The F Word 5x8

1. - Tonight, it's Christmas time in the F Word dining room,

2. and we're here to find the F Word's

3. best local British restaurant.

4. It's Christmas and my search for the F Word's

5. best local restaurant is nearing its end.

6. I've been travelling across the country

7. and each week, I've picked two of

8. your favourite restaurants

9. to compete in the F Word kitchen.

10. It's a competition, yes?

11. - Yes, Chef.

12. - Yeah, may the best chef win.

13. So far, I've held nail biting heats

14. for seven different international cuisines,

15. including French,

16. Chinese,

17. and Spanish.

18. And last week, Argentinian restaurant,

19. Santa Maria del Sur took the crown for

20. the Americas category.

21. That's amazing.

22. That is amazing.

23. Tonight in this Christmas edition of the F Word,

24. we're celebrating the best of British.

25. With every right to be proud of our nation's

26. fantastic cuisine and the delicious

27. local produce that makes it so special.

28. In this great battle of Britain,

29. The Swan from Kent take on The Pheasant from Cambridgeshire

30. and the stakes are higher than ever.

31. One of you, the kids are gonna have

32. the best Christmas ever, yeah?

33. Also on tonight's action packed show,

34. British sporting legend Freddie Flintoff

35. and international burlesque artist Dita Von Teese

36. join me in the F Word restaurant.

37. Then we're off to Lapland to search for the ultimate

38. yuletide ingredient, reindeer.

39. But first I need to find it.

40. Merry Christmas!

41. Gentlemen.

42. Gentlemen, merry Christmas.

43. What sets your restaurants apart from any other

44. restaurant in the area?

45. What is it that's special about The Pheasant?

46. - We're local, we're passionate about it.

47. We've got cows, got a bunch of pigs, got sheep,

48. got pheasants, got it all.

49. - Scott, how are you?

50. - Very well, thank you.

51. - Nervous?

52. You look very tense this evening.

53. - Yeah, wanna get into it,

54. wanna get into my food.

55. - How do you feel about being one of the

56. best local British restaurants in the country?

57. - It's an absolute honour.

58. It's what we work for every single day.

59. It's what me and my son get in the kitchen for.

60. It's what we want.

61. - Battling for the title of F Word's best

62. local British restaurant tonight

63. are The Swan and The Pheasant.

64. They're also fighting to go through to the next round

65. where a place in the grand final will be up for grabs.

66. This is how they got here.

67. The British category was the largest in the whole

68. competition with nearly two thousand nominations.

69. British food has transformed itself over the last ten years.

70. Once upon a time it meant fish and chips on the beach

71. but now Britain boasts some of the best

72. restaurants in the world.

73. My team and I have been all over Britain checking out

74. your favourite restaurants.

75. - I don't know any woman who'd choose a pig's tongue

76. for lunch.

77. - From country pubs to slick city restaurants,

78. from ambitious gastro pubs to trendy diners,

79. we whittled down your nominations.

80. After months of searching, it was clear two

81. of your restaurants stood out and I couldn't

82. wait to put them to the test.

83. The first was The Pheasant in rural Cambridgeshire.

84. It's a delightfully British gastro pub serving hearty,

85. wholesome food.

86. Jay Scrimshaw is the head chef and his wife Taffeta

87. manages the front of house.

88. - We are a country village restaurant.

89. There's nothing else for miles around and we do

90. good food.

91. We lend ourself very well to winter and Christmas.

92. It's very cosy in here.

93. We're like a picture chocolate box to look at

94. because it's so pretty and English and whitewashed

95. and thatched.

96. - The Pheasant is certainly beautiful

97. to look at but it's the delicious food

98. and Jay's ethos of using locally sourced produce

99. that really draws the locals in.

100. - The food at The Pheasant is fabulous.

101. I think I love it because I like to feel special

102. while I'm eating.

103. - Whatever's in season,

104. Jay seems to find the best ingredients for the right time

105. so it's really lovely.

106. - The Pheasant is a much loved shooters pub.

107. The local huntsmen leave their wellies at the front door

108. and the meat they've hunted at the back door

109. for head chef Jay to cook up.

110. - We have customers that sort of will just

111. turn up and throw a brace of pigeon down

112. or the other day we a guy gun shooting for some mallard.

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

114. and that's payment for it really,

115. they just don't want to see anything wasted.

116. - I was so impressed with what you said

117. about The Pheasant that I had to check it out for myself.

118. - Have a seat, let me get you a menu.

119. - Thank you very much indeed.

120. What would you recommend apart from the whole menu?

121. - Partridge.

122. - Partridge?

123. - First thing that's on.

124. Grouse is always very popular.

125. - I'll have a partridge and

126. I'll start off with a pork rear please, darling.

127. Thank you.

128. - Lovely.

129. - Very cosy.

130. Low ceilings, beautiful building from the outside.

131. Thatched roof, feels and looks and smells British.

132. Running a business with your loved one doesn't

133. come without its challenges.

134. - We had never worked together before coming

135. to The Pheasant.

136. There are some steaming rows but on the whole,

137. we want the same thing.

138. - The Pheasant impressed me immediately

139. with its warmth and its British feel

140. but the real test is always in the eating.

141. And my starter was impeccable.

142. It was time to meet the man behind the menu.

143. What a nice, interesting pork rear,

144. it was lovely, served at the perfect temperature.

145. So you're not short on good produce around here are you?

146. - No, you've gotta find it, you've got to hunt for it.

147. It's taken us four years to really sort of

148. build that relationship up with people.

149. - Time for my main course, partridge.

150. Partridge, tough bird to cook.

151. They go dry within seconds so, yeah,

152. that was delicious.

153. - To win this we are so hungry it's unbelievable.

154. I feel like chewing through my wrist I want it so bad!

155. - Right, thank you.

156. Come through, so Jay?

157. - Yep?

158. - In terms of the local produce?

159. - Why is it important to me?

160. Because no one else in the area's doing it.

161. We've got good cattle around, good farmers so why not?

162. We just cook what we've got.

163. Cook it simply, cook it well.

164. - The search for the best local restaurant

165. has been a tough call.

