Gordon Is Blown Away By Small Indian Restaurants Performance & Food | Ramsay's Best Restaurant

For the past six months my team and I have been reviewing their

best

restaurant

nominations from across the country and tonight the competition continues with one of Britain's most popular cuisines. Indian curry is a national obsession and these days we all expect very high standards from our Indian

restaurant

s. I spent a lot of time in India and taught myself what good Indian

food

is all about, so tonight's

restaurants

are going to be very good to impress me among more than 2,000 Indian nominations. I picked what I think are the

best

two to fight for a place in the bradford semi-finals tonight northern curry cattle is prashard someone passed whatever i cook from my heart i love cooking they go toe to toe with the kitchen world famous london heavyweight the shining in southall give me the prawns come on my father was a great chef in india he used to cook for the maharajas this competition could be the ultimate test for my

indian

contenders it will be a battle to the last cause only a restaurant can emerge victorious and find the winner. they will descend on the patel family who run tiny prashad in bradford there are over 60

indian

restaurants in this fantastic city alone but this is something special the

small

est restaurant in this competition but i think it will give the big guys a serious run for the money hi bobby hi

gordon

it's good to see you welcome to you very good thank you yes welcome twice i have never had a vegetarian restaurant in the competition so i am very excited yes i am happy too yes in a little less than half a year the time my restaurant will be here they think they are coming for an amazing lambooner so make them this place used to be a laundromat now its a 22 seat restaurant run by kaushi patel with his son bobby and his wife minal being a vegetarian what we put pag assion in other restaurants they offer like garnish we have to step up we really have to bring out the flavors give them something totally different incredibly fundamental the head chef had never cooked professionally until she married bobby moved to england and joined her mother in the kitchen six years ago she is not my daughter in law she is my daughter i can describe how much i love cooking whatever i cook from my heart that's delicious one bite of that i feel like i'm back in mumbai exactly the same my diners please no i can't let that go to waste i have to have some more of that sorry jesus we have a big drive, great ambition, we didn't go into this business thinking we were going to make a ton of money we went into business to show the world how good we are at

food

now they gotta show it because my 30 diners are only minutes

away

everyone is expecting a perfect food and everyone needs to be served in just two hours the pressure is on you big time and i know this means a lot i can see it on your face but this is your chance now to really seal your hole in this competition a, good luck, all the hairs on the back of my neck are standing up now, oh god, wow, great now, go figure, okay ladies and gentlemen. let's show the world what prashad really is let's rock let's show

ramsay

let's go to

ramsay

's best restaurant bring it to seat my guests bobby had to squeeze in eight extra seats in the

small

dining room sorry a bit of a small restaurant but the food is fantastic I promise you, despite his size, Prashad has big ambitions to fly the flag for vegetarian Indian cuisine for the first time in a vegetarian restaurant, yes, let's hope it's a memorable experience. my diners are going to be a hard crowd to please and it will take a huge team effort to convert them ok here we go i need two awesome mixes for coral and i need small three person no problem ok i like the new girl on the block and i just hope she can cope with such a demand because she is the least experienced of three people as a starter she is serving coconut petties chickpea potato chat and spicy vegetable pakoras for me let that do the chatting first this will be the hardest service of their lives now i need it now she may be inexperienced but minell has to run this kitchen like never before but as much as the man pushes his team they can barely keep up and this is just the first Of course I told you oh my gosh just listen to what I say not too hot but just right every plate clean that's amazing.

Guys yeah big push on mains now yes mommy but mains will be even harder every curry fried pancake and dosa has to be timed precisely only an hour left til you know I'm panicking prasad kit small chen is going crazy for leather but these dishes just don't go fast enough mom ok yeah how long do they normally wait between dishes? one so you've got big grill tables now waiting for entrees yeah I need to now I said quickly the pressure is really building and some diners have been waiting for an hour just to let them know that um this afternoon we obviously have the 30 guests at a time, there might be a bit of a wait for your main courses, I hope you can be patient with us, I just said be patient, which is fine, understandable, so I'm still having a good time, I explained which are i'm ok with the fact that it will be a little bit of time but obviously there is a deadline on how long we have to serve someone who will pass on the loot please there is great synergy between the dining room and the kitchen and they are working very well together they are supporting each other through each course take this come on hurry take this hurry now last four main courses yes yes the main courses are long overdue but the enc Much of Bobby's diner has kept customers on the side and avoided a crisis.

