The Big Family Cooking Showdown (2017–2018): Season 1, Episode 5 - Episode #1.5 - full transcript

[Zoe] The British family kitchen -
whether it’s where you love to eat...

This is where we have our family feasts.

[Zoe] ...or where you love to cook.

[Betty] Yeah!

It’s where we all learn to love food.

I taste the food of many chef,
in many different restaurants,

all over the world.

But family cooking...

[Riswana] This one’s puffing up.

...this is where real food comes from.

[Rosemary]
Home cooking does something



that fine dining does not,

it creates the heart within the home.

-[Nadiya] She’s eating the ingredients!
-Bringing the family together.

We’re searching
for Britain’s best family of cooks.

Over the next few weeks,
16 families will go head-to-head.

[Zoe] Teenagers and grandparents,
brothers and sisters,

all cooking their very best family food,
in their own homes.

-The judges will love it.
-'Course they will.

And here in our kitchen.

[Nadiya] Oh, that smell.

[Torren] That is delicious.

[woman] I’m shaking so much.

[Zoe] Judging their efforts
every step of the way...

[woman] Ohh! Drama!



[Zoe] ...renowned cookery teacher,
Rosemary Shrager.

[Rosemary] I’m looking for a family
who are going to blow me away

with the understanding
of flavour, texture

and altogether, gorgeousness.

[Zoe] And top Michelin-starred chef...

[Betty] Hi, Giorgio.

[Zoe] ...Giorgio Locatelli.

[Giorgio] The food that I want to see is,
of course, very tasty and beautiful.

But the most important thing
is to see them cooking with joy,

that’s what home cooking’s about.

These are the families who make
ordinary food extraordinary.

Utterly delicious.

I learned something today.

The judges have made a decision.

This is
The Big Family Cooking Showdown.

[Zoe] The search for Britain's best family
of home cooks continues.

Today, two more families go head-to-head
over three demanding rounds,

here in our kitchen
and in their own homes.

At the end, only one can go through
to the semi-finals.

[Nadiya]
Cooking today are the Herberts...

Personally, I think we're very good cooks.
I think we're ready.

I'm looking forward to getting
into this competition,

I want to get up and running,
smash out our dishes.

-[Nadiya] ...And the Ayoubis.
-Wow.

[Myrna] So our food's,
like, really traditional Syrian food.

It's something special to us,
it always brings the wow factor.

We're feeling really excited and nervous.
[laughs]

[Nadiya] Both families have been
given time to practice and prepare,

so the judges will expect
to taste their very best home-cooked food.

Welcome to our families,
the Ayoubis and the Herberts.

Please meet your judges,
Rosemary and Giorgio,

who'll be tasting
everything that you make,

hoping for the highest of standards.

We're starting with The £10-Challenge.
The judges would like you to make brunch.

They'll be looking to see what
you can come up with

to feed a family of four with just £10.

You have one hour and 15 minutes.
Let's get cooking.

-Awesome. Archie?
-Here you go, bro.

[Charlie] Let's do this.

I need some parsley and coriander.

[Rosemary] I love brunch.

It's one of those great occasions

where you can sit down with the family
and have a great meal.

What's going to be interesting,
what they come up with for £10.

Brunch is a combination
of breakfast and lunch,

so I expect to deliver texture
and a punch of flavour.

[Zoe] The Ayoubi family from Essex
are dad, Mahmud,

and daughters, Lydia and Myrna.

[Myrna] So today we're going to make
a Syrian brunch,

like, the budget is £10,
so we're trying to utilise the chickpeas

so it makes loads of dishes.

[Zoe] Making the most of their money,
the Ayoubis' brunch includes falafels,

hummus, a chickpea salad,
a falafel wrap

and a dish called fatteh,

not to be confused
with the crumbly Greek cheese.

-[Mahmud] I think this, Myrna--
-Yeah.

[Mahmud]
...will feed four people this time.

[Zoe] Dad, Mahmud, is in charge
of the centrepiece, the falafel.

Falafel, it's very tradition food in,
in the Middle East.

And I've got chickpeas,
I'm going to process it with some herbs,

some spices, onion and garlic.
And start.

-He's the boss.
-He's the boss.

-[Zoe] Is he though?

Not when you've got daughters.

Not when you've got two daughters
in the kitchen.

-No.
-We'll soon find out.

Oh, I love this smell.

I, I'm a little bit worried about these,

this particular dish as a whole.

[Myrna] Have you put salt?

[Mahmud] Salt. I put... yeah, I put salt.

[Rosemary] We've got falafels, chickpeas,
we've got hummus, chickpeas,

we've got chickpea sauce,

we've got chickpeas,
chickpea in everything.

I think I'm going to impress
the judges today with this falafel.

It's going to be nice, trust me.

I expected the falafel
to be really crunchy on the outside,

not dry in the middle
and when I squeeze them,

I want to hear a crack.

Look at that. Mm. Lyd?

[Lydia] Yep?

-Try this... Myrna.
-[Myrna] Yeah, is it good?

The heat might be a bit too high.

Yeah, I think that it's soaking
so much oil,

maybe because it was the first batch.

-[Zoe] Mahmud?
-[Mahmud] Mm-hm?

How proud are you to, to come today
to cook with your daughters?

[laughs] Don't tell me,
we do this every Sunday.

Every Sunday?

[Mahmud] Yes. But this is girl is bossy,
you know.

Since when has Myrna been bossy,
would you say?

Oh, my God,
since she was five years old,

maybe even four years old.
[laughs]

You seem to take it very well,

you've got a big smile on your face,
you don't seem to mind.

What can I do?
I love her, she is my sweet girl, mwah!

I love you, Myrna.

I think I am the best cook
out of the three of us.

Oh, my God.

[Lydia] Wow.

You know what, Dad,
me and you should start our own team.

[laughter]

-Is that all reinforced concrete?
-Yeah, it is.

[Myrna] I work in the construction
industry as a design manager.

I work with a lot of lads.

When I first joined my company,
I always felt like I had to be more bossy

and more dominant than I actually am,
just to prove myself.

But now all the guys like me.

[Lydia] Hi, Dad.

[Zoe] Cab driver, Mahmud,
and his wife, Angelina,

settled in Essex from Syria
25 years ago.