166. The hard thing for me is that it's a tough category

167. and hugely popular for obvious reasons.

168. Next week you're gonna have to take two nights off

169. because you're through, congratulations.

170. - Oh!

171. - Well done.

172. - Thanks man.

173. - Well done.

174. Really, many congratulations and, great news.

175. Two nights off, well done, Liam.

176. And I wish you all the best.

177. That's why this whole search started, you know that?

178. Was to uncover places like this and the ingredients

179. shown through and they've got the confidence

180. and the simplicity.

181. Pretty outstanding.

182. The other fantastic British restaurant I've chosen

183. from your nominations is in the village of

184. West Malling, Kent, one of the countries

185. richest post codes.

186. In contrast to the rustic charm of The Pheasant,

187. The Swan serves ambitious fine dining food

188. and owner Peter Cornwell masterminded a million

189. pound renovation to create this slick

190. and elegant restaurant.

191. - I think we have one of the best looking restaurants

192. in the country, I really do believe that.

193. I think The Swan has a very special feel

194. that's come about with a lot of hard work

195. and a lot of dedication from everyone.

196. - So the Swan looks good,

197. but does the food deliver?

198. The well hailed locals certainly think so.

199. - I'd have to say that I have never had a bad meal here.

200. - Head chef Scott Goss is the man

201. behind The Swan's sophisticated menu

202. and he's never happier than when he's in the kitchen.

203. - Swan gets me out of bed in the morning.

204. I wouldn't do it if I didn't have the passion

205. and the love for the food.

206. For me, this is the best part of the day.

207. The boys are cooking behind me, cooking my food,

208. my creations and doing it to a great level

209. under my guidance.

210. It's an amazing feeling.

211. Amazing buzz.

212. Okay boys, check out please, one venison, one pork.

213. - The Swan offers a classy and polished experience

214. so therefore maitre d Jean Baptiste was the ideal

215. person to test it out.

216. - Hi, how are you?

217. It's very stylish.

218. The menu really reads British.

219. It's exactly what you will expect from a great

220. British local restaurant.

221. - A look at the menu impressed JB,

222. but would the food live up to the expectations?

223. First up, Cornish mackerel with beet root and shallots.

224. - The plate is very clean, it's very neat.

225. I would have think it would be in

226. a Michelin star restaurant.

227. - JB was bowled over by the exquisite presentation

228. of his starter,

229. so he went to find out more from the head chef Scott.

230. - I find the food extremely stylish.

231. I was nearly thinking I was in a Michelin Star restaurant.

232. - Thank you.

233. It's just clean cut, isn't it?

234. I don't want to mess around with the food too much,

235. sorry, excuse me one second,

236. Stephen give me the top of that blade.

237. I don't want to mess around with it too much.

238. Risotto's good to go, figs are good to go.

239. - Very passionate chef.

240. Very focused, full of energy.

241. He reminds me of Gordon, actually, sometimes.

242. - Next, pork belly with pan fried foie gras,

243. butternut squash and cracklin.

244. - This dish actually has to be mixed together

245. to express it's full potential.

246. When it's well cooked like today, it's absolutely stunning.

247. It's just a brilliant dish.

248. - JB was really impressed with the food

249. and the service at The Swan.

250. - Hi Gordon.

251. - He told me everything and I made the call.

252. Hello is this Scott?

253. - Yes, speaking.

254. - Hi, Scott it's Gordon Ramsay from The F Word.

255. How are you?

256. - I'm very well, how are you?

257. - Well, thank you.

258. What does it mean to you to cook with great British produce?

259. - Means everything to me.

260. - Yeah.

261. - I believe in my food, I'm here for my food.

262. I don't need to explain to you how much hard work

263. goes into the food.

264. I'm probably putting in about 16 to 18 hours a day

265. and absolutely loving what I'm doing.

266. - Okay great, now listen,

267. you know you've been favoured from local customers

268. in terms of loyalty, great experiences.

269. This is a competition and

270. you're coming to London, you've made it through

271. to The F Word, congratulations.

272. - That's brilliant news, thank you so much.

273. We're through guys, we've done it.

274. - Well done.

275. - You've absolutely made my day.

276. What can I say Gordon?

277. Thank you very, very much.

278. - Well done and I look forward to seeing you in London.

279. - Look forward to seeing you in London.

280. - Feedback from the customer's been amazing,

281. JB was blown away by it and, yeah, again,

282. 100 percent British through and through.

283. Great news.

284. - All the hard work is obviously being recognised.

285. It's paid off and yeah, now it's just keep going.

286. Let's just keep pushing.

287. - So from nearly two thousand of your nominations,

288. I found my top two British restaurants.

289. Will the F Word diners prefer the rustic,

290. homegrown dishes of The Pheasant

291. or will they be won over by Scott's elegant

292. and refined cuisine?

293. Next on the menu,

294. the battle begins for the title of The F Word's

295. best local British restaurant.

296. Make sure every dish you send out

297. is absolutely perfect because that'll make

298. the big difference between winning and losing.

299. And I head to Lapland to cook up a truly festive feast.

300. Honestly, Christmas day is here for me right now.

301. Welcome to The F Word and merry Christmas.

302. This week, we're honouring the thousands of restaurants

303. that have finally given British cooking

304. the delicious reputation it deserves.

305. And thanks to your nominations and months of

306. whittling them down,

307. we found two outstanding contenders.

308. The Pheasant in Keystone, Cambridgeshire

309. and The Swan in West Malling, Kent.

310. Now, do yourselves proud, do the customers proud,

311. do your reputations proud and really cook

312. your hearts out this evening.

313. 25 portions of the starters each, 50 of your main courses

314. and then 25 portions of your desserts.

315. Let's get on the sections and get cooking, well done.

316. First I'm challenging the brigades to come up

317. with a starter that uses a classic Christmas ingredient,

318. Stilton.

319. Make sure every dish you send out guys

320. is absolutely perfect because that'll make

321. the big difference at the end of the night

322. between winning and losing.