I don't. I think we make souped-up chickpeas interesting. A big surprise to be honest. I'm really enjoying it. It is absolutely delicious. Lightly spiced. Spicier in the center. it lived up to how it looked sometimes i think it was even better than it looked so i think we will try to come back here again the service is over see you bye and it's time for the prasad team to hear my verdict from okay um let's cut to the chase the problem I've had witnessing the service is now you've completely and I mean you've completely opened up all this competition you've raised the bar bobby the common ication and making sure that customers don't be hectic waiting for food you were there and it sounded amazing me now yes i was nervous for you but that first ticket came and it was on fire thank you and you have made 30 of my diners the happiest thing i have ever heard from you that is what i want to hear don't back down no you maintain and improve what you have an amazing level of vegetarian cooking it's going to take a little while to beat my trainer load of 30 diners are about to descend on the second independent restaurant io fighting for a place in the semi-finals of my national restaurant competition is the brilliant one in london voted for by you en masse has been open for 37 years which is almost as long as i've been here has three generations of customers and any russian let him brag he must be doing something absolutely perfect the anand family have been running this punjabi restaurant for 40 years with dipner shankar and dadgulu at the helm this is a massive ship and to be right among the best he just cheers us on every time more to make it even better these days the gurus pulled out of the stove leaving the sparkling kitchen in the hands of head chef jazz let's get it going all the ingredients all the meats freshly cooked served piping hot customers within seconds the shiny is known for its old service i don't want people to wait more than five or six minutes you walk in here you taste the food and really start as to believe they have earned their place as indian food favorite in this country with 220 seats 28 years in the good food guide and over 80 awards the brilliant is an indian heavyweight delicious really good excellent am happy i am at about to face them with my first challenge as prashard they will too i have only two hours to serve my 30 diners who will arrive in order all at once it takes some balls to call it brilliant because you can't be anything less than absolutely brilliant in one night like this absolutely yes We are pretty sure we only have 30 diners.

We will make sure these guests have a fantastic experience. We made this a brilliant service. Two of the house specialties are on the menu tonight: lamb chops marinated in nutmeg and cardamom and king prawns with fresh herbs and lime juice, both cooked in the traditional tandoor oven. I'm going to have the prawns and then I'll go for the prawns two tandoori portions. lamb chops and two tandoori prawns but I'm concerned chef jazz is only using one of the two tandoori ovens in the kitchen two tandoori prawns one tandoori lamb chop and already orders are piling up tandoori three prawns one lamb chops come on guys let's be surreal how long for friends five minutes maybe five minutes yes you need to move but please is there a problem with the oven tender a bit because there are so many tandoori dishes and why don't we use two? theirs it's now but not the beginning that's what i'm trying to say okay guys please move this ain't shiny come on guys go to the next one i need this right here come on what how long? the first lamb chops please ok well it seems that it has been half eaten I have another one that looks a little better eh yes ok it is that they have given them the cuts to eat yes I know if I start eating that and I go to that , looks like someone's taking a bite out of it, just saying that for you, you can say no,

gordon

, that's how I'm sending it, okay, give me one more piece of lamb chop please. i'm not trying to get you aren't you just saying that's not you at your best that's beautiful thank you very much two tables in 45 minutes it's a joke they used to do 200 300 setups 30 we should be done by now using just a brown door oven ha slowed down service and orders just don't come out why is he sitting there?

Why can't you go with that thing? There is more than one waiter in the kitchen. Come on, serve the food. Please. a cook who should be gone help me understand you they are a bit rubbery excuse me this will be the longest I have sat in a new restaurant without being fed that is an unwanted wake up call to the owner and ex - chef gulu your kitchen needs leadership and jazz seems lost the reputation of the russian hangs by a thread ok i need the prawn dishes there are no prawns on your plates i immediately rolled it there reacting hurry up guys bring me the prawns all the prawns ready yeah give me the prawns go ahead now they're nice they're succulent full of flavour, take this one let's try and finish yeah go ahead guys okay next I need four meaty chickens I need them piping hot that's better yeah we're getting there now some life in the kitchen there's a lot more energy in the kitchen than most importantly the old man is there so he's going to put a rock up their asses the table number or five, the dishes are there and now we are, now we are excited. what it means in this let's take that picture we've got everyone figured out it was far from a perfect start but for my diners the food has really hit the mark wow it's delicious the food smells amazing my food is absolutely delicious I normally go for the standard like the creamy curry um but this was something else entirely and I specifically asked for it to be milder and they did it to perfection it was stunning brilliant it was absolutely divine probably the best curry I've ever had really delicious I'm glad it you enjoyed it i love this russian's 40 year old pedigree but tonight they only made it after a chaotic start ok those starters took too long to leave this kitchen. 30 tapas tonight felt like 300 tapas. time to do especially the sanduri stuff which is good from the start not good enough this restaurant is not used to sending out mediocre hot prawns you take a prawn from that tandoori oven and shove it in there game over you have to send that kitchen jazz of entrees needed a rocket yeah you put on your jacket and it turned yeah the kitchen came to life and there was the old man at the helm and here we go again there was a fire in your belly and you put it out don't be mad no no I'm not looking forward to coming back you're going to be even stronger now thank you good night it was a bit of a shock to the system yes we still can let's win this we can we will win this is good well well done my indian restaurants reacted very differently under the pressure of the coastal trip i have now asked them both to come to london so i can catch up with them what they dont know is that i have been secretly sizing them up i sent my own undercover diners to prashad and the shining one to see how they are doing played every restaurant when they had no ideai was looking and his guard was down simon davis is a meticulous food critic who has evaluated the food and service in thousands of restaurants sarah durden robinson has worked with me and other top chefs for years helping to create and perfect thousands of dishes diners secrets are a very useful trick of the trade and give you immediate and unrestricted honest feedback. i have asked sarah and simon to be deliberately awkward customers to see how restaurants manage would you eat that no so why should i eat it the teams think they are here to discuss their

