Moving on to the fish course and ‘Made in Water’ is Ryan’s tribute to Dame Sarah Storey, which also honours her hometown of Manchester and its Curry Mile. Pan-fried halibut, pea purée, batter scraps and curry sauce echo the great British tradition of a chippy tea, as Ryan promises ‘a new concept on the chip'. It turns out to be a spoonful of mash with a garnish of straw potatoes. ‘It’s got all the right flavours in all the right places,’ says Stuart, but he sadly admits it lacks ‘a wow factor'. Tom eyes up Nisha’s plate and says he feels ‘let down’ as the ‘straw chips’ have been omitted from his serving. Nisha shares hers with him but Tom’s still unhappy, now turning his attention to the ‘overcooked’ fish and ‘raw’ curry sauce. Nisha agrees that this take on a chippy tea is ‘different in not a great way.’

‘A Celebration of Table Tennis’ is Kirk’s impeccably presented fishless fish course that still aims to capture the flavours of the sea. Scoring a ten from Michael O’Hare, it consists of nori cracker table tennis bats and ball-shaped bowls of parsley porridge and pomme purée, seaweed salad, and vegan cream cheese and seaweed caviar. Tom’s not sure ‘if it’s one of the best things I’ve ever eaten’ or if he’s ‘a little confused by it'. Nisha can’t decide if she’s missing a piece a fish or not. Ed questions if it feels ‘more like a collection of mini starters.’ Whatever it is, Tom concludes that the skill set involved is ‘first rate, magical, unbelievable'.

‘This has been nutritionally analysed by nutritionists’, says Kirk of his carb-heavy main dedicated to the training regime of Sir Mo Farah. Achieving another ten from the veteran, there are high expectations for this lasagne of urad and mung beans with tomato ragout and caramelised mushrooms, cashew and miso béchamel sauce, served with an iced salad and a new take on garlic bread in the form of a msemen pancake. ‘Utterly delicious’ and ‘banquet-worthy’, says Nisha, but the other judges are less convinced. ‘It’s a decent lasagne,’ concedes Ed and Tom agrees that it’s ‘nowhere near as exciting as his first two courses'.

The judges are more optimistic about the feast-like description of Ryan’s main course. His crown of roast lamb is served with squash purée, squash and grape salad, a pastilla of roasted squash, spinach, pine nut and feta, and a lamb and rosemary gravy. ‘Very banquety,’ says Nisha approvingly as the lamb is ceremoniously presented by a kneeling server, half dressed in Ancient Greek garb, but still wearing trousers under his toga. Ed can barely contain his giggles. However, the seriously good food soon restores order to the judging chamber. ‘It’s like a Greek holiday… but super refined,’ says Ed.

Continuing the Greek theme, Ryan’s pre-dessert is goat’s cheese ice cream with eucalyptus purée, candied olives and a laurel leaf tuile. Kirk opts for an athletic pick-me-up of berry compote and mint and spinach ice cream with diced beetroot and aloe vera. ‘Overall, a very nice dish,’ says Stuart of Ryan’s, but it’s a unanimous thumbs up for Kirk’s originality. ‘Amazing!’ says Tom, and Ed nods approvingly, ‘that’s off its head'.

Kirk’s final creation is an Olympic ring of set chocolate cream on a cacao sponge base, flavoured with ingredients from the five continents, including pepper, sour cherry and toasted macadamia nuts. It’s topped with a rocher of coconut blossom ice cream and an ingenious caramel sauce of coconut sugar, maple syrup and coconut oil. ‘I’ve had one spoonful of this… and I never want it to end,’ smiles Tom. Ed agrees that it’s ‘pretty stunning’ and though Nisha argues for ‘a little more with the presentation’ she’s in the minority and has to concede that, flavour-wise, ‘it’s divine'.

Having only manage to scrape a four for his dessert, ‘Tower of Hope’ on Wednesday, Ryan completely abandons his ambitious gold, silver and bronze éclairs in favour of a more traditional croquembouche of profiteroles. Gone are the themed fillings of golden gianduja, silver tequila and bronze mandarin, in favour of one flavour of crème pâtissière and a chocolate sauce. ‘We’ve been waiting a while,’ notes Ed, wearily, but the dessert finally appears, topped with spun sugar and with plastic laurel leaves hiding any gaps. ‘Classic,’ says Ed.

However, it’s soon evident that ‘classic’ is not to be the order of the day as Kirk finally secures his well-deserved place in finals week. Sometimes innovation boldly stomps in acrylic heels, and sometimes it modestly models a black belt in kohlrabi.