323. Hidden away in the Cambridge countryside is The Pheasant,

324. a gastro pub whose food is so local,

325. it lives on the farm next door.

326. - You can see that we've got the cows and pigs

327. and all that sort of stuff so why not use it?

328. - Jay's starter, breaded Stilton with

329. beetroot, Jerusalem artichoke and foraged salad leaves

330. provides a bold mix of strong seasonal flavours.

331. He finishes off this earthy salad dish with

332. truffle oil, red wine vinegar and chopped walnuts.

333. Happy with that, Jay?

334. - Yep!

335. - Yeah?

336. Brilliant, salads, please?

337. Very nice, they look beautiful.

338. I love that smell of the walnut and the truffle.

339. Jay, what do you think diners are gonna pay for this dish?

340. - Full of flavour.

341. We've got woodsong, pennyworts, red clover,

342. and this one which is wicked.

343. - That's nice, a lovely, lively, fresh taste on that.

344. - They're in the woods growing yesterday.

345. - And you think the diners are gonna pay for the salad?

346. - I would, yeah.

347. - You're using the baby beet.

348. Is that for appearance?

349. - Yeah, more for starter, you know?

350. I want you to be able to put it in the mouth

351. and then get on to the next kind of mouthful.

352. - At just 26, head chef at The Swan, Scott,

353. has already made a name for himself with

354. his passion for his imaginative, contemporary cooking.

355. - Good ingredients cooked well, cooked with integrity,

356. that's what we're all about.

357. That's The Swan.

358. - And for his starter, Scott's serving

359. Stilton and parsley dumplings

360. in a mushroom, roast onion and beetroot broth.

361. - Where are the porcinis from?

362. - These ones we get very locally,

363. we're very, very lucky in Kent for any mushroom.

364. We've got a lot of oak trees and so yeah,

365. we get all of our stuff foraged for us.

366. - It's incredibly competitive in there.

367. I love Scott's enthusiasm.

368. He's excited and he's got this adrenaline flow.

369. Everything he cooks and touches, he's always over it.

370. Jay however is a lot more reserved but deep down inside

371. it's all about flavour for him, nothing more.

372. We'll find out what diners think of it in a minute

373. but first, here's Lapland.

374. Tucked away in the arctic circle is probably

375. the most Christmassy place in the world, Lapland.

376. This amazing landscape is home to Santa Claus

377. and a delicious tasting meat that I've always

378. wanted to cook.

379. Reindeer's a main source of meat here in Lapland,

380. it has been for centuries and it's easy to see why.

381. Huge herds live out in the wild

382. but many of them are privately owned by Sami people.

383. The reindeer are their livestock and every year

384. almost half the population are rounded up for slaughter.

385. It's a livelihood for families like Petri Metussi's.

386. Morning.

387. - Morning, how are you?

388. - Very well thank you, how are you?

389. - Fine, thanks.

390. - Good to see you.

391. Petri shoots dozens of his own reindeer herd every year

392. to supply his family and friends with meat.

393. What's slightly daunting is that today

394. I'll be pulling the trigger.

395. So you shout like that, they just come naturally?

396. - I hope they come.

397. - Seriously.

398. Pronounce it again for me?

399. Hus?

400. - Hurse!

401. - Hus!

402. - That's right.

403. - And they just come?

404. - Yeah.

405. - That is unbelievable.

406. That's incredible!

407. That is extraordinary.

408. They are beautiful.

409. - Yes.

410. - Almost too beautiful to shoot.

411. These are such amazing looking animals

412. I was starting to forget why we were here.

413. My god.

414. They're almost tame, they're like pets.

415. - They are not like pets, they are

416. my livelihood.

417. - Your livelihood.

418. - You want to eat it?

419. You must shoot it.

420. - I totally respect that.

421. Why is this method better than taking them

422. to a slaughterhouse?

423. - Because reindeer don't know what happens

424. because we shoot only head and it's dead like that.

425. - There's no need to stalk reindeer.

426. This method is completely normal and often

427. used by the Sami people.

428. The point that Petri's stressing is the fact that

429. it's much better doing it this way because it's

430. more humane.

431. It's stress free, there's no slaughterhouse

432. and the animals are killed in an instant second.

433. These plates, they look fantastic,

434. they're all looking beautiful.

435. A nice early Chrissy present for the diners.

436. Alright, Scott, last table, yeah?

437. Two way down to number 14.

438. - Table of two, yes, chef.

439. - Jay, last table for you?

440. Four and 15 please, chef.

441. - Let's make sure this brings the fuckin' ball in, chef.

442. - Here we go guys, yes?

443. These look fantastic.

444. It smells amazing.

445. And the nice thing, the last table went out

446. exactly like the first table.

447. Scott, Tom, well done, yes?

448. - Thank you, chef.

449. - The Silton wasn't too strong so it all worked

450. really well with the salad leaves

451. and I would certainly pay for this, it's delicious.

452. - All the flavours work quite well together but

453. the artichoke was quite undercooked,

454. it was quite crunchy and quite hard to eat.

455. - Taffeta, how are you?

456. - Very well, thank you, very well.

457. - How are you feeling?

458. - Pretty good.

459. - Yeah, relaxed?

460. Now you've got your eye on him,

461. how do you think he's doing in there?

462. - They seem to relax into it.

463. - He's a very focused individual, isn't he?

464. - Yeah.

465. - Where does that come from?

466. - Doesn't come from me and I'm not sure

467. it comes from his mother either.

468. - But I mean his hair makes him look like a hippie

469. but his attention to detail is staggering.

470. He won't let anything go par.

471. - Don't diss the hair!

472. - Hope you enjoy your main courses.

473. - Thank you very much, thanks.

474. - The food's absolutely delicious.

475. It was a really hearty, comforting sort of wintry starter.

476. You can taste every single thing and it all works

477. really well together.

478. It's delicious.

479. - I thought the mushrooms were particularly well cooked

480. but the dumplings were a bit powdery.

481. - Sharn, how are you my darling?

482. - Hello.

483. - Nice to see you, my darling, merry Christmas.