-I'm going to put the meter on.
-[Lydia] Are you serious?

-Yes.
-God, Dad.

Food is life for us,
in our culture and our family,

it brings everyone together.

[Mahmud] It's tradition as well,

I mean, it's impossible to do, like,
a visit any family without food.

Charlie you also,
you also dropped a chilli in here.

-That's alright.
-[Anna] Oh, Charlie.

[Nadiya] The Herbert family are
represented by brothers, Charlie,

Archie and elder sister-in-law, Anna.

So what we're making is brunch burritos,

and we're going to pair that
with a bloody Mary on the side,

a classic brunch cocktail,
all for a tenner.

[Nadiya] Their brunch burritos
are made with tortilla wraps

and filled with an omelette,
chorizo and mushrooms,

guacamole and refried black beans.

And they're serving them
with a smoked bloody Mary.

What I'm looking for is,
I want things with texture,

and texture's really important.

I don't like smooth guacamole,

I like to have lovely chunks
of avocado in there.

[Charlie] I'm going to get the beans on,
Arch.

Yeah, good lad.
What temp you going to put it on?

I'm gonna whack it right up.

[Nadiya] With just 75 minutes
to complete their brunch,

the Herberts have opted
to use a pressure cooker.

[Charlie] So it gets up to a 120 degrees,
apparently,

and so you can cook things
far quicker than you can

when you're just using a normal pan.

[Nadiya] Perfect in this situation.

The beans are a very important part
of this combination of flavours.

I expect the beans
to be cooked really gently,

to deliver that perfect cooking
and a really great sweetness.

I looked it up online and it
said it will take about five, six minutes,

but it's had about ten minutes now
and they're still definitely not cooked.

[beeping]

I forgot to put the ancho chilli
in the pressure cooker.

[gasps]

Great. Off to a flying start.

[Charlie] Everything is under control...
on the outside.

Have you been given the job
to just stir the mushrooms and chorizo?

-Yeah, well, I'm secretly--
-[Nadiya] You're one of five?

-Six.
-One of six?

-I'm the youngest of six, yeah.
-The spoiled one, then?

Well...

I'm one of six.

-Are you?
-Yeah.

Which...
Whereabouts do you lie in the...?

I'm the middle child,
so I have many a syndrome.

-The middle child.
-Yes, yes.

-Neglected.
-Neglected and forgotten about.

[Zoe] For the Herbert family, cooking,
particularly baking, runs in the blood.

[Charlie] Arch and I's dad was a baker

and we're actually
the fifth generation of bakers.

Our brothers, and Anna's husband, Tom,
our oldest brother,

are the Fabulous Baker Brothers.

[Charlie] They've always been there to,
to give us tips and advice.

I think, yeah, I spend a lot of the time
thinking about food.

[laughs]

[Charlie] Obviously,
because we're from quite a big family,

there's 27 adults and kids, five dogs.

-Archie, have you got a girlfriend yet?
-No comment.

[laughter]

Even if you're just having dinner
at a family member's, it's like,

"Oh, what did you put in that,

what's that flavour,
how did you do that?"

[Charlie] I think in our family you're not
judged on how successful you are,

you're judged on the quality of your food.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

True that.

Charlie, just check the beans.

Because if you've got to do them
again and...

This is what I wanted to see.

I'm surprised it's taken so long.

Evidently, they've been on there
for about 15 minutes

and they're still not cooked.

[Giorgio] Pressure cooking,
it's easy to burn something there--

-Yeah.
-...without realising.

You see how it's going already on,
on, on steam?

So they need to, they need to be really
careful and watch this really closely?

Yeah, because there was, because
there was very little water in there.

-[Myrna] Lydia?
-[Lydia] Yeah, babe?

What are you doing now?

I'm finishing the sauce,
putting salt in there.

Okay.

[Nadiya] The Ayoubis are making fatteh,
a traditional Syrian breakfast dish

made with chickpeas,
beans and grilled bread.

You've got shop-bought breads there.

They're making their own flatbreads
over there.

So the shop bought breads
are, a lot of the time,

they're a lot easier to use
for the fatteh.

[Myrna] It's a very, very traditional
Middle Eastern dish,

it was used to use the stale bread
that they had leftover.

Yes.

And they'd made a dish from it
to have the next day for breakfast.

We have it every Sunday
for our brunch anyways.

-Oh, this is a typical brunch?
-This is our typical brunch.

This is your typical brunch?

[Charlie] ...on the end.

[Zoe] The Herberts are serving
a brunch burrito,

and Anna is making the tortilla wrap.

So the tortillas are rested,
I'm just going to start rolling them out,

I've got the hot pan going

and then we're just going to get
them in and see how they go.

-How many generations?
-Five generations, I think.

Five generations of bakers,

so they're gonna know
what they're doing surely?

When you're under pressure,
you kind of forget what you're doing,

so I would not be surprised
if it went horribly wrong.

[Zoe] Really?

-But we are hopeful.
-Yeah.

More tahini.
[laughs]

This is going to be the hummus.

Boiled chickpeas in here, I've put some
tahini and I've put some lemon juice.

[Zoe] Once blended,
Myrna has one final trick up her sleeve.

I'm just going to add some ice cubes
to make it really smooth and creamy.

Our bloody Mary we're making
a bit of a twist,

we're going to make it hot and smoky.

Originally,
we wanted to use a smoked vodka,

but the only problem was, is the budget,
smoked vodka's quite expensive.

So we're going to be using a smoke gun
to infuse the smoke.

-[Zoe] You've got your cocktail mix here?
-I've got my mix.

And we're going to somehow
get the smoke in there.

[Zoe] Simple as that.

Smoke it up, Zoe.

[Myrna] What have they burnt?

Oh, bless you. What did you burn?

[they all laugh]

Myrna, what's happened
to the bread inside the grill?

-[Myrna] Oh, is it burning?
-I told you to check on it.

-Oh, crap.
-[Lydia] Is it alright?

[Myrna] No, they're burnt.

Ah, okay, I'm going to have to pick these
because we can't use anymore bread.

Okay, beautiful people,
ten minutes to go, just ten minutes.

Ten minutes?

I might, I might get the guac
made now then.

We're just going to kind of
just mush it all together, scrape it in.

