(upbeat guitar strumming)
- Ready for some Friday fun?
- I am.
- Over there is our friend, Ben.
He is a classically trained chef, whereas Jamie
and I on the other hand are normal home cooks,
and we're challenging him today to cook the ultimate burger
in sub 10 minutes.
- Ooh. Now we've given Ben a select few ingredients
to make his burger, but he's also brought
in three ingredients from home that he would love to put
in his burger if he gets the chance.
So we're gonna ask him some questions
and see if he can put them in.
Ben, what have you chosen?
- Controversial, but I've gone for hash browns,
kimchi, and -- wait for it --
spinach.
- Who puts, who, who puts spinach in a burger?
- Now you've just instantly made that burger worse.
(studio members laughing)
- [Ben] Thirteen years I've been living my brand
and spinach in a burger is it.
(tense countdown music)
- [Jamie] Our first challenger stepping up
to the burger plate is Benjamin "Ebbers" Ebbrell.
Although he looks like he's nearly 60,
he's actually only 35 years old.
He's from the Shires but not the one you're thinking of.
It's Hertfordshire.
Ask him what his favourite dish is.
You think he's gonna say fish pie?
It's actually quiche.
If you think you recognise him, of course,
it's because he's best known for starring
in CITV's Munchbox.
Wasn't that cancelled after the first series?
And finally, Ben's unique skill that's really
gonna help him when it comes to making a burger
in the quickest time possible,
he loves to sit on a fence.
Can we get a whoop whoop for Ebbers?
Barry, back to you in the studio.
- Let's get to it. Question one.
Were you in a series of videos
looking at the Signature Dishes cookbook,
including an episode -- our favourite --
on the McDonald's Big Mac?
What was the dish we looked at in the first episode?
- Now remember, Ben, you were
in this video so you should remember it.
- Yeah, it was oysters.
- Can I, can I get the full title please?
- Oysters and Pearls or something?
- Yes, you are correct.
(studio members clapping)
- That is one right.
- It was a classic, French classic.
- Question, question number two:
name all the ingredients that go into Kush's
burger bun recipe.
- Flour, yeast,
egg, milk,
sugar, salt, egg glaze.
He might seed it, so possibly sesame seeds.
Anything else? Bit of love. A lot of love.
He puts a lot of love in all his food.
- He does put a lot of love, and, like his lovemaking,
he also put--
- Butter!
- Butter. Nope.
(studio members laughing)
- If you'd have given me the love making clue,
I'd have gotten there quicker.
- Question number three, the Maillard reaction
is a chemical reaction between amino-- amino--
- Amino acids.
- Amino acids. Thanks, Ben. And reducing sugars
that give the brown food its distinctive colour.
What's the optimum temperature for the Maillard reaction?
(studio members laughing)
And just, just to make, put the pressure up,
we asked Kush this and he got it spot on.
- 72 degrees.
(studio members laughing)
- You can hear Kush's laugh in the background.
I'm sorry, Ben. It is 153.
(buzzer noise) - So you got two out of three.
Which of your two ingredients would you like to choose?
- I'm gonna be honest, I only put spinach in there
as a gag anyway, so I'd like the two
I actually want, which is kimchi and hash browns.
(studio members laughing)
- Aw, okay.
- Who puts spinach in a burger?
(Barry laughing)
- Well, let's get into the kitchen.
Right, Ben. Your 10 minutes starts in 3,
- [Barry and Jamie] 2, 1. Burger!
- [Mike] Come on, Ebbers!
- So I don't have any choice but beef burger
'cause that's what we've been provided.
I'm gonna season it well and avoid the sabotage.
I see why you wanted that in your hand now.
Heavy on pepper and salt.
Quick mix.
- That's smoked--
- That's smoked salt,
that's extra flavour, Ebbers, you're getting.
- Smoked salt?
- Yep.
- Right. Okay, so we we're all allowed smoked salt
everyone, okay?
- Okay, cool, alright.
- That's something Ebbers has decided.
- So you're not overworking your meat here,
squishing it good.
- [Barry] Oh, between grease proof.
- [Ben] Yeah, just kind of cutting it out.
- [Mike] You going smash burgers, Ebbers.
- No, kind of pressed burgers.
- Okay.
- [Barry] So it's just straight away,
nothing else in the burger.
- Just--
- [Barry] Season.
- Season. - Do you wanna have your taste
first of all to make sure it's seasoned well enough?
- No. This many years, you kind of get judged by eye.
- And is it key to make sure the patties are the same size?
- No, because what you'll want is one to sit
on top of the other and not to fall over.
- He's doing a double burger!
- [Mike] In your face!
- Secondly, I'm gonna use my special ingredient,
hash browns. These are also gonna squish down.
Oh, not that much.
And then crisp up.
- [Barry and Jamie] Ooh.
- So a shallow fry.
- Yep.
- [Barry] Ebbers, when was the last time
you cooked a burger at home?
- I don't think
I have ever cooked a burger
in the flat I have.
- You've been there for a day.
- [Ebbers] No.
(studio members laughing)
I don't think I've cooked a burger in my house.
On a barbecue? Yes.
In the studio, plenty.
Not at home. It was never my first choice.