performance

with my 30 diners they have no idea what i am about let's show you guys upstairs bradford's prashad the food was brilliant the problem i have now is that's what he just did to me or that toilet works like this every day every day how can you say that because we do it every day? we do it with passion every day, so yeah, we know what we're doing is good because our customers tell us it was a great test.

In fact, they tested you twice after I left. I sent a secret restaurant and they secretly. filmed all filmed filmed do we need a reservation or can we have lunch? We are ok? Can you give me a guide on what to eat? Yeah I can't really decide what you're in the mood for well I'm really hungry hungry feeling pretty hungry uh things not to be missed if you're sharing uh would be petice and charred and where is this is mostly south india no this is north we are not north indian correct a good job should be similar to rajasthani or uh no no rajasthan is much richer and deeper while ours is much more delicate correct knowledgeable excellent first interaction with divers, the food will speak for itself, you know we take that for granted so it's up to me. to make that person comfortable if they have questions to answer them openly and with as much information as they can give so let's try one of these if we're going to award winning platoons first I love that coconut it's really smart that I mean , I ate that probably 20 30 seconds ago and it tastes different the flavors are still coming through , I'm just going to switch up a curry quite late in the day um let's see what they do excuse me can I switch up one of my curries? nice guy couldn't have handled that better you might ask you might say this one has a little more punch in this one let's see if you can play with that is there anything you can do to do that? a little bit hotter a little bit hotter yeah how hot you want it we're not to the degree you know you just laugh at us when we walk out the door love them and that came back like a fresh plate no bother at all it's so refreshing to see that level of flexibi right there is no intimidation you are not making them uncomfortable there is no fault if i had not behaved that way in front of my customers i know two people in the kitchen would have been very angry with me you could easily overlook this place and I never actually go in, amazingly, it has the best Indian food I've probably ever eaten, I've been

blown

away

, it's been really fantastic, fresh, well prepared, expertly made and done with passion and knowledge. i feel nervous because you raised the bar so high i didn't think you could do that again oh my god go away i feel fantastic you know gordon ramsay great great man um telling me you know everything we're doing is good we was nervous before we just can't contain it so far prasad they are punching well above their weight but i am concerned how much this little helping depends on bobby's front of house charm tonight two fantastic indian restaurants are battling it out in my etition national competition to find my best restaurant someone pass the puri please now it's time for london restaurant the shining to find out i've been snooping on them without you all knowing once i left the shining i sent my secret diners and this is what they saw on Coach trip head chef Jazz was unable to take control of the kitchen and at times the food suffered. the owner, gulu, had to climb into the tandoor to save the day. early we asked for minor issues wanted to take this thank you very much it's very annoying it's like in a pub when they have the tv on and everyone ends up going I don't know if I'm in a night club or a restaurant is there any way you can turn them off?

Turn the noise down a bit, thank you, oh god, that's so much better. You are in charge of the service. and some customers really like them they are quite ada I liked the idea but obviously sometimes you clash and when asked we smooth it down with fresh mint chutney it's fantastic it's mouth watering it's so fresh it's absolutely delicious these chocolates are really great. different flavors really gets your taste buds and appetite going very well very good start fresh clean chutneys exciting vibrant and a very good way to relax customers very good way one of the problems I have had about this place is they leave you feet in the heat too long that will be the real test hello thank you something just came out of the glass they must be sizzling and juicy and these are definitely not they are still over harvested huh jazz prawns why are they coming out over cooked still so soon as we get the prawns out and we serve them quickly, I ask you to look at it seriously in terms of trying to cook them less.