That's enough, that's enough,
just put it here, I'll mix it.

You're panicking, calm down.

Oh, my goodness,
these beans are a nightmare.

[Lydia] Alright, we need to hurry.

-No, too much tahini.
-It's just a little drop, yeah?

[Charlie] Oh, this is a big one.
This one's rolling out the ends.

-One second.
-Dad, don't put too much.

No, no, this is too much,
you call it?

That's it, folks, time's up.

I'm really happy with that,
it looks good.

-Good, good.
-Mm, go us, woo!

-That's a real relief, isn't it?
-That is a huge relief, yeah.

[Nadiya] With their £10 budget,

the Ayoubis have made
a traditional Syrian brunch

with falafels,
hummus and a chickpea salad.

First of all, I'd like to say
is this looks fabulous, a chickpea feast.

[they giggle]

[Nadiya] First, the traditional breakfast
dish, fatteh,

made with grilled pitta bread,
chickpeas and yoghurt.

The first bite...

...some burnt bread come through.

Who cooked the bread?

Me.

Was it burnt?

I think it was a little overcooked
than I'd like it to be.

-[Giorgio] Some bits?
-[Myrna] Yep.

Mm, that's what a hummus
should be like.

Light, it's got water in it,

and it's really important that,
to make it a smooth hummus.

All the flavours
are really coming through there.

-Now we're going to go to your falafels.
-[Giorgio] One each.

Oh, definitely,
we're going to have one each.

One each,
I'm not going to share a falafel.

It's quite amazing.

Oh, thank you.

It's moist, it's not dry,

it's very well seasoned,
with crisp on the outside.

Oh, thank you.

I love that kick of the parsley
coming through.

I love the crunchiness and then
the inside is absolutely perfect.

[Nadiya] To finish, a chickpea salad,

topped with parsley,
olive oil and tahini.

Mm, that, that with the tahini
on the top, is perfect.

Ah, Myrna.

Beautiful, beautifully seasoned,
really got it, you've really done it.

-Oh, thank you.
-[laughter]

I was expecting a melody
out of chickpeas,

but with the drama that you create,
I got an opera.

So... I'm even more happy than that.

-Well done.
-[Mahmud] Thank you.

Well done, guys.

I'm very happy, very happy.
I want to cry.

Yours was an opera,
I think ours is busking.

[they all laugh]

[Zoe] The Herberts are serving
a brunch burrito, filled with an omelette,

chorizo with mushrooms, guacamole
and refried black beans,

all served with a smoked bloody Mary.

I think it looks wonderful,
I mean, something to grab hold of

and also have a drink afterwards.

The tortilla is really velvety
and really, really nice

and gives a completely different

sort of sensation
than every other ingredient inside.

The only thing that I saw you struggling
with was the cooking of those beans.

They're not a strong enough flavour,

the other flavours surround them all,
they're lost in the things.

Now I must say, I was a little concerned
about the avocado,

but it's exactly how I like my guacamole.

In all, I think you've got a,
a really competent wrap.

I don't think the smoking was...
It does... didn't shine through,

but overall it's a very nice drink.

This is one of the nicest bloody Marys
I've probably ever had.

Wow, thank you.

And I've named it after you, I've named it
a 'Hot, Smoking Bloody Rosemary'.

[Rosemary laughs]

I tell you what, you're not getting
this back, I'm taking it away.

-Thank you.
-Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Woo.

-[laughter]
-You can't keep drinking.

[Nadiya] For their next challenge,
our families are going home

where they'll cook their tried and tested

family favourites
for Rosemary and Giorgio.

Their first visit is to Essex,

for the past 25 years,
home to the Ayoubi family.

[Mahmud] I'm very happy the judges
coming to my house today.

Everyone comes to our house
and asks about this dish,

especially when I make it.

[Nadiya] For today's challenge,
Family Favourites,

and just 90 minutes to cook
two courses.

Nadiya's going to see you
in glitter eyeliner.

I mean, I look good as a drag queen.

[Myrna chuckles]

[Myrna] I'm feeling more relaxed
that it's at our home,

cooking at our home.

We're more comfortable
in our environment.

We've separated the two dishes this time,

so Dad's in charge of the main

and me and Lydia are in charge
of the dessert, so... [laughs]

We're hopefully
not going to get in each other's way.

Hello.
[laughs]

-Hello.
-Oh, my God, hi.

-How are you?
-Good, thank you.

Oh, my God, Nadiya's in the house.

[Nadiya cheers]

Wow, I bet you don't cook in here,
I bet you just, you dance in here too.

This is great, what a lovely space.

-Throw parties.
-It's where we have our family feasts.

[Nadiya]
And speaking of family feasts...

-He's ready to cook now.
-Ready to cook.

You've got one hour and 30 minutes.
Main course, dessert, off you go.

-Let's start.
-[Lydia] Go, go, go, go, go.

-[Mahmud chuckles] Let's do it.
-Dad, can you pass me a spoon, please?

[Nadiya] Dad, Mahmud,
is in charge of the main course,

a Syrian lamb and vegetable stew
served with couscous.

First, I put the carrot and potato to boil

because this takes more time,
so you put them at the beginning.

I've got some chilli here, so hopefully
it's not too hot for the judges.

I love the idea of a lamb stew
because this is a family meal,

this is wholesome, but it's quite simple.

The cooking must be exemplary,
vegetables should have a nice crunch,

the broth must have a really beautiful
sweetness that comes through.

[Nadiya] Normally, Mahmud slow cooks
his lamb over a low heat for three hours.

Today, he's using a pressure cooker
to speed up the braising process.

[Mahmud]
Give a little flavour to the meat.

Cinnamon in meat,
is that typically Syrian?

[Mahmud] Every time we boil the meat,
we put onion and cinnamon, yeah.

People wouldn't think...
you wouldn‘t put the two together.

I heard that you don't just cook
for your family.

I help new arrivals,
new arrivals from Syria.

Because you've been here
how many years?

25 years.

For me, now this is home, you know.
I just choose to come to this country--

Yeah, yeah.

-...but for them, they're forced--
-Yeah.

...after this war happened in Syria.

So yeah, I sometimes help them
to feel like they are at home.

[Nadiya] And give them home cooking?

That's what food's about though,
it's about love.

