Near carbon copy canapés of venison tartare croustades kick off the closely matched contest. Mark’s features blackened apple and turnip katsuobushi, and the chewy carrot leather casing momentarily silences the judges as they try to politely release it from the roof of their mouths. Calum’s canapé includes burnt heather aioli, foraged scurvy grass and grated sheep’s cheese. ‘Fantastic,’ says Ben and all agree it’s their favourite.

For his starter, Calum constructs a little winding road of Jerusalem artichoke parfait topped with grated truffle and bordered with dots of pickled walnut gel. Served with toasted malt loaf of foraged fruits and a mushroom and artichoke tea, Lorna judges it to be ‘a lot of fun,’ though she finds the bread ‘a little sweet.’ ‘I’m not sure how it works as a starter,’ confesses Tom, but he adds there are ‘moments of beautiful genius in it.’ 

On to Mark’s ‘A Study in Scarlet,’ which has beetroot cooked in lemon verbena, miso and chilli purée, roasted beetroot, fermented pumpkin seed and beetroot cheese, served with smoked blackberry sauce and edible ash. ‘Really cool’ says Ed, as the pen-shaped key unlocks a desk-like serving box to reveal the book-shaped beetroot feast. However, the judges find it lacking in texture and, unsurprisingly, very beetroot-y. ‘Ten out of ten for effort, but not for flavour,’ says Tom.

With frothy waves of champagne and vanilla sauce, Calum’s fish dish looks like a little rock pool on a plate. Isle of Skye scallops, mussels, surf clams and cockles nestle amongst blanched bladderwrack, celeriac purée and crispy sea lettuce. ‘It tastes like the sea,’ says Lorna, admiring the complementary touch of vanilla. Ed agrees it’s ‘a joy to eat’ and Ben says it’s ‘fantastic’ again. However, Tom feels his shellfish-free alternative of pan-fried halibut and monkfish cheeks doesn’t work as well with the sauce and purée and is ‘definitely cooked.’

If you think you’ve seen everything on GBM, (and sometimes several times over) think again as Mark pioneers a new way of cooking fish – in a thermos flask! Juicy fillets of haddock wrapped in nori are poached in a broth of salt haddock and shiitake mushroom. It’s served with an Arbroath smokie and haddock trim brandade, a seaweed cracker and leek jam. Lorna judges the poaching of the haddock to be ‘beautiful’ but is ‘not so keen on the broth.’ Ed decides it’s ‘bland.’ However, Tom feels it’s all ‘quite good fun’ and Ben says the brandade is… wait for it, ‘fantastic.’

There’s a poetic theme to the main courses. Mark begins by honouring writer Nan Shepherd’s love of the Cairngorm Mountains, serving up barbecued venison loin with crispy pancetta and fresh bilberries, mushroom and moss purée, pickled celeriac, and smoked boar fat crumpets with venison liver parfait. ‘Layer after layer after layer of flavour,’ smiles Tom, happily spooning out the rich venison sauce from its mini copper pan. Ed dispenses with the spoon (along with any etiquette) and downs it in one.

Taking inspiration from a poem by Sorley MacLean, ‘Crofters’ Revolt’ is Calum’s main course of lamb rump seared in butter and heather oil, served with haggis, alexanders, smoked cauliflower gratin, date and sherry purée and a malt and bog myrtle jus. Tom says the cauliflower is ‘just outstanding’ and Lorna can’t resist going back for more ‘really good’ haggis. ‘Scotland have really brought it with the main courses,’ concludes Ed.

It’s sorbet versus sorbet for the pre-desserts, as Mark’s sorrel-flavoured version with yoghurt snow goes up against Calum’s Scottish cheese and honey sorbet with woodruff foam. Ed and Tom confidently choose Mark’s but Lorna and Ben struggle to decide. He eventually chooses Mark’s too, but she opts for Calum’s.

Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin has given Mark the germ of a dessert idea. ‘An Ode to Mould’ sees him plate a petri dish of koji-infused rice pudding with quince and sake compote alongside a rose geranium and amazake ice cream with miso caramel. Test tubes of honey and quince sauce are warmed over the flame of a Bunsen burner, much to the delight of the judges. ‘The presentation is out of this world,’ says Ed. Tom agrees, but he’s less convinced by the rice pudding, which he decides is, ‘a bit rice pudding-y.’ However, he’s a huge fan of the ‘outstanding’ ice cream.

In celebration of Flora MacDonald, Calum cracks open a bottle of Drambuie… and bottles of calvados, cider and tequila too. ‘It’s a boozy dessert,’ he admits, serving apple and calvados bavarois with apple and Drambuie sorbet, shortbread, aerated Douglas fir white chocolate and a drizzle of pine gel. Sipping on their accompanying Drambuie and tequila cocktails, the judges seem uncharacteristically stunned into silence. Then Tom ventures, ‘it doesn’t feel very Scottish,’ arguing the presentation ‘looks a bit more Caribbean beach.’ Ed and Lorna are fans of the broken shortbread, but Tom disappointingly feels ‘it’s like I got the bottom of the packet.’

However, there may yet be some crumbs of comfort for Calum. He loses out to Mark by just three points, but Andi reminds Tom that they have a wild card dish this year and both agree that Calum’s main is a contender. ‘I genuinely will be so disappointed if I don’t get to eat that haggis again,’ says Tom, wistfully. Meanwhile, back in the judges’ chamber, lookalike Ben is asked how the food has been today, and the word ‘fantastic’ echoes once more.