- So you're saying you're out of practise.
- Yeah.
- Making excuses already. Right. Got it. Cool.
- Kimchi mayo.
- [Jamie] Ooh.
- [Studio Member] Nice.
- With lettuce. And nearly time to flip.
- What sort of time are you aiming for here?
- Well, you gave me 10 minutes.
- [Barry] Yeah.
- And burgers are naturally fast food, right?
- [Barry and Jamie] Yeah.
- So quick is good, but not at the sacrifice of quality.
- [Barry] Okay.
Just to warn you now, if you go
over 10 minutes, you are automatically disqualified.
- News to me. Good fun.
I don't know why I did that. That's silly. Bigger bowl.
- Hey, I love it.
- [Jamie] Kimchi mayo, hash browns.
Are you building this off a burger that you've had before?
Where is this flavour inspiration coming from?
- No, I absolutely love kimchi mayo,
and we've had kind of dressed lettuce before
when it's been like burger sauce,
ketchup, and the alike.
- [Jamie] Yep.
- Cheese. Cheese.
- [Barry] Oh, Ebbers!
- [Mike] Wow, straight away!
- Whoa.
- [Mike] Ebbers, your hash browns!
- Nice and crispy.
- [Barry and Jamie] Oh. Oh!
- How long have I had?
- I can't tell you.
- [Ben] Oh.
Toasted bun.
- Where from? Where was that?
When did that--
- Went in the oven, you missed it.
You were paying too much attention to other things.
The other one's going in.
- Are you toasting a bun one at a time?
- No, I toasted the bottom
'cause I wanna start doing it.
And now while I'm building it, I'll do the rest.
- [Jamie] No sauce on the bottom?
- No sauce on the bottom.
But because of our pyramid-techers.
- Oh my goodness, Ebbers.
- We get slightly thinner towards the top.
Generous here.
- [Jamie] Oh my goodness.
When are we gonna melt the cheese?
- [Barry] Oh my goodness.
- [Jamie] When? When? When?
- Double patty.
- [Jamie] We're not gonna melt the cheese?
- And double hash brown.
- [Barry] I need to get a bell,
looks like it's gonna be sooner than I thought.
What is happening?
- His top bun's not toasted.
- Top bun is toasting.
- He hasn't got any sauce in there yet.
- Where's he gone? What's he gone?
What's he going for now?
- I figured given we are doing burgers, a nice white wine
from Burgenland, an Austrian white, will cut
through the richness of the burger.
- He doesn't understand what we're doing here, does he?
- Toasted the bottom.
- That's not very toasted, is it, Ebbers?
(studio members groan)
- You can hear that on the microphone.
- There's no Maillard reaction happening
on that, am I right?
- No, I only took it to 73 degrees.
That was the problem, you see.
More on that, more on that.
Where's my bell?
- Oh, sorry.
- [Ben] It's my bell.
- You wanna ring it?
(bell ringing)
- Stop the clock.
- [Group] Woo! Woo!
(studio members clapping)
- Not what I expected at all.
(contemporary synth music)
- Ebbers, great job.
- I mean, you're the first one in line here.
- Oh, I'm gonna be both winner and loser on
the leaderboard now.
- That you will.
- Right? Let's cut into it,
and then I want you to talk us through your process.
- Yep.
- [Barry] Oh Ebbers.
They should never be done,
but it cuts better than I expected.
- [Jamie] Yeah.
- That is a double patty cheeseburger
with kimchi slaw and crispy hash brown.
- The Ebbers special.
Oh, on the menu, you've gotta title it.
- Well, I like the hash brown from the big daddy vibe,
but I like the kimchi from the kind of Korean, fermented.
funky. So how about the funky daddy?
- Ebbers, the funky daddy.
- The funky daddy.
- I love it.
- Cheers.
- [Barry and Jamie] Cheers. Cheers.
- Sloppy, meaty, seasoned.
- I would never put a hash brown in a beef burger.
- No, but it really works.
- A friend of mine, he's got a farm
and they mostly grow potatoes and cattle.
So what grows together goes together.
- Phenomenal, Ebbers.
I didn't expect it to taste that good.
The kimchi is subtle though.
- Well, you know, I don't like my hot spice,
but I like the fermented funk.
- It's got a really lovely funk from the kimchi.
The hash brown, crust on the outside,
soft in the middle,
much like the patties.
And I appreciate that.
It's a great burger, Ben.
Is there anything you would've changed?
- I would've cooked off a small amount
of that meat mixture to make sure the seasonings correct,
but that's the one thing that I would like to do
if you had more time.
- Now it's a great burger
but that's not the only thing that matters here, is it?
What matters is how quickly did you cook it in.
- Okay, results are in.
Firstly, we can reveal it was sub 10 minutes,
so you make the board.
- I was pretty confident with that.
The question is where?
- Five minutes and three seconds.
- That-- I-- okay-- I
- Impressive. That is impressive.
- Bang in the middle
with room for people to beat it,
fall a bit behind with a better burger.
Lots to play with.
Question is who's next?
Comment down below.
- Chefs--
- Anybody?
- Guests, other creators.
- Normals.
- Friends, not friends.
Enemies. Let's get everyone involved.