I think what we should do is every portion of prawns that comes out. this week make an extra prawn and try it before it goes out because that's something we have to work on. I'm about to send the masala back to see what they say, but I'm going to say it's not spicy enough for me. I would like a little more spicy. I want to see what they do. um this is really horrible but maybe i'll change it to something else that's really kind thank you so patient so tolerated for the third time lucky thank you so much this is delicious it's even better than the last two dishes yeah , this is a slick operation, I love it. i love that emotion the customer is always right thats what they are paying you can adapt to customer needs great it didnt start off well but thats the end of the meal and i am very happy and i dont think they could have cared i better i dont think so can they handle my co instant complaints or better i dont think they can be more professional the food is great when the food arrives they love the food when the service matches the food you have something pretty exciting there jazz i want you to step up i need to do something i think i'm a little nervous right now but i'm going to build confidence later on that we'll do that valuable feedback which was absolutely amazing we have to be very positive to make sure we learn from mistakes my covert evidence has affected them a lot now they need to learn from this experience, there is no time to lose because both restaurant chefs are about to face Your biggest challenge, but I'll get you out of your kitchens and into mine.

I have asked them to create and cook a dish that is up to the standards in my three Michelin star restaurant. Very good. a dream for every chef is to cook for a three star restaurant and i hope to win this competition tonight one of them will win a place in the semifinals and another will be eliminated this is my dream here all i have ever worked for is a small restaurant and beautiful and it's an amazing place for both of their restaurants to shine today. I asked him to come here to take it to a different level with his food and really aim to do something unique at the end.

Unfortunately, there is only one restaurant that will go through to the semi-final. Make sure it's you. Good luck. into something stunning i expect a dish that is perfectly spiced with luscious textures and sublime flavors but it's not just me they have to impress i have invited 20 guests who know their barges from their breweries to come and try b other restaurants dishes including inarm ali founder of british curry awards and respected indian cookbook author and broadcaster manju mali all my diners will try the dishes from both restaurants the reception teams from each restaurant are here as my yes and i will be watching every move of the chef. and there's nowhere to hide ok first up is for the brilliance in four table covers away six yeah four gel frazee oh keisha tonight the brilliants are taking prasad at their own game cooking up a vegetarian version of a classic much-loved paneer jalfrezi jazzy's recipe combines chilli-laden Indian cottage cheese with a sauce flavored with a unique 15-spice blend I'm making our own cheese today wow isn't it a bit crazy on a day like today chef I'm at your restaurant I have to make something crazy this is the kind of flourish jazz needs to live this classic dish to new heights opportunities like these have never knocked on your doors that's why i'm working so hard i want to achieve something today and i'm excited to see the chef sunil making a specialty rarely found in the uk paper thin ramali roti and order the brilliant four table tops one guys take a look i eat a normal restaurant i need an answer alright well you don't don't answer me i'll stop and look at you again it's ok because like you do in your kitchen you get an answer but i'm calling tickets and no one answers just you recognize what i am saying otherwise i just say how this puts the tickers there and i have to call you for joel frazee thank you welcome back so far in this competition head chef jazz has produced stunning traditional punjabi cuisine for the bright but in times he's lost control of the kitchen his food hasn't hit the mark and the owner gulu has had to save the day you don't have glue in the kitchen today yes you don't need it in the kitchen do you? yeah this is the greatest moment in our history of awesomeness iant tonight the hopes and dreams of the bright rest on the shoulders of jazz we're serving food stuck like something out of a juice dog table one let's go the starter comes from brilliant thank you good job mad smells good i like the paneer nice and soft kofta awesome yes yes prashad they are making steamed and spiced vegetable kofta chopped vegetables wrapped in a hash brown patty and then served in a fresh tomato sauce the sauce is quite hot medium spice but lots of flavor just don't put those koftas in there too early because it's starting to break down a veggie cafe its very hard to get right because there are so many elements that can explode and disintegrate.

Getting the timing and timing right on this dish is critical, so manal and kalshi need to work together perfectly for me. this is lovely you just need to be a little quicker i'm part way over here look what you doing come on give me your time hello just a minute in her own kitchen minnow struggled with the pressure and has just risen to the top and tonight there is no husband who support her, Bobby, in the kitchen to help her. I'm pretty sure if I meet Minnow and my mom they'll be right in the middle of the kitchen and totally focused on providing them with the best food but this is my kitchen and my now stepping out of a comfort zone hey someone saw my onion, it was here, look at me after every table, we have to clean up, we can't keep working on a mess, yes, thanks. take care of your ingredients, yeah come on mom can I have that please mom do you have some more butter? your service go come on please it's not four that's four don't worry about that it's four listen to me listen to me I'm here I'm here to help you you're confusing yourself not me to fall please thank you oh it's a lot, a lot, a lot of pressure, we and mumbo we are going through a lot of accolades and a lot to do is very complicated this so it's good timing so that's why I'm alone please how are you all very happy this is very very good it's a lovely shape the presentation is immaculate and it looks beautiful it's really nice isn't it the latest?