[Nadiya] Myrna and Lydia are responsible
for today's puddings,

three mini Syrian desserts -

kunafa, a shredded pastry
soaked in rose syrup,

halawet el jibn,
a sweet cheese pastry,

and jazarieh, a caramelised carrot ball
rolled in pistachios.

[Nadiya] Is that a satisfying feeling,
Lydia?

'Cause I feel like putting
my hands in there as well.

Literally, it feels amazing,
it's so therapeutic.

[Nadiya] Lydia is mixing mascarpone
and mozzarella,

which will be used to fill both
of the pastries.

[Nadiya] If my kids were here,
I'd get them to do that,

but I don't know
if I could eat it afterwards.

Oh, no, I get that, I get that.

I'd never let my little brother do this,
purely because I don't want to eat it.

Never know where their hands
have been.

[Nadiya]
This mixture is the perfect substitute

for the traditional Arabic cheese
normally used in these desserts.

-Is this alright?
-Where's the rest of the mozzarella?

In here.

No!

[Nadiya]
Lydia has used all the mozzarella,

but Myrna needs more
to make a cheesy pastry.

When you said you wanted
half of a mozzarella,

I thought you meant half of the mixture.
You weren't clear.

Girls, just get over it
and do something else.

Mum, can you run out and get us
some mozzarella, please?

Lydia's used all of them
in the wrong dish,

she's mixed it all
with the mascarpone.

-Just five balls of mozzarella.
-Five balls of mozzarella, Mum.

-How's it going?
-Yeah, it's going okay.

-Is Myrna always that scary?
-Yes, always.

-'Cause even I was a little bit afraid.
-[Lydia laughs]

She does get quite terrifying,
but you need to get used to it.

I love you've developed a thick skin.

-You have to in this family.
-Yeah.

[Nadiya] Lydia's next job
is to prepare the carrots

for one of the bite-sized puddings.

She said five carrots,
I'm doing five carrots.

One, two, three, four, five carrots.

-Five carrots.
-[Nadiya] Myrna, she's doing five carrots.

-[Myrna] Okay.
-Okay? Okay.

[Giorgio] So the most important thing
on this dessert

is to get the texture absolutely perfect,
to cook it to perfection.

-How's that looking?
-It's not that soft yet.

Why is it taking so long?

-[Myrna] Mum, oh, thank you. Two?

-No, I've got more.
-[Myrna] Oh.

[Nadiya] Mum's emergency mozzarella

is for the cheesy pastry
in one of the puddings.

[Nadiya] So more cheese?

-More cheese.
-It really is a cheese fest.

You bought cheese, you're making cheese,
you have a cow out there as well?

[Mahmud] Off, off you go.

-So you've got to roll it while it's hot?
-Yep.

So it doesn't stick to the rolling pin,

otherwise it just won't roll out,
because it's cheese.

[Nadiya]
Not only is it made from mozzarella,

it's also filled with Lydia's mozzarella
and mascarpone mix.

I actually learned making desserts
when I got married

because my husband loves
Arabic desserts

and he loves having the sweet, syrupy,
Syrian deserts.

-He likes the really sweet dessert?
-[Myrna] Yeah.

Not too different from me.
That's why I learnt to bake,

because my husband eats
way too much cake.

[Myrna laughs]

-[Myrna] This is done.
-[Nadiya] Oh, is that done?

Has mum saved the day?

Yeah, definitely and Lydia ruined it!

That's so, that's so mean,
you tell it like it is, I like you.

[Nadiya] Guys, I don't mean to alarm you,
but the judges are on their way.

-Oh!
-Oh, my God.

[Nadiya] The final dessert is a
shredded pastry, also stuffed with cheese.

[Myrna] Okay, Lydia.

[Mahmud] I'm going to check the meat.
Let's hope it's ready now.

Let's see.

Oh, that's nice.

Mm, I love it.

So I use the meat water,
just to keep the flavour.

-Crap, oh, my God.
-[Mahmud] You are, you burn it?

[Nadiya] For the second time
in as many challenges,

Myrna's taken her eye off the oven.

What's happened here?

[Myrna] I don't think
I've topped them up enough,

so I think the cheese is...
has risen to the top.

[whispers] I'm worried.

[Nadiya] And to top it off,

the carrots still aren't soft enough
to be mashed for the carrot balls.

-Dad, please, strong hands.
-Strong hands, yeah?

-[Mahmud] Just like this?
-[Lydia] Yeah.

-[Mahmud] Deep breaths, come on.
-Dad, I'm really nervous.

Calm down.

-Time's up, time's up. You did it!
-All worked out.

Too much stress,
three people in the kitchen, you know.

Oh, my God, I don't believe it.

-[Nadiya] But you did it.
-Yes.

-[Nadiya] It's here, it's ready.
-I'm very happy.

[Nadiya]
For their Family Favourites main course,

Mahmud's hearty lamb strew
with braised vegetables and couscous.

The stew is beautifully cooked.

The spices are beginning to come through.

The flavour, it works,
it is like an Irish stew but with spice.

-My Irish stew might change now.
-[laughter]

All the other vegetables seem to be,
not only be cooked very well,

but also,
then they have kept their colour.

Overall, I think it's a fantastic dish.

-Thank you.
-Well done, Dad.

Well done.

[Nadiya] Now for the puddings.

First, jazarieh - a caramelised
carrot ball dipped in ground pistachios.

Not that pleasant, the carrots.
A bit slimy in the mouth.

[Rosemary] It's lumpy, watery carrot.
It is a bit of a disappointment.

[Nadiya] Next, halawt el jibn - a sweet
cheese roll wrapped in mozzarella pastry.

The consistency is a bit disappointing,

it falls apart and is a little bit soft.

[Nadiya] To finish, kunafa -
a baked, shredded pastry

filled with mozzarella and mascarpone.

That's a perfect consistency,
that's what I wanted.

It's beautiful,
it's got a very nice taste,

what do you think?

I actually love that.

This whole thing is really interesting.

Thanks for having us in your home.

-You're welcome.
-It's been fabulous.

[Rosemary] Thank you very much.
Real treat.

There was a slight kind of sense of panic
and I was so surprised.

I've chosen some difficult desserts
today,

maybe I shouldn't have chosen
all three of them.

