Episode 2

Every chef dreams of a Michelin star. Episode two of Rise of the Rockstar Chef follows the hunt for that recognition, and for the leap that separates the great from the legendary. Moving from one star to two is hard, but the hardest jump of all is from two to three.

Marco Pierre White made that leap, becoming the first British chef to win three Michelin stars, and the youngest ever to do so. The episode explores what the pursuit demanded and what it cost. Marco reflects on the price of perfection. and how success also brings a rupture. Gordon Ramsay, who learned his craft under Marco, leaves to build his own name, and both men look back on the emotion of that parting. When menus from Aubergine begin appearing on Marco's desk, the friendship is over.

Gordon recounts the story of the stealing of the restaurant’s reservation book, the crown jewels of any restaurant, revealing just how bitter the split became. Marcus Wareing, Gordon's first employee, recalls the early days of Gordon's kitchen and the fierce ambition driving it.

As the 90s unfold, Heston Blumenthal’s drive, creativity and uncompromising pursuit of excellence transforms modern British cuisine. Heston cooks in a completely different way, and his food blows minds. It is pure theatre, with equipment unlike anything seen in a normal kitchen. Dishes such as the triple-cooked chip, taking two years to perfect, went on to change not just food but kitchens in restaurants and at home. With the opening of The Fat Duck, his home is on the line, and the need for success is huge.

Meanwhile, the empires expand. Marco and Gordon take over the kitchens of some of London's top hotels, and their restaurants become the places to be. Marco’s restaurant Titanic draws the Spice Girls, Oasis, footballers and the tabloids, with as many as 4,000 guests passing through in a single night - a 90s Studio 54. Contributors describe the energy of those years, and the revolutionary push for creativity in ways never seen before. When Heston is crowned the number one chef in the world, he voices the immensity of the pressure, his inferiority complex and the highs and lows of extreme success.