This article contains spoilers for Boiling Point episode 3.
The penultimate episode of the Boiling Point TV series sees a new sous chef making his mark in the kitchen... rubbing up the staff the wrong way in the process. Plus, Holly hatches a plan to make some quick cash after Carly is forced to cut the kitchen porters' hours to save some cash, which caused the rest of the staff plenty more trouble during dinner service.
Here's our full breakdown of what happened in Boiling Point episode 3.
Overworked
The Point North team are no strangers to working hard, but Boiling Point episode 3 opens with Jake getting a lift to his second job at a warehouse. He's got bills and final notices piling up at home, but is trying to keep it from his younger sister, Grace. She's supposed to be heading on a school trip very soon, but he hasn't got the money to pay for it.
At Point North, Nick is serving up top-quality food in the kitchen. Meanwhile, Liam is doing his best to convince Carly to do the catering for one of his friend's wedding after their venue got flooded out. She's reluctant, but Nick reckons with the time they've got (one month) that they can do it, so she agrees.
Liam also puts pressure on Carly to decide who she's going to fire; she promised to do so after recruiting a new sous chef, and it's clear he wants to get rid of Jamie; Carly refuses, but spends prep trying to decide who she's going to have to choose instead.
Emily is struggling as a solo pastry chef whilst Jamie recovers. Carly approaches her to chat, but she appears way more standoffish, nothing like her usual self. When Carly moves to ask about Andy, Emily just tells her to ring him herself, rather than going through her all the time.
Issues start cropping up dinner service, even though it's a relatively quiet night. Musa is mucking up his orders because he's not writing them down, and Robyn didn't turn up for her shift, leading Carly to get angry at Dean. Meanwhile, Carly spots her porters standing around whilst she's still mulling over who will be getting their hours cut or sacked entirely.
Cutbacks
Emily snaps at Bolton after he tries to banter with her in the kitchen and ends up heading to the walk-in fridge away for some peace and quiet. Carly comes in and finds her crying, and Emily opens up about the drink she had the night Jamie went into hospital. Whilst Carly comforts her, Nick tries to ask out Camille in the kitchen, though she clearly isn't interested.
Carly calls Jake and Holly in for a meeting, where she tells them they'll be having their hours cut back due to rising costs. Rather than fire one of them, Carly proposes to alternate their shifts; Holly tells her Jake needs all the hours he can get, but Carly believes dropping to one porter per shift is the fairest option.
Jake is visibly frustrated by the news and walks out of the kitchen shortly thereafter. Holly heads home with him and finds the unpaid bills he's liable for. Realizing that there's simply no way he has the money to pay up, she proposes doing one last job for her Uncle Charlie. He doesn't want her help, but eventually gives in as long as he can come with her.
At home, Carly's mother tells her she got the phone number for a lawyer called Darren, and she asks her to call him. Meanwhile, Andy heads for a walk with Emily after picking up his son from school, and the pair chat about getting back to life after deciding to go sober. Their chat is interrupted by a call from Beth from the old restaurant; she invites Andy back in, and he assumes this means he could be heading back to work.
Andy heads round to the restaurant, but Beth isn't offering him a job. Instead, she informs Andy that her father has paid his outstanding debts, and she gets him to sign over his share of the business to her, to put everything that happened behind them. Before leaving, Andy spots Freeman in the kitchen; he wanders over and shakes the chef's hand, and the pair apologize to one another for what happened between them in the movie.
Near misses
Before heading back to Point North, we see Andy teaching his son how to make pizza like a pro. It's all fun and games until Andy issues a stern warning never to use pineapple as a topping. Holly has decided to call in sick, and she heads off with Jake in tow on this new drop-off job for Uncle Charlie.
We then jump to the restaurant: the dining room is packed full, and the kitchen's in crisis mode as they don't have a porter so Johnny is trying to do all his cooking and wash all the pots. Outside, Liam ushers in the happy couple, and is shocked to see it nowhere near as empty as expected.
Complaints from diners are starting to come in about missing cutlery, and none of the chefs have enough clean equipment to keep cooking, and this situation only gets worse when the dishwasher stops working properly.
Carly tries to reach Jake to call him for help, but he ignores the calls whilst they're on the road. After a brief tense moment where they think they're being followed, Holly and Jake settle in for the drive... but end up getting a call diverting them all the way to Manchester!
Andy drops by the restaurant, but he can't muster the courage to walk in and leaves. Carly chides Nick about slow service in the kitchen, and he ends up ordering Camille to remake some food which she seems to think is perfect. He does it again, and Bolton challenges Nick about his decision, but Nick tells him to stick to his station just as Carly comes in.
Meanwhile, Holly and Jake pull into a petrol station for fuel. Jake has been nervous the whole drive and is stressed about returning home in time to help his sister the following day. He waits in the car whilst Holly goes inside the station to pay. . and then a police car pulls in ahead of them.
Nervous, Holly drops the key fob on the floor, opening the car boot by mistake. Jake gets up to close it again, whilst being watched by one of the officers. Although things get very tense, the police get called away to an emergency without any incident.
Disastrous dinner shift
Dishes continue to pile up in the kitchen, and guests are starting to leave because they've not their meals. Plus, Nick very nearly burns Bolton with a hot pan, leading to a heated argument that almost gets physical. Liam rushes in from the dining room, demanding to know what's going on as he can see it through the window to the kitchen.
Carly shouts everyone down and gets everything back on track; Musa is enlisted to help Johnny wash pots, Bolton and Nick get a telling off and told to get back to work, and Nick starts working on some complimentary treats to keep the diners satisfied whilst they wait for their food.
After their argument at the petrol station, Holly and Jake finally make it to the drop off point. Jake asks what they're delivering, but she refuses to tell him. A man collects what's in the car, and hands them the cash, and the pair start to drive back down south.
Back in the kitchen, Bolton praises Johnny for his efforts to try and help everyone. He also makes a point of apologizing to Nick; the pair look to have buried the hatchet, though Carly sternly warns that whatever happened cannot happen again.
On his way out, Nick stops Camille in the doorway and thanks Camille for her efforts during the night. After she heads home, Carly's mum once again tells her she doesn't think Carly is cut out for the restaurant business. Carly lies down and listens to a voicemail apology from Holly for missing her shift.
The episode then ends with Jake; he returns home just as Grace is heading off to school. As she gets in the car with one of her friends' mother, Jake rushes out to hand her a signed letter and the money for the school trip she desperately wanted to go on.
Boiling Point concludes this Sunday at 9 pm on BBC One. All four episodes are available to stream as a box set on BBC iPlayer. For more shows to enjoy, check out our top picks for the best BBC dramas you should be streaming right now.