484. - Merry Christmas.

485. - How well do you think he's doing?

486. - Really well, just have a look at him and he, yeah,

487. he looks very happy.

488. - Does he ever switch off? - No.

489. - Do you ever slow him down? - No.

490. - Fantastic.

491. Now, starter, tell me about it.

492. How was it?

493. - It was lovely.

494. - Brilliant, and the big question, Sharn,

495. are you gonna pay for it?

496. - Yes, of course I am.

497. - Enjoy your main courses.

498. I'll see you later.

499. - Cheers.

500. - Pleasure meeting you both.

501. - Thank you, bye.

502. - The Pheasant looks very rustic, smells really fragrant,

503. the walnuts, the truffle.

504. Flavour wise?

505. That's delicious.

506. Crispy, not too salty but very, very light.

507. Totally unfancy but in terms of flavour it really

508. hits all the right notes.

509. Right, the dumplings at The Swan.

510. Quite a finicky dish and the biggest worry

511. is when the beetroot bleeds into the broth.

512. It changes instantly so is that going to be off putting?

513. Taste wise?

514. Dumplings are a little bit too sort of pasty

515. on the top of the roof of your mouth.

516. Two interesting starters.

517. If it was up to me, I'd have to say that the starter

518. from The Pheasant has the edge because

519. I don't like the bleeding broth with the baby beetroot.

520. So, all the F Word diners have finished their starters,

521. and the votes have been counted.

522. Okay good, Alright Jay, out of 25 customers

523. how many do you think, tonight,

524. are gonna pay for that starter?

525. - I would hope 20.

526. - 20.

527. Scott, you're over everything in a way that's like

528. an octopus on the stove.

529. - Always the most when I'm in the kitchen.

530. - Amazing amount of energy, love it.

531. You're wired 24/7, it's great.

532. In terms of the dish, out of 25,

533. how many do you think are happy to pay for it?

534. - For the flavour delivered and the flavours I tasted, 25.

535. - You're that confident?

536. - Yeah.

537. - Good, I like that.

538. Okay let's find out.

539. JB?

540. Okay the number of customers that are happy to pay

541. out of 25 for your starter is

542. wow, 16 out of 25.

543. Not fantastic.

544. It's still not bad, trust me.

545. What did they like, JB?

546. - The find everything very light,

547. they find the broth was good different flavours.

548. - So what didn't they like?

549. - They found the dumpling a bit raw, I'm afraid.

550. - Okay Pheasant.

551. Jay, the amount of customers that are happy to pay

552. for your starter out of 25 is

553. Congratulations, 23 out of 25.

554. amazing, well done.

555. That's a great score and a very, very good start.

556. - That's a good Christmas present.

557. - That's a very good Christmas present, well done.

558. Now, it's comeback time.

559. You can pull this back on the main course.

560. - Of course.

561. - This time we're going to 50 customers.

562. Every diner out there is going to be served

563. your main course.

564. Good on you, well done.

565. Good.

566. Just because you've won the starter doesn't mean

567. you won the night.

568. - Absolutely.

569. - As you know.

570. Gentlemen, good luck, main course, make it count, yes?

571. 50, off you go.

572. The Pheasant's signature dish tonight

573. is stuffed rabbit with homemade black pudding,

574. crispy bacon and a stout mustard sauce.

575. For the rabbit, Jay bones, flattens and seasons the leg

576. and stuffs it with his homemade black pudding.

577. The meat is then rolled in silver foil

578. before it goes in the oven.

579. The saddle is added to butter with white wine

580. and steamed in the oven.

581. For the mashed potato, Jay starts with thyme,

582. parsley stalks, garlic, bay leaves and rosemary.

583. He adds equal measures of milk and cream and then butter.

584. Then adds the mashed, boiled potatoes.

585. For the mustard sauce, Jay reduces white wine

586. then chicken stock before adding the mustard and parsley.

587. Finally, Jay fries bacon and seasons spinach with nutmeg.

588. Stuffed rabbit with homemade black pudding,

589. crispy bacon and a stout mustard sauce, served.

590. You remind me of Marco with all that hair.

591. I heard what happened was he shaved it off.

592. - Didn't look very handsome.

593. - You've got my problem, the wrong shaped head.

594. - Bit of a hound head.

595. - You have a very technical way about food on a plate.

596. - Yes.

597. - Is that because Kent is a bit more sophisticated

598. than Cambridgeshire?

599. - No, this is me trying to be a chef and express myself

600. and put my ideas on a plate.

601. For me it's the finished article.

602. - The Swan's signature dish tonight

603. is loin of venison with game cottage pie.

604. For the cottage pie filling, Scott individually

605. fries rabbit, bacon and pigeon, shallots and garlic.

606. Then for the gravy, Scott fries pigeon, rabbit bones

607. and offal.

608. - Nice golden brown colour.

609. - And removes them to rest.

610. Then fries butter, shallots, garlic, bay leaves

611. and reintroduces the bones and offal.

612. Next in is some port, juniper berries

613. and a glass of red wine.

614. He then adds chicken and veal stock.

615. - What we want is this beautiful, rich golden brown,

616. kind of give me a hug gravy.

617. - And adds the gravy to

618. the rabbit and pigeon filling.

619. Finally, the filling is topped with mashed potatoes

620. and grilled.

621. Scott then seasons and flash fries his venison

622. in butter and leaves it to stand.

623. - This is my celebration of the game season.

624. Service!

625. - Loin and venison with game cottage pie?

626. Served.

627. - How is that chef, alright?

628. - Lovely, lovely, lovely.

629. - Hi Guy, how are you?

630. Your meat is not cooked enough?

631. - I don't think so.

632. I'm not sure what that is.

633. - If you aren't pleased with it we're gonna send it back.

634. - I've got four cottage pies coming up, please.

635. - Gordon?

636. - Yes, what's the matter?

637. - Yes, one of our customers thinks

638. it's not cooked enough.

639. - It's not actually cooked at all,

640. did you pick up the wrong one?

641. You're gonna send it off?

642. Definitely not a race, guys, yeah?

643. Thank you, take that back to him, no problem.

644. - We're one behind, let's start to slow down.