Well done, you sweated under pressure,
but you did it.

-Yeah, we sweated.
-Got through it.

-[Mahmud] Thank you.
-[Lydia] Thank you.

[Zoe] The next stop
for Rosemary and Giorgio

is the Cotswold town of Nailsworth.

They'll be visiting the Herbert family.

Today, brothers Archie and Charlie are
joining sister-in-law, Anna, at her home.

[Anna] Cooking for Rosemary and Giorgio's
going to feel a bit different to normal.

We've chosen my kitchen
in the very practical sense that

it's a good size, it's where we cook,
we often do end up here

when we're having family get-togethers,
which is really nice.

Firelight is not going
to reach under there, Charlie.

You put it underneath
and then you put that on top of it?

That is not going to work.
If this cocks up, on your head be it.

Ah-ha, you can tell
we're in the countryside,

look at all the wellies, look at those.
Cute.

-Hi.
-Hi.

Oh, my goodness, wow,
look at that view.

That is fabulous to wake up to.

-[gasps] Can I have a look around?
-Yeah, come on, let's go downstairs.

You stay there, you rest up.

Oh, no, you're coming with us,
come on then.

You're so lucky to live
in a place like this, it's amazing.

-Good parties here, I imagine.
-[Anna] Yeah.

So, Anna,
if you have a family get-together,

I mean, how many people
are you cooking for?

I think we're running at about 26
at the moment, so pretty much a feast.

That's a seriously massive table.

Is there anyone in the family
who cannot cook?

-[Archie] Charlie.
-[laughter]

[Zoe] So come on, let's get cracking.
Get in there.

[Anna] Great, let's do it.

As you know, Family Favourites,

main course and a dessert,
in 90 minutes.

-Good luck.
-[Charlie] Thank you.

I'm just going to go light the fire
outside.

Happy days.

[Zoe] Archie's in charge
of today's centrepiece,

a barbecued hanger steak.

It will be served with
a pepper and caper salsa, on the side,

charred cauliflower,
cauliflower puree and roasted grapes.

[Rosemary] These home cooks

are particularly ambitious.

But, you know,
being too ambitious can go all wrong,

sometimes it's better to keep it simple.

Tell me all about this steak
and why you've chosen this?

Ah, so hanger steak comes
from this part of the cow there.

-[Zoe] Okay.
-Up the, rib, rib cage, I guess.

It's a cheap bit of meat,
that's why it's good for us,

'cause we can feed a big family
with steak for not too much cost.

I really admire the fact that they choose
a quite cheap cut of meat,

it's a very,
very difficult piece of meat to cook,

especially on the grill.

If you overcook it can become
like a sole of your shoes,

if you undertook it, it is unchewable.

[Zoe] What are we looking for here?

So it's got to be rare,
and you have to cut it in a certain way.

It's not rare, it doesn't need to be rare,
it needs to be medium to medium rare.

Correction, yes, scrub that.

If it's too, it'll go too...
'cause it's really grainy,

if it goes too overdone,
it goes really chewy.

You'll keep a close eye on that--

-Medium rare.
-Okay, medium rare.

Which cauliflower did you want to use?

-[Charlie] This one.
-[Archie] I think that one.

Okay, yeah, yeah, go for it.

[Zoe] Brother Charlie's addition
to the main course

is a dish he's created
using a favourite childhood spread.

Cauliflower in Marmite,
that sounds crazy, I love it.

What are you doing
with your cauliflower?

[Charlie] I'm charring,
just to give it a bit of flavour.

[Zoe] The charred cauliflower is then
cooked in butter and yeast extract.

[Rosemary] They've got one ingredient
in there which I'm not looking forward to.

If they overdo the Marmite,
that could be a problem.

But they're doing salsa as well.

Well, the combination
doesn't seem to work together.

[Archie] You just start chopping
that and I'll do this for you.

[Zoe] The salsa is made with chargrilled
peppers, chillies, capers and parsley.

-Did you put all that chilli in?
-[Charlie] Yeah.

What did you pour on
the top of the salsa there?

[Charlie] Olive oil and sherry vinegar,
we've also put--

Don't tell Archie, but I put a bit of
the caper juice in there,

'cause I quite like it.

He's, he's the youngest,
so he's used to getting his own way.

We grew up without TVs,

all of a sudden
we all went off to university,

got married, moved away, etc,

and Archie was the only one

who managed to get my parents
to buy Sky TV. So there you go.

-That's the baby of the family.
-The baby.

[Zoe] For pudding, Anna's making
an upside-down cheesecake

topped with salted caramel popcorn,
blackberry curd and a ginger biscuit.

So the cheesecake,

there is a lot of different flavour
coming together on this dessert.

The little bit of popcorn in there,
I can't wait to taste it.

Have a little nosy,
what you doing, what you doing?

I'm just making
a bit of a cheesecake mix,

just trying to get it smooth and then
I'm going to add in some lemon to it,

it's mascarpone,
yoghurt and cream so far.

Not loads of sugar,
'cause I'll be a bit worried

about the pudding being super sweet.

[Zoe] Instead of a traditional
cheesecake base,

Anna's making her own ginger biscuits.

No, I'm going to put these in the fridge,

which I haven't done before,
but it will stop them spreading.

[Charlie]
Good time to try something new, Anna.

[Zoe] Half an hour to go,
that's all the time there is.

[Charlie] Woo! Let's turn that on.

That's a fancy one. Look at that,
look at fancy knobs in this kitchen.

The only problem with it is
I keep standing against it and turning it.

-Then you knock it off?
-Yeah.

[Zoe] Charlie's in charge
of the salted caramel popcorn topping

for the upside down cheesecake.

This is vanilla sea salt.

You always bring great little tricks
to your recipes.

-Oh.
-It's good, I know.

-And also really--
-Quite a confusing flavour.

Mm, sweet, but salt, I like it.

So, what did your parents say
when you were going to be a chiropractor?

The good thing is,
is they've got six kids,

so they didn't need all of them
to go into the business.

I wanted to do something
with the human body.

Instead of kneading dough, I knead people.
So, um... I use--

-[Zoe] And people need you.
-[Charlie] Yeah, exactly, exactly.

[Archie] Steaks are on, baby.

Got the temperature pretty hot.

