rolls out puff pastry.

1090. - If you roll the pastry too thin,

1091. you don't get much of a rise.

1092. If it's fat, you'll get a bit of rise.

1093. He puts the pastry lid over

1094. the apples and places the pan

1095. in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

1096. Jay serves the dessert with a dusting of icing sugar

1097. and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

1098. The Pheasant's tarte tatin.

1099. Served.

1100. Jay?

1101. Pull it back on this one in terms of numbers.

1102. Quite easy.

1103. Liam - Yes, chef.

1104. - Head up.

1105. Please be careful tipping them out

1106. in mid-air, guys yeah?

1107. Winning tonight means everything to Aktar

1108. and dessert is his last chance to prove himself to me.

1109. - I've just zoned into winning and that is gonna be it.

1110. Gordon Ramsay choosing the best local restaurant.

1111. Dream come true for me doesn't sum it up.

1112. That's too blase, and the words, I can't find

1113. but I know what it means to me

1114. and how important it is to me.

1115. Everyone around me knows how important cos I've been

1116. an absolute bastard to be around

1117. for the last few months.

1118. - Table 21.

1119. - One pair of halva parcel jets.

1120. - Lasan's dessert tonight is halva parcels

1121. with strawberry coulis and vanilla ice-cream.

1122. Aktar cooks cassia bark, cardamom pods

1123. and bay leaves in clarified butter.

1124. - Halva's a traditional north Indian,

1125. more so Punjabi-style of pudding.

1126. - He then cooks grated carrot until soft.

1127. Aktar's brilliant at re-inventing classic

1128. Indian dishes but his halva is a risk

1129. because it won't be to everyone's taste.

1130. Next, Aktar pours in carrot juice

1131. and adds chopped cashew nuts,

1132. chopped pistachio nuts and mixes.

1133. - The thing with the halva is you

1134. have to countiniously stir it and keep it moving,

1135. otherwise it will catch and it will burn

1136. and that's the end of it.

1137. - Then Aktar pours in cream,

1138. milk and finally stirs in sugar.

1139. He takes the puff pastry parcels and

1140. fills them with the halva mixture.

1141. The parcels are then wrapped in silver foil

1142. and baked in a hot oven.

1143. Then, Aktar plates up, finishing the dish with ice-cream

1144. and strawberry coulis.

1145. Halva parcels with strawberry coulis

1146. and vanilla ice-cream served.

1147. Put the sauce on the plate first

1148. so the ice-cream doesn't melt.

1149. I want the ice-cream melting

1150. at the table, not the kitchen.

1151. Come on guys the ice cream's melting.

1152. Please, please.

1153. Ice-cream gotta go on last if you're take

1154. that long to put it on the plate yeah?

1155. Let's go.

1156. So, ice-cream on last, yeah?

1157. Otherwise, trust me, first table five,

1158. three, four tables down, ice-cream'll

1159. be pissing all over the plate.

1160. Now, Pheasant's tatin looks fantastic again.

1161. Two very lucky people

1162. getting to share this, it's huge.

1163. Touch of ice-cream, tatin.

1164. Wow, simplicity at its best.

1165. Braeburn apples, puff pastry,

1166. butter, sugar, delicious.

1167. Really nice.

1168. The important part about putting this dish together

1169. is every little bit of technical

1170. ability has to be spot on.

1171. Now, Lasan's halva.

1172. Classic dessert.

1173. Spiced carrot wrapped in pastry.

1174. Baked in the oven.

1175. Smells very fragrant.

1176. Cardamom, cinnamon.

1177. Pastry just a little bit doughy

1178. and slightly undercooked and not very sweet

1179. but its not very spicy so the jury's out on that one.

1180. I'm not entirely sure.

1181. Doesn't blow me away.

1182. If I had to choose between both of these desserts.

1183. there's a clear winner by a mile and it's from The Pheasant.

1184. Just when it looked like Jay had lost his

1185. confidence, he comes back with a winning dessert.

1186. But tonight it's down to me, not the diners,

1187. to choose a winner.

1188. There's so much at stake here and I know

1189. just how much they both restaurants really want this.

1190. - We're not prepared to go second,

1191. I don't want to lose,

1192. I want to go first, I don't want to

1193. go back home and tell all our staff we lost.

1194. So every point counts.

1195. There's only first place.

1196. - We want to win it and to a certain extent

1197. we have to win it.

1198. That's the way we've put it to ourselves, so.

1199. It is important to us, fingers crossed.

1200. - The dessert scores are in.