Table please now Kelsey four cops are out nice very nice little clear both of you well done so hard service is over so time to find out what my distinguished guests thought of the plates of both restaurants, starting with the brilliant yes, really great to see you, let's talk. the jeff frazee how was that for you the first one i think the combination is very good also the paneer i also found it tasty it is not just the cheese it has a spice yes the presentation also remarkable ramali roti that is very very traditional this is very difficult I was really nervous about making now I'm relieved they did a fab job the koftas were nice nice and delicious and you could taste the fresh ginger so that was great it looked good too I think the Prussian dish is amazing , the only thing i would say, bryce is supposed to be nice and fluffy and detached, they kind of have it.

I'm kind of right, but overall I think this is excellent, phenomenally proud of the dish they've made today, I definitely think we've done our best. My diners clearly love the food, although none of thefine dining achieves perfection. for me picking a winner whatever i decide will affect the future of these two restaurants if i lose today i will be broken i need to win i really need to win this competition but i don't know i'm so terrified that we are definitely going to win. I think we gave our all one hundred percent and I think we have done a good job.

Only one Indian restaurant can progress to the semi-finals and after tonight's service, the decision will be more difficult than ever. My two best Indian restaurants london's brilliant and bradford's prasad have completed their final challenge both are exceptional restaurants but one of them is about to be phased out so help me choose i'm going to try each of their dishes the kofta is so different to get ryan those veggies tied up with a potato and that rich tomato sauce the downside a bit of moving around unnecessarily on the plate i'd rather see one big impressive rather than three single ones cut in the middle you can see those veggies oh my goodness pretty tasty, just the right amount of heat and that nice brown rice texture too bad the rice really lets it down its overcooked brilliant gel frazee chilli is everywhere red and green chilli and the secret to this crazy gel is the texture and heat balance. they have just the right heat and masala definitely needs that right to cool it delicious paneer handmade and made here and that takes a lot of skill the only problem i have there is the rawness of the veggies those crispy peppers are spoiling the texture of the joffrey both restaurants felt the pressure here today and none of them have made it to 100 now they have come up short at the last hurdle both questions two outstanding indian restaurants but only one can win a place in the next round ok first of all it was a very interesting service.

I was able to identify problems from both restaurants in a way I didn't expect from a brilliant sentence of pinergy sumptuous delicious finding the balance with the masalas is difficult. I love the way you had the balls to do that prime minister. The only problem I had was the rawness of the vegetables. The peppers were barely cooked and didn't completely spoil the dish, but they didn't enhance it. Prashad, I thought the koftas. they were a bold move loved the veggies inside delicious the sauce was beauty seasoned and had the right amount of heat the big shot for me was overcooked rice i have had at your restaurant and i know how well you cook and i didn't expect to see overcooked rice today.

This competition is not going to be won or lost with a single dish. I'm looking for the best restaurant in Britain. them jumping into the restaurant eager to try that food we got off to a slow start but omg those diners enjoyed the food i sent back in my secret diners and again i have never seen a resident so excited to help when it is not even their fault good sign prasad i turned up at the back of beyond bradford 30 diners could barely have fit in the pressure was immense however they loved the food then i sent my secret restaurant away and peeled the food this is a tough one very tough one, sadly there is only one restaurant going to the semi final the restaurant is passing based on everything i have seen and tasted it is accurate oh my god well done that restaurant will continue to be unique no two ways that and that it was for me one of the tig The closest and closest decisions I have ever had to take another 35 year ride we have won numerous awards and we will be back again the show co Keep going and the brilliants will continue, congratulations, thank you. thank you well done you are well very well done and I am very happy thank you for the family and for the restaurant why because the food is extraordinary thank you thank you thank you well done thank you very much I am very happy I can't even think about it so happy I am so happy it was really hard for me because i wasn't there every step of the way as a family every time we perform we are always together serving kitchen all together today i had to sit down and look like i was enjoying the food.

I had no appetite, but you know we're just. Can't. I can't tell you fantastic. What an extraordinary day and I am quite sad. Say goodbye to the shiny, but you have to leave it for prasar. They were amazing. Now, the competition really begins. With them, they have reached the semifinals and they will have to do everything possible for you.