When I had it down,
it was saying about 200,

so it's nice and hot in there,
make sure they're nice and medium rare.

-[Charlie] That's rare.
-[Anna] Go and get it back on!

-Back on, Arch.
-[Anna] Archie!

Ah!

Eight minutes left.

[Zoe] The judges are on their way,
it all needs to be on the plates, ready.

-[Archie] How's it looking?
-[Charlie] Don't know.

-Tastes pretty banging to me.
-Nice.

[Anna] I'll just check my biscuits
are okay.

[Archie] See?

We don't want to overcook it,
it's better to be safe that sorry.

Where's your puree? Sorry.

It's all go.

[Anna]
So I'm just putting the curd on top.

I might cut the steak.

Not too chunky, I don't reckon.

Come on.

[clang]

-[they clap]
-Woo!

Good work, Herberts.

[Zoe] First on the Herberts'
Family Favourites meal,

Archie's barbecued hanger steak,
served with a red pepper and caper salsa,

and Charlie's Marmite cauliflower.

To go for a cheap cut of meat,
that takes courage, but who cooked it?

You cooked it very, very well.

Yay.

That's very, very good.

On the other hand,
there's something that doesn't bring

it together to me as a dish,
maybe it's a bit too clever.

I think the beef is superb,
it's beautifully cooked,

but the strength of the salsa
overtook the cauliflower,

the Marmite flavour disappears completely.
It does nothing.

[Zoe] Now for pudding,
Anna's upside down cheesecake,

with blackberry curd, a ginger biscuit
and vanilla salted caramel popcorn.

First of all,
I think your ginger biscuit is delicious.

It's not a tuille, it's not a...
it's a biscuit and I like that.

And also you have these lovely,
delightful little popcorns,

that sweetens it.

But also, it's really well balanced.

It's a very modern idea as well,
to serve it like a cheesecake in this way.

I think you smashed it, I really think so.

-[Rosemary] Thank you so much.
-Thanks very much.

You did it, you've done it and relax.

How was that,
how was that for all of you?

That represented our family and I think
actually the type of dish it was,

really that's what the whole challenge
was about.

But we can improve
going into the next round.

I enjoyed watching you guys cook together
today, brilliant, loved it.

-We loved having you.
-Can I dessert?

[Anna] There's one left.

[Nadiya] Our two families are back
in our kitchen.

Today, the Herberts and Ayoubis
take on their third and final challenge,

after which the judges will decide
who to send home

and who to put through
to the semi-finals.

Our kind of feedback so far is that we,
um, have been being a bit clever.

-Yep.
-Um, I'm a bit worried we're still--

So we decided to be clever.

Sswsh...

Let's go do some cooking.

[Giorgio] The Herberts,
they're very passionate cooks

and they take a lot of risk with
the combination of flavour that they use.

It doesn't pay off all the time,

so I hope today they're going to make
all these ingredients

singing together on these dishes.

The Herberts,
they love cooking as a family,

they're very creative.

The burritos were wonderful
in the first challenge,

the dessert was wonderful
in the second,

but the main course,
the flavours just did not work at all.

Now they must get it right today.

-How many times have we practised?
-Oh, loads.

I think the judges
will really like this meal.

It's something completely different,
nothing that they've tried before,

so we're going to knock it
out the park.

[Myrna] Let's do this.

-[Mahmud] Come on.
-[Lydia] Let's go.

[Rosemary] The Ayoubis,
they produced some delicious food,

steeped in culture, steeped in history,

it sort of reminds me a little bit
of my cooking, it's an abundance,

like an everyday feast.

But they did not get those
desserts right in the last one,

and if they don't get it right now,
they're going to be in trouble.

[Giorgio] The Ayoubis,
I won't forget what they produced

with that bag of chickpeas,
that was incredible,

packed of flavour

with all their understanding of that
part of the world's cuisine.

They do a little bit too much all
the time, so let's hope they listen to us

and this time, concentrating on something
a little bit more punchy.

Welcome back to the barn.

Brace yourselves for the clash
of the pans.

Yes, it's the third and final challenge

to decide who goes through
to the semi-finals

and sadly, who goes home.

The challenge this time
is to impress the neighbours.

Rosemary and Giorgio would like you
to cook a two-course meal

that will have your neighbours
queuing round the block

for an invite
to one of your dinner parties.

You have two hours and 15 minutes,
so start cooking and start showing off.

[Lydia] What else do you need
to mix with the rice, Dad?

-The mince meat.
-That's in the fridge.

-[Mahmud] It's in the fridge?
-Yep, yep.

-Have you got fennel?
-Do you need it?

-No, no, it's fine.
-I need it too.

[Giorgio] This challenge is about

impressing your neighbours,

but in reality they have to impress
me and Rosemary.

It's dinner party food.

What they need to do is wow us,
with something special.

Challenge three, pressure is on.

I know, the thing is, after challenge two,
it's kind of level pegging.

So today,
who knows who's going home.

You can see the fear in their faces.

This is their moment
to give the judges everything they've got.

If you want to impress your guests,
or people you've got round,

or family round,
this is the dish to impress them with.

[Zoe] In this final challenge,
the families must produce a starter

and a main course and, as usual,

will be judged on their presentation
and flavour combinations.

[Nadiya] For their starter,
the Ayoubis are serving a Syrian mezze,

a courgette dip known as moutabal,
a red pepper dip called muhammara,

and a smoky aubergine dip, baba ganoush,
along with a salad called fattoush.

Their main course is stuffed vegetables,
or mahshi,

courgettes, aubergines and peppers

stuffed with rice and minced lamb
with lamb chops.

So, Myrna, what's going to make
this dish impressive for the neighbours?

We've taken everyday
vegetables you'd find in the market

and we're making them into
a massive feast.

[Nadiya] Yeah.

Which will hopefully
really impress the judges.

-You're just gonna feed them?
-Yeah.

I love that, what is that
little device that you've got there?

[Myrna] This is a vegetable corer.

You can't go all the way through,
you core the inside?

-Yeah.
-Wow.

I'm going to give that a go later.

-[Mahmud] We don't have enough courgette.
-Oh, alright!

As a main dish, the Ayoubi
are cooking some stuffed vegetables.

It doesn't strike me
as a greatly ambitious dish, this one.