1201. Tonight, I'll read them in private before making my decision

1202. about who deserves the F Word's best local restaurant.

1203. Whew!

1204. So, desserts.

1205. Blimey.

1206. That's a shock.

1207. Lasan out of 25, nine customers are happy to pay.

1208. That's a big shock.

1209. I knew the carrot was lacking

1210. in spice and was slightly dull.

1211. Pastry undercooked.

1212. However, The Pheasant scored out of 18 out of 25.

1213. That's a phenomenal performance on dessert for them.

1214. More importantly, did they pull it back?

1215. Yes of course they pulled it back.

1216. This is a very close call.

1217. Lasan is everything a great local Indian

1218. should be and there are flashes of real

1219. genius in Aktar's cooking.

1220. The Pheasant is a fantastic local restaurant,

1221. great British food and a wonderful atmosphere.

1222. Two very talented chefs and based on everything I've seen

1223. and witnessed and tasted from both chefs, there is a winner.

1224. One of them just edges it.

1225. This has been a very tough decision in the making.

1226. But I'll put them out of their misery and let them know.

1227. Before I give results for desserts tonight's

1228. overall winner does not depend entirely

1229. on the numbers from the dining room.

1230. They're a guide, clearly.

1231. Influential guide, and they're gonna help me decide.

1232. But I will have the final say

1233. on who wins The F Word's best local restaurant.

1234. Here's the thing.

1235. Aktar, Hassan, Jay, Liam.

1236. I'm taking every little ounce of detail into account.

1237. What a journey.

1238. For all of us.

1239. You've done phenomenally well.

1240. Really well done.

1241. Jay, how are you feeling?

1242. - Bit down. - Why?

1243. - Well, rubbish scores.

1244. - The food delivered.

1245. I mean, really delivered.

1246. Absolutely delicious, yeah?

1247. Great textures.

1248. Visually yeah it had impact.

1249. - Cool, good, thank you.

1250. - Aktar how are you feeling?

1251. - I'm feeling good, Chef.

1252. It was a very tough challenge for us today

1253. cos beef is not something we're used to cooking,

1254. we created something for today's

1255. final and that went down very well.

1256. So, that's comforting.

1257. - Now, here are the diners' scores.

1258. Lasan the number of diners that are happy

1259. to pay for your dessert out of 25 is nine.

1260. Desserts, clearly, were not your strong point.

1261. Jay the number of diners happy to pay

1262. for your dessert out of 25.

1263. 18 out of 25, well done.

1264. Really well done.

1265. - Yeah, yeah.

1266. - Really well done.

1267. So.

1268. Lasan 70 out of 100.

1269. Well done.

1270. Really well done.

1271. That's good.

1272. Very good indeed.

1273. Jay out of 100 The Pheasant scored 61 out of 100.

1274. Another good score.

1275. Well done to both of you.

1276. Seriously.

1277. Both restaurants did a fantastic job tonight.

1278. But who is the F Word's best local restaurant?

1279. This, gentlemen, has been

1280. a very tough decision to make

1281. and it's not just about the scores.

1282. It's from the start to finish.

1283. Round one, secret diners, turning up,

1284. jumping in from a coach, Royal Hospital Road.

1285. Customer feedback.

1286. Numbers, everything, I have scrutinised.

1287. The winner of the F Word's best local restaurant is.

1288. The restaurant that has consistently delivered in every mark

1289. across the board is.

1290. Lasan, well done.

1291. Really well done.

1292. Really well done.

1293. That was fucking close.

1294. You should be proud.

1295. It's been a pleasure having you all in the kitchen.

1296. Now get out and get yourselves a drink.

1297. Well done.

1298. - It's an amazing sensation.

1299. Oh God!

1300. Yeah!

1301. I'll be like the Cheshire cat from now on.

1302. - I'm hugely proud of Jay,

1303. we're both incredibly gutted.

1304. - We stuck to what The Pheasant is about and

1305. you know, we've got this far.

1306. You've gotta take the positives

1307. out of it, I'm chuffed for Lasan.

1308. - Lasan has an exciting and creative chef

1309. in Aktar and the standards of excellence I've

1310. been searching for in a local restaurant.

1311. For me, that's what this

1312. extraordinary competition has been all about.

1313. Finding that passion on every level.

1314. I know Aktar feels honoured

1315. to lift the trophy tonight

1316. and I'm just as proud to name Lasan the winner.