645. - Tom, every piece, it's not a race, guys, yeah?

646. Okay?

647. Now, serving venison pink, nice.

648. But serving venison raw, no fucking chance, yeah?

649. - Here you go.

650. We do apologise actually, it was undercooked.

651. - Come on, Scott.

652. You know how to cook venison with your eyes closed.

653. - Any day, chef.

654. - Slow down, yeah?

655. - Yeah oi, chef, oi.

656. - Damn, damn, damn, damn.

657. While Scott gets his head together,

658. it's time to meet the first of tonight's special guests,

659. Dita Von Teese.

660. How are you, my darling?

661. Really good to see you.

662. You look amazing.

663. Nice to see you, my darling, welcome.

664. Welcome to The F Word.

665. Now, you're a burlesque artist, yes?

666. Does it feel a little bit weird set here in the restaurant

667. with your clothes on?

668. - No, not at all.

669. I mean I usually wear clothes when I eat

670. for the most part unless I'm at home.

671. - Yes, and where did it all start?

672. - I kind of had like this desire to be photographed

673. in my lingerie, pin up style.

674. - Perfect.

675. - And I found out a lot of pin up models

676. of the 30s and 40s were burlesque dancers

677. so I kind of went "oh I could do a live show too".

678. - What fascinates me about you is you have this

679. amazing tiny waistline.

680. - No, not so much, I just ate those potatoes.

681. - Stand up for me, darling?

682. What size is that?

683. - No come on.

684. - Please.

685. - It's not that, everyone makes a big fuss about it.

686. It's not, it's totally normal girl waist.

687. - Can I?

688. - Yeah, go ahead.

689. - My god, there's nothing there.

690. Honestly!

691. Amazing.

692. Does it ever go under 22 inch or?

693. - Well when I wear a corset and I lace that thing down

694. it gets to be about 17 inches?

695. - 17 inches.

696. Do you have to be very careful about what you eat

697. with that waistline?

698. Are you cautious?

699. - I probably should be but I'm not.

700. I love food, I like eating, it's a great pleasure.

701. - It's really good to see you.

702. Enjoy the rest of your meal.

703. Please try to keep your clothes on, yes?

704. - I will.

705. - You look great.

706. Thank you so much for coming.

707. Delicious those shallots.

708. Juniper berries, love them.

709. Good.

710. Okay Scott, well done, last two tables, yes?

711. Liam!

712. - Yes chef?

713. - After this, one more portion for me please, yeah?

714. - Certainly, Gordon.

715. - One on Jay.

716. Home straight.

717. - The two different cuts of rabbit I thought

718. on the bone was a little bit dry but the

719. bit that was stuffed with the black pudding was delicious.

720. - I thought the venison was absolutely superb,

721. it was cooked perfectly, it was pink, it was moist,

722. it was tasty.

723. Fantastic.

724. - In terms of venison and the small cottage pie,

725. very simple, curly kale.

726. Venison perfectly cooked,

727. so glad he cooked that one properly.

728. Bit nervous about the cottage pie.

729. Doesn't quite work together.

730. Too much game and all cooked at different temperatures.

731. That's a piece of pigeon, that's a rabbit.

732. Rabbit's cooked perfectly, pigeon's overcooked.

733. Too many textures.

734. Too intimidating.

735. Now The Pheasant's rabbit

736. stuffed with black pudding, rustic, simple.

737. Black pudding, slightly dry.

738. Little bit bland and needs a little bit more seasoning.

739. The rabbit on the bone, have to say it's cooked perfectly.

740. If I had to choose, tough call, I'd go for the venison.

741. First of all before we get results, well done.

742. Really well done.

743. Yeah, 50 portions, ambitious dishes.

744. Scott, why does a dish like that go out raw

745. when you're over it in a way of a control freak?

746. How does one, how does that happen?

747. - I don't know.

748. I don't know.

749. I let it go, let it slip.

750. Went under the headlights, like you say slipped out.

751. All I could do was rectify it as quick as possible

752. and get one out to the customer.

753. - Okay, results.

754. JB.

755. Okay, let's start with The Pheasant this time around.

756. The number of customers happy to pay out of 50

757. for that main course is,

758. 34 out of 50.

759. That's not bad.

760. It's not brilliant but it's not bad.

761. Feedback, why do they like?

762. - They found the rabbit very tender.

763. - They found the rabbit very tender,

764. of course, it's cooked on the bone.

765. What didn't they like?

766. - They find the black pudding was a bit bland

767. and the meat a little bit tough from the saddle.

768. - Okay The Swan.

769. Number of customers that are happy to pay

770. for your main course out of 50 is

771. congratulations, 39.

772. Well done.

773. Really well done.

774. Really well done indeed.

775. Really good.

776. What'd they like about it?

777. - They found the venison very tender.

778. - Venison very tender, clearly.

779. Of the 11 customers that didn't pay,

780. what did they say?

781. - The cottage pie, a little bit watery.

782. - Okay.

783. - Now, The Swan have got 55 out of 75 paying.

784. The Pheasant, you have 57 out of 75.

785. There are only two points in it.

786. Make every dish perfect.

787. Well done.

788. Clear down, get ready for dessert.

789. It's Christmas and I'm in Lapland looking for reindeer.

790. A delicious lean meat that I've always wanted to cook.

791. All I need to do now is shoot one.

792. - This young one.

793. - Petri believes shooting his reindeer

794. is far kinder to the animals than the stress of sending

795. them to a slaughterhouse.

796. There's one standing behind it.

797. Shooting the right one is crucial but it's Christmas

798. and they all look like Rudolph.

799. Safety off.

800. Shit.

801. - That's good.

802. - Shit.

803. Fuck.

804. Jesus.

805. That was a clean shot.

806. - Yes, they don't get it while suffering.

807. Like that, they die.

808. - Are these six months old?

809. - Yes and very good meat.

810. Very good and very tasty but now we must take

811. the skin off and then we can get the food.

812. - Sami herders can stay for weeks in the forest

813. while they round up their reindeer for slaughter.