But with them,
after the symphony of chickpeas,

I mean, you know,
we can expect anything from these guys.

I like the face he pulls when he does it.

[Nadiya] He's so naughty.

Tell us what you're doing?

Ah, actually I am doing, like,
stuffed vegetable.

I stuff it with rice and mince meat,
lamb mince meat.

What's this thing you were
shaking just now, we were watching?

Just to separate the rice inside.

[Rosemary] That's a really good idea that,
isn't that?

A technique, I learn it from my mum.

She'd put her finger like this
and let the rice go down, you know.

So it's a one pot dish?

-[Mahmud] Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-[Rosemary] Okay.

-All will goes in here now.
-[Rosemary] Okay.

Everything.

[Rosemary] So you did,
last time you did a one pot dish as well.

Yeah, the couscous, yeah.

-You only have one pot at home, do you?
-[laughter]

Get that duck trimmed, Charles.

[Charlie] I've done two.
-[Archie] Two?

-[Charlie] Yeah.
-Steady on.

It feels good being back here,

hopefully we'll smash our cooking
and then on to the next round.

[Zoe] To start, the Herberts will serve
potted brown shrimp

with beetroot and fennel soda bread
and a fennel salad on the side.

For their main course, roasted duck
in a Chinese 5 spice marinade,

served with plums, a savoury celeriac
waffle and purple sprouting broccoli.

I'm worried about the Herberts,

it seems that they cooked
a lot with their brain,

they're young, they're ambitious

and, you know,
they put together a lot of flavours.

So sometimes too much is too much.
[laughs]

That does look very impressive.
What are you doing to that duck leg?

We've gone all out on making sure
this dish looks as best as we can get it.

You cut the meat off the,
off the actual leggy bit,

so it's where the knuckle
is, it's all sinew, it's not very nice.

You don't normally eat it.
It's what you call a French trim.

Don't ask,
don't ask for the Brazilian trim.

[laughter]

[Zoe] What's the trickiest process today?

Who's got the trickiest job?

Archie's got to get the duck right
and the sauce,

that's a huge one,
because that's the main component.

[Rosemary]
Great - duck with plums.

Duck, delicious.

Well, I hope they season it properly,
I hope they cook it properly.

So, I'm making a marinade,

so it's kind of like a Chinese,
oriental kind of 5-spice for our duck,

which is going to go in the oven.

We're going to marinade the bottom
and salt the top,

because we want a really crispy skin
on top of the duck.

Just going to give it a quick toss in here
and then go from there.

[Nadiya]
Families, you've already had half an hour.

We need to put the lamb chops
on the hob

-they need time to cook.
-[Mahmud] Yeah.

[Nadiya] The lamb chops
and the stuffed vegetables

are covered in a tomato broth
and left to simmer for an hour.

-Did you have any space for this?
-No.

[Zoe] With the boys overseeing
the main course,

Anna's responsible
for the Herberts' starter,

potted shrimp with beetroot soda bread.

So I'm just milling the spelt grain,
um, just for the soda bread.

So it's great to use the whole grain,
you get much more goodness in it.

So the bran and the wheatgerm's in there,
so that's great.

It gives it more flavour
and it's really fresh.

[Rosemary] Soda bread is a quick bread.
If it's right, it's delicious,

if it's wrong, it could be a solid mound,
it could be too, too heavy.

I've tried and tested this recipe,
so hopefully it's okay.

What are you doing?

So, everyone's got a little job to do.

I'm getting started on
some of the dips that we're doing,

it's a red pepper dip,
it's going to be quite...

a little bit spicy, not too spicy.

I like dips like that, to just...
and I think it's a really family way

to eat and share a starter.

It strikes me as not so ambitious.

We've got three dips,
we've got the aubergine dip,

we've got the red pepper dip,
we've got the courgette dip.

Why are we having two dishes
with exactly the same vegetables?

Are they trying to show us
that they can cook different ways?

But it's not challenging enough.

Oh, garlic, I love garlic.
Oh, I love to eat it.

Dad, I think there's a bit too much garlic
in there.

[Nadiya] Using the insides of the cored
courgettes, Mahmud is making a dip.

-[Myrna] Lyds?
-[Lydia] Yes, love?

-Dad's doing a smiley face.
-[Mahmud laughs]

Oh, my God.

He's done a smiley face.

-You know we get judged on presentation?
-Yeah.

Myrna, why are you doing this to me?

'Cause we're getting judged
on presentation.

Ah.

Why have you decided
to take the smiley face off?

-Because it doesn't go.
-Okay.

If we're making fish fingers and chips,
maybe.

I was going to say,
are your neighbours six year olds?

-Because that smiley face would work.
-[Mahmud] Oh, my God.

[Charlie] Do some work, Archie,
come on.

Please can you grate the celeriac,
we want to get ahead?

[Archie] Yeah.

[Anna] You might be ahead,
but everything needs to be ahead.

[Zoe] Anna's next task for the starter
is preparing the potted shrimp.

She adds butter and seasoning
and leaves to set.

-Fridge, please.
-Yeah, yeah, sorry, Anna.

[Zoe] While Archie needs to grate
enough celeriac

so they can start on the waffles.

[Rosemary] Quick, quick, quick, quick.

What's celeriac?
They're using something called celeriac?

-[Lydia] Guys?
-[Archie] Yeah?

-[Lydia] What's celeriac?
-[Myrna] What does it taste like?

Do you want to try some?
I think it's nice.

-[Myrna] What's that going on?
-[Archie] We're making waffles from it.

[Mahmud singing traditional song]

Mahmud, you were singing a beautiful
song then.

Oh, my God, it's a very old song,

and I think it's Moroccan lady,
she sings this song.

Okay, so go on then, give us a little,
give us a little burst.

Oh, my God.

[continues to sing]

I'd ask you to teach me the words,

but I'm not sure
I'm going to pick it up that quickly.

I wish I have time.

[Archie] Let's have a look at you,
shall we?

[Zoe] The Herberts' duck has been
in the oven for an hour and 20 minutes.

[Archie] You can see it's a bit moist
and could do with a bit more crisping.

So I'm going to put it up to 250
and just... [exhales sharply]

I'm a bit worried about
the cooking of the duck.

The most important thing
is the texture of the skin

should be really beautiful, golden.

Oh, absolutely.

I need, actually some parsley.

[Nadiya] Myrna is giving one of the dips
a little twist.

Pureed aubergines is the base
of the baba ganoush,

but we... at home we always add parsley,
tomatoes, peppers, and pomegranate

and it's very nice,
it's like a little salad.

-Do not add any more salt.
-Definitely not.

Our waffles have taken a lot of practice,
so we're hoping that they go well.

Just trying to get moisture out
of the celeriac so they're not sloppy.

That is gross.
[makes retching noise]

Quite wet.

We've got a waffle-cano.

Families, you have 15 minutes to go.

[Mahmud] 15 minutes.

-The dressing--
-[Myrna] Where's the walnuts?

-Still in the jar.
-[Myrna] Can you cut them, halves, please?

You happy with it?

It looks rustic. I kind of knew it would.

[Mahmud] My God, very nice, very good.

Do you want to try one, Myrna?

[Anna] Charlie, are you checking
your waffle? How we doing for time?

[Mahmud] Only enough, fantastic.

-It looks amazing.
-Wow.

[Archie] Agh!

-It's too thick.
-Yeah.

We've got 30 seconds.

Just use the knife.
Just get the knife in it.

-Herberts, you've got ten seconds.
-You can tell it's splattered.

[Zoe] Ten seconds to go.

Four, three, two, one!

Stop! Stop, boy, stop!

We've done it. I don't believe it.

[Mahmud pants]

-Well done. Whoo.
-Phew.

-[Archie] Well done.
-[Charlie] Well done, Arch.

-[Archie] Nice.
-[Anna] Nice.

[Zoe] For one of our families,

this will be the final time
the judges taste their food.

For the other,
a place in the semi-finals awaits.

[Nadiya] To impress their neighbours,

the Ayoubi family have created
a colourful Syrian mezze feast.

Your initial list of ingredients
was just very normal.

But like the other time,

you've transformed it
into something incredible.

[Nadiya]
To start, three traditional dips,

courgette and yoghurt,
red pepper and walnut,

and an aubergine baba ganoush.

The courgette is so creamy
and so delicious and herby

and finally the garlic then hits it.
I think it's fantastic.

This, the aubergine,
well, the garlic in there, so different.

These are three very different dips

and every single one delivers
on its own merit.

To call them dip,

it just gives them a disservice actually,
they're much better than a dip.

Such simple ingredients,
you always seems to shine.

[Nadiya] For their main course,
vegetables stuffed with lamb and rice,

served with lamb chops
and a tomato broth.

The cooking of the lamb, for me,
was a little bit over,

so it made it a little bit tough.

Each of the vegetables
has got it's own texture,

which was one of my worries,
you know,

I thought it's the same stuff

and they're going to taste all the same,
but they don't.

They are completely filled,
there is no pocket of air,

-so your shaking, which I thought--
-It worked.

...I thought it was a little bit
like, you know,

maybe a little bit too much,
but no, it's actually absolutely there.

The lamb was a big disappointment,

I thought it was going to taste better
than that,

it's very bland, which is a big shame.

Although you've shown us
some tremendous techniques,

but it doesn't quite work.

[Zoe] Now for the Herberts.

Well, I think this looks very inviting.

You've been trying something
very difficult here, you know,

there's a few flavours coming together.
Let's hope it works.

[Zoe] To start, potted shrimp,

fennel salad and freshly baked
beetroot soda bread.

I really like that bread.

I think it's seasoned nicely,
really works.

Beautiful flavour on the shrimps,
really delicious.

And the bread is a knockout,

really that touch
of that fennel coming through

and then the fennel again
on the salad, it really works perfectly.

[Zoe] To follow,
roasted 5-spiced duck with plums,

served with a savoury celeriac waffle.

I don't know whether you know
what I'm going to say.

That duck is tough.

The waffle, it's such a shame,

but because you didn't take that water
out of it completely, it's soggy.

But, in saying that,
the flavour of your plums

and the marinade on your duck
is delicious.

I admire the fact that you dare a bit
and you push the boat out a little bit,

but that was the wrong way
to cook the duck.

You had two hours and 50 minutes,

you could have cooked the duck
absolutely perfectly.

I agree with Rosemary,

that possibly if the celeriac
was more crispy,

but the flavour is delicious.

A bit disappointed,

possibly because my expectations
were much higher than that.

-[Anna] Thanks very much.
-[Giorgio] Good luck.

Oh, my God, yeah, thanks.
God, that was tense.

Oh, flipping heck.

[laughter]

[Zoe]
With all three challenges completed,

the judges must now decide which family
to put through to the semi-finals.

This is difficult.

[Giorgio] Really good home cooking,
but completely different style.

One steeped in history,

the other one pushing the boundary.

Both of them deliver very well.

I think they're both extremely good cooks,
both very ambitious in different ways.

-This is a really difficult decision.
-[Rosemary] Yeah.

We've loved having you in the barn

and thank you so much
for welcoming us into your homes.

[Zoe] The judges have made
their decision,

only one family can go through
to the semi-final,

so the other family will be going home.

[Zoe] So it's crunch time.

The family staying
in the competition are...

...the Ayoubis.

[laughter and applause]

Well done, amazing.

Oh, I hate it, I hate it.

-[Lydia] Thank you.
-[Archie] Well done.

[Mahmud] Thank you.

It's not what we wanted
but, you know,

I think we've been true to who we are
and the way we've cooked

and you can always do better.

Personally, I'm very disappointed
with the main dish we put out today.

It's been really fun working together
so we'll miss that,

but we really wish the Ayoubis
the best of luck.

Well, listen, congratulations.

[Nadiya] Do you know what, well done.

I'm very happy. Actually, I never thought
we would come to this stage,

but I'm very happy and I'm very proud
of my helpers and my boss.

[laughter]

Aw.

Our family motto is 'back bone'.

What you've got to understand is,
you must impress us.

You'll be impressed.

For us,
it's always a party in the kitchen.

You know what, it needs a dance.

-Shall we?
-Let's just--

Once I start wobbling,
I keep wobbling.

-You get a little bit of move.
-There you go.

There you go, there you go.

Okay, that's enough,
get on with cooking.