814. They're a main source of income and as a result,

815. not a single part of animal goes to waste.

816. Now to skin it.

817. - So we'll slit right down the belly.

818. - And then you just pull it open.

819. It's coming away easy.

820. This is no different to a cow hide, it's actually the same.

821. God it's incredibly thick, isn't it?

822. And very very warm, my god.

823. With so many reindeer in Lapland, the hides

824. are popular with the locals, just like the delicious

825. tasting meat.

826. That's quite intense.

827. May look a little bit gory but that's what they've been

828. doing for hundreds of years.

829. But what strikes me more than anything is that

830. the animal actually looks in mint condition.

831. Now that it's at that stage which I call the chef stage,

832. I can't wait to get it cut down and taste it quickly.

833. Cooking would have to wait a little longer

834. because Petri wanted to show me a traditional

835. Sami shelter.

836. These teepees are lined with sticks and fur

837. and they become the herder's home while they're

838. working in the wilderness.

839. Honestly, don't worry about me tonight,

840. I'll be fine in my cabin.

841. Don't fuck around in the snow, come on.

842. Although my journey so far has been steeped in tradition,

843. I wanted to show Petri and his family a slightly

844. different take on the reindeer they love to eat.

845. Not too sure about the sleeping arrangements, however,

846. there's no better way to end the day

847. than with something Christmassy.

848. I'm making the most amazing reindeer stew using the loin.

849. Now, basically just cut this up into nice,

850. large, rustic chunks.

851. First in the pan, bacon.

852. Bacon straight in, get that really nice and crispy.

853. Now, vegetables.

854. Turnip, all local, little bit of garlic in there.

855. Slice it, smells amazing.

856. Onion, down.

857. Finally, the carrot.

858. In goes the reindeer.

859. Nice, high flame.

860. Turn the gas up, that's what I'd say at home.

861. Little bit of salt, little bit of pepper.

862. In with the vegetables.

863. Turnip, onion, garlic and carrots.

864. That smells absolutely amazing.

865. Now, got great colour on the meat and vegetables.

866. I'm adding cloudberries and blueberries

867. right here from the forest.

868. That give it a really nice, rich, acidic flavour.

869. From there, glaze the pan with a touch of red wine vinegar.

870. Once all the red wine vinegar's evaporated,

871. red wine, in

872. and reduce that down to a syrup.

873. Right, now the red wine's reduced down

874. it's got this really nice glaze around the reindeer.

875. Now, add the water.

876. Water in.

877. If I was at home I'd be using stock with water

878. but when in Lapland, think on your feet.

879. And let it simmer from eight to ten minutes.

880. That smells amazing.

881. Normally that looks ready but I'm gonna finish it

882. with some bitter chocolate.

883. The chocolate works well with venison

884. and it has the same effect on reindeer.

885. Look at that, nice, thick, rich reindeer stew.

886. Smells delicious.

887. Right.

888. Petri and his family eat reindeer five times a week.

889. So would they like my stew?

890. I can't think of a more fitting family to serve

891. this to.

892. - Cheers, smells absolutely fantastic.

893. - Thank you.

894. - First time chocolate with the reindeer.

895. - Do you like it?

896. - Yes, very good.

897. - Fabulous, yes.

898. - It's very, very different from our everyday

899. food but absolutely fantastic, thank you.

900. - This teepee's so warm and cosy,

901. I'm almost tempted to stay the night.

902. Almost.

903. Two points in it.

904. There's nothing won and there's nothing lost yet.

905. All to play for in the dessert.

906. Basically 25 portions each, guys, yes?

907. I'll stagger them.

908. Make sure each and every one is perfect.

909. Let's go guys.

910. Now, both of our guys are gonna cook my recipe

911. for dessert and it's Christmas just around the corner,

912. it can only mean one thing.

913. Christmas pudding souffles, the most perfect way

914. to use up leftover Christmas puddings.

915. First off, the pastry cream.

916. 200 millilitres of milk, heat, egg yolks.

917. 30 grammes of caster sugar, whisk.

918. Plain flour, corn flour, sift.

919. Then pour in the hot milk.

920. Return to the pan and heat until thickened.

921. Orange zest.

922. Crumble the Christmas pudding into the pastry cream and mix.

923. Now for the egg whites, lemon juice, caster sugar, whisk.

924. Add the egg whites to the Christmas pudding mixture

925. and fold.

926. Buttered ramekins.

927. Fill, tap, scrape, edge, bake for about 15 minutes.

928. Wow, look at them.

929. They smell amazing.

930. Very festive and look, little beauties.

931. Icing sugar.

932. Christmas pudding souffle?

933. Done.

934. In keeping with my British theme,

935. English cricket hero Freddie Fintoff has joined

936. me in the dining room.

937. Freddie, really good to see you, my friend.

938. Thanks so much for coming to The F Word.

939. How are you?

940. - I'm very well, thanks.

941. - A man who loves his food?

942. - I do love me food, yeah.

943. Probably too much at times.

944. - Nothing wrong with that whatsoever.

945. I know you're a very proud Brit.

946. What does British food mean to you?

947. - British food, one of the best places to eat food

948. when you're playing for England.

949. I try not to go there every day or as much

950. because after that you just don't want to play cricket,

951. you know?

952. You have rack of lamb steak.

953. - Before you play?

954. - This is at lunch time!

955. - At lunch time?

956. I thought it was finger sandwiches, cucumber.

957. - You can play two hours then you go for your lunch,

958. it's fantastic.

959. - Then back on.

960. - Back on for a few hours, yeah.

961. - That's incredible.

962. - Usually you're out before you bowl

963. then you bowl a few extra overs,

964. try to burn it off in the afternoon.

965. But it is one of the best places you can eat.

966. If I'm off two hours later for a few sandwiches

967. at tea, it's very civilised.

968. - And Christmastime, who does the cooking?

969. - Past two years we've gone out.

970. - Really?

971. - Yeah we got three kids so we open the presents

972. and we go out for something to eat.

973. This year I think we're going to spend it in Dubai.

974. - In Dubai?

975. - We've been there for a while now while I've been

976. recuperating from an injury.

977. - Christmas pudding in Dubai?

978. - I don't like currents or raisins or anything like that.

979. I remember me auntie Joan when I was a kid

980. I used to go down there she used to give me

981. current buns every time I went around and I'd

982. just find myself picking the currents out

983. just not to upset her.

984. - It is true that your wife throws raisins at you

985. to scare you when she wants your attention?

986. - I'll tell you what she has done!

987. She was trying to get me out of bed one morning,

988. she threw raisins at me trying to scare me.

989. She thinks I'm scared of raisins.

990. I just don't like them.

991. I'm not scared of them.

992. - Absolute pleasure, merry Christmas.

993. Good to see you.

994. - Good on you, Gordon, cheers.

995. So, two points ahead, yeah?

996. Gonna keep hold of the lead?

997. - Yeah yeah.

998. - It's a tight one.

999. - That's the plan.

1000. - You're in control?

1001. - Yep.

1002. - You look at bit put off by the souffle.

1003. Not your bag or?

1004. - Pastry's not my bag, no.

1005. He's the pastry chef.

1006. - Liam, you'd better not let him down tonight, yes?

1007. - No, no.

1008. - You'll be out the door, big boy.

1009. Foraging for a new job.

1010. - You guys made loads of souffles before?

1011. - Not loads, I wouldn't say loads.

1012. - A hundred more than me.

1013. - This is fascinating because Jay has lost his confidence.

1014. He's not a pastry chef and he's somewhat intimidated

1015. by the task of doing 25 souffles.

1016. Scott on the other hand however, has risen to the occasion,

1017. very composed, very excited and the souffles

1018. look fantastic.

1019. Jay is falling behind.

1020. Back to Rudolph.

1021. I've spent the last few days in the most Christmassy

1022. part of the world and it's inspired me to create

1023. two quick and simple Christmas day dishes.

1024. So two final treats before I say goodbye to Lapland.

1025. The most amazing reindeer carpaccio and then

1026. a fantastic mulled wine.

1027. First off, wine in.

1028. Add cinnamon sticks, cloves,

1029. sugar and then some stem ginger.

1030. Give the wine some spice.

1031. Peel and slice two oranges.

1032. Oranges in.

1033. That sounds like Christmas.

1034. Bring it up to the boil

1035. and leave for ten minutes.

1036. Right, now for the carpaccio.

1037. I've coated what's left of my reindeer fillet

1038. in dried mushrooms and juniper berries

1039. and chilled it overnight.

1040. Now to serve with the carpaccio,

1041. I'm going to make the most amazing berry vinegarette.

1042. These are local berries from around this forest.

1043. Sweeten with maple syrup, season and add a table spoon

1044. of olive oil.

1045. Now for the exciting part.

1046. This has to be the perfect Christmas starter.

1047. Rolling pin.

1048. Roll out the carpaccio, beautiful.

1049. And serve with a berry compote.

1050. Stunning carpaccio reindeer with mulled wine.

1051. Happy Christmas.

1052. Right, mulled wine for you, my darling.

1053. It's the perfect parting gift for Petri and his family.

1054. - We must taste.

1055. - The quality of the meat is extraordinary.

1056. - It is very good but I have also surprise for you!

1057. You must taste, this is dried reindeer dick.

1058. - Reindeer what?

1059. - Dick.

1060. - Petri, it's Christmas.

1061. - It's very good.

1062. - You've dried the reindeer's dick.

1063. I didn't think it could get any worse.

1064. God.

1065. No, no, no.

1066. No, sorry, I'm not going to eat reindeer dick.

1067. I'm gonna draw the line.

1068. You can keep your dick.

1069. - I'm just kidding.

1070. - What is that?

1071. - Tongue.

1072. - Tongue?

1073. - Merry Christmas.

1074. Next on tonight's Christmas menu,

1075. my son Jack and I will be at home cooking up a Christmassy

1076. treat for Santa.

1077. Pass one to your big sister,

1078. just before she goes to eat it.

1079. And we'll be crowing The F Word's best

1080. local British restaurant.

1081. The number of customers that are happy to pay

1082. for your souffle is.

1083. Hey guys?

1084. - Yeah?

1085. - Good luck with the dessert.

1086. One of you, the kids are gonna have the best Christmas ever.

1087. Make it yours.

1088. Backs please, service, please, last table, let's go!

1089. - Behind your backs, behind your backs,

1090. move, move, move.

1091. Tommy, Tommy, Tommy.

1092. Straight on the plate, chef, straight on the plate,

1093. straight on the plate, fucking go go go.

1094. Come on, come on, come on.

1095. - Tom don't worry about burning your hands,

1096. that's what your fingers are for, burning them.

1097. Jesus, Tom, don't get all dainty and delicate at

1098. the end of the night worrying about your fingers.

1099. Worry about your fucking scores.

1100. Scott, come on big man, you're only two points behind, yes?

1101. Yeah?

1102. Which is nothing in terms of souffle, yeah?

1103. - No.

1104. - How are you gonna feel if you lose on the back

1105. of a souffle?

1106. - Back of a souffle?

1107. God, I'll never cook another one again.

1108. - Deflated.

1109. There's everything to play for in this final course.

1110. But first, my favourite recipe for the perfect

1111. Christmas treat to cook at home with your family.

1112. Right, Jack?

1113. Please, I need some help.

1114. Five minutes, right, Christmastime means spice, yeah?

1115. Been there, done that.

1116. Worn the tee shirt yeah?

1117. Gonna make something a little bit different.

1118. They're gonna be called mincemeat palmiers.

1119. First off, make the mincemeat.

1120. Grate an apple, zest and juice a lemon and an orange.

1121. Then add 170 grammes of brown sugar,

1122. 250 grammes of raisins, finely chopped apricots,

1123. flaked almonds and then add the spices.

1124. A teaspoon of cinnamon, nutmeg, and

1125. - Allspice.

1126. - Then stir.

1127. Next, the grown up kick.

1128. First pour in a dash of rum.

1129. What is this one here?

1130. Then my favourite.

1131. - Brandy.

1132. - How'd you know that at the age of nine?

1133. Here we go, little splash.

1134. Add melted butter, thoroughly mix and chill in the fridge.

1135. Once the mincemeat's firmed up, spoon out onto puff pastry.

1136. Use the back of the spoon and spread it over the pastry.

1137. A little dust of some icing sugar.

1138. After dusting with icing sugar, roll the pastry.

1139. Really nice and tight to the halfway stage.

1140. Turn all the way around, and roll the other side

1141. until they meet in the middle.

1142. Fold that over there, then chill in the fridge for

1143. half an hour.

1144. Once they're set, slice into sections,

1145. place on a buttered baking tray and dust with icing sugar.

1146. Bake for around 15 minutes.

1147. Nice.

1148. - Delicious!

1149. - Look at those beauties!

1150. Thank you, chef.

1151. I'll show you a little trick for Christmas day.

1152. Pass one to your big sister,

1153. just before she goes to eating it.

1154. Christmas palmiers, done.

1155. Well done, guys.

1156. Really well done.

1157. I can see it wasn't your bag, however,

1158. nice way of using leftover Christmas pudding.

1159. - Yeah.

1160. - Perfect, you did a great job, they look fantastic.

1161. Scott, well done, pretty good indeed.

1162. We're moments away from finding out who's going

1163. to get an early Christmas present

1164. and win the title of The F Word's best

1165. local British restaurant.

1166. If The Swan wins tonight, it will help realise

1167. the ambitions of 26 year old head chef Scott,

1168. an incredibly passionate and committed young individual.

1169. - To win the competition would mean everything

1170. that I'm doing or my beliefs or my ethoses about food

1171. are correct and true and it just gives me more

1172. enthusiasm and drive to now go even further in my career.

1173. - For The Pheasant and husband and wife

1174. team Jay and Taffeta, winning tonight will put

1175. their much loved country gastro pub on the culinary map.

1176. - Winning, it'd be fantastic, you know?

1177. It's an accolade.

1178. - I absolutely love the dessert.

1179. It's amazing.

1180. Usually I'm not a fan of Christmas pudding but

1181. as they added the lemon to it, it was absolutely beautiful.

1182. - I thought it was great.

1183. I must admit, I'm the kind of person who skips

1184. all the Christmas pudding because I find it so stogy.

1185. What I love about this is it actually had

1186. all the flavours of it but it's so much lighter.

1187. - Right, The Swan's souffle, nice height.

1188. Nice crispy top and inside, nice and light

1189. and cooked beautifully.

1190. Taste wise,

1191. that's delicious.

1192. Not too sweet, right amount of sugar,

1193. little bit of lemon juice in there to really

1194. stiffen the egg white.

1195. Real challenge for any chef cooking a perfect

1196. souffle in the middle of service but Scott

1197. has done a brilliant job there.

1198. Really good.

1199. Pheasant's souffle.

1200. Looks a bit darker, somewhat richer than The Swan's

1201. but nice and moist.

1202. Smells delicious, very festive.

1203. That's lovely.

1204. Swan's souffle, absolutely perfect.

1205. Pheasant's souffle, absolutely perfect.

1206. Right now this is too close to call.

1207. Right, before we get the results,

1208. I'd like to say well done.

1209. It's been an absolute pleasure having all four of you

1210. in the kitchen.

1211. That souffle was a tough call but they went out

1212. brilliantly, they look fantastic and they tasted

1213. absolutely delicious, well done.

1214. Scott, cooking the dessert, you kind of came into your own

1215. in a way that you took off.

1216. - I knew that I started too quickly.

1217. I just had to slow down and get it together in my head

1218. instead of just trying to get rid of it.

1219. - Jay.

1220. You looked for the first time, out of your comfort zone.

1221. Were you happy with every souffle that went out?

1222. - Yeah, they looked good.

1223. - Good, right, results, JB, please?

1224. Let's start off with The Swan.

1225. Two points behind when you went into dessert.

1226. The number of customers that are happy to pay

1227. for your dessert out of 25 is

1228. 24 out of 25.

1229. That is amazing.

1230. That is amazing.

1231. Very well done, really well done.

1232. One person not paying for dessert, why?

1233. - Because it's soggy in the middle.

1234. - Soggy in the middle?

1235. Tell them to brush their teeth.

1236. Really well done.

1237. Okay, Jay, you need 22 to tie.

1238. If you get more than 22, it's yours.

1239. The number of customers that are happy to pay

1240. for your souffle out of 25

1241. 23 out of 25.

1242. Well done.

1243. Well done, congratulations.

1244. Congratulations.

1245. Well done, well done, well done.

1246. That was the closest so far.

1247. 23 out of 25, Jay well done, really well done.

1248. Liam, well done, great teamwork.

1249. Scott, that's the closest so far.

1250. That is incredible.

1251. Right, all four of you, merry Christmas.

1252. Get out there and get yourselves a drink,

1253. you deserve it.

1254. - Christmas has come.

1255. Screw the bloody star on the tree, let's just have this.

1256. - Our own F Word trophy.

1257. - I've got The F Word trophy.

1258. - In our closest contest yet,

1259. The Pheasant just put The Swan to fourth place

1260. on our leaderboard.

1261. And as they are safely in the top six,

1262. they're guaranteed a place in the semifinal.

1263. - What a night.

1264. - Next week there's a party atmosphere

1265. in The F Word restaurant as my search for The F Word's

1266. best local restaurant reaches it's final category.

1267. Having four The F Word's best local Indian, French,

1268. Spanish and Thai restaurants, we're focusing

1269. on the rest of the world.

1270. If it tastes as good as it smells,

1271. then we're in for a treat.

1272. Two fantastic contenders will be battling it out

1273. in the kitchen, one Moroccan and one Greek

1274. and the sun will be setting on Janet's farm

1275. as she prepares to take the livestock to slaughter

1276. in preparation for the final meal of the competition.

1277. - Alright, guys, I've come to say goodbye.