The Great British Menu is back and the contestants this week are from the South West. The chefs have begun the battle to get the chance to cook at a banquet honouring 70 years of the NHS.
Entering the kitchen this week is Tom Brown from Cornerstone, Olivia Barry from Adelina Yard and Jude Kereama from Kota.
Week 6 of the Great British Menu placed the chefs representing the South West in the kitchen vying for a place in front of the judges on Friday.
Jude Kereama of Kota, Olivia Barry from Adelina Yard and Tom Brown of Cornerstone all started off the week by making their starters to try and impress veteran chef Richard Corrigan. Richard, who is the competitions most experienced veteran had high expectations of the chefs, which were only amplified by the fact his wife works for the institution the competition is celebrating - the NHS.
Third-time returner Jude started off the competition by making a savoury version of the classic children’s dessert ‘Jelly and Ice Cream’. Combining classic and international flavours he made a beetroot jelly, which he topped with a horseradish ice cream, which was made from a goats cheese mousse and added a variety of other ingredients including deep-fried beetroot crisps.
Tom, who returned for his second attempt at the show, took inspiration from a dish that was served to those who were unwell before the time of the NHS. His ‘Beef Tea’ was made up of a beef tartare, mushroom ketchup and a broth which he served cold.
Olivia who was the only first-timer this week started off the week with a technically ambitious starter named the ‘National Breakfast Service’. Taking inspiration from two British institutions, the NHS and full English she hoped to elevate this classic dish. She did this by making her own black pudding from scratch, bacon jam and served it with fried quails egg. She did have a hiccup though when her first batch of black pudding split when she was poaching it.
Richard had high expectations of the chefs and showed his discerning nature when he let the chefs know how well they performed. Jude was praised for the eccentricity of his dish but was let down by having too little horseradish and too much goats cheese. Tom was commended for his dish which was labelled as a brave choice by Richard and showed an incredible level of skill. Olivia impressed Richard by making her own black pudding but her dish’s presentation lacked the wow factor needed to be a banquet dish.
This meant when the scores were handed out Jude was given an 8, Olivia a 7 and Tom started off fantastically well with a 10!
Heading into the second day of cooking in the Great British Menu kitchen means only one thing - the fish course! For the Great British Menu chefs, this was the second chance for Jude Kereama, Tom Brown and Olivia Barry to impress veteran judge Richard Corrigan.
Olivia, who was currently in the bottom spot, hoped her dish dedicated to the midwives who helped to deliver her son Oscar would help lift her out of that spot. Simply called ‘E1’ it used Indian flavours to elevate the dish. Comprising of monkfish, cooked in a beurre noisette; curried cauliflower; a raisin puree and a hazelnut tuille Richard thought it had real potential when he heard about it for the first time.
Tom Brown who was currently in the lead with a 100% record is known as a seafood specialist and so had a lot of expectation upon his shoulders. His fish course was a homage to the fisherman’s mission charity who visit fisherman at ports and harbours to do health checks when the fishermen are on land. Cooking turbot en papillote, battered oysters and a tartare hollandaise alongside deluxe mushy peas he hoped for another big score with his dish ‘Fish Supper’.
Jude had a particularly personal connection to the brief for this course. ‘It’s All in Black and White’ was dedicated to the x-ray which picked up breast cancer in Jude’s wife. With this in mind, he made a monochrome dish made up of 9 complex elements in his fusion style. Involving beer battered deep fried oyster coloured with charcoal, sous vide turbot, codfish cakes and scallop it was a real challenge for Jude to get all the components ready.
Richard found Olivia’s dish to be ‘a bit beige’ after pointing out it needed more spice.
Tom was told his dish was elegant and that his tartare hollandaise was ‘top class’ but overall it was too safe.
Jude was praised for his scallop and oyster components but Richard found his dish just had too much going on and could lose the fish cake element.
This feedback was reflected in the scores, Olivia was given a 6, Tom was awarded an 8 and Jude a 9. This meant halfway through the week Tom was still in the lead on 18, Jude was a point behind on 17 and Olivia was on 13.
It was time for the main event so to speak and the great British Menu chefs had a lot of work to do to impress ever-discerning veteran chef, Richard Corrigan.
Jude Kereama, who scored a 9 for his fish dish, was making a dish inspired by his mum who would take food to people in hospital. Utilising Asian flavours he made a complex three-part dish with over 90 different ingredients. Focussed on duck, Jude made a duck ramen, duck breast and duck leg wantons for his dish ‘Duck, Fad Diets!’.
Chef Tom Brown had been digging through the NHS archives when he found the inspiration behind his dish, ‘Poor Man’s Goose’. His poor man’s goose was actually duck, which he roasted whole and would carve on the pass, meaning he would not know how it was cooked until served. He accompanied his whole duck with potato croquette and a duck sausage.
Celebrating the accessibility of the NHS, Olivia with her dish ‘All For One and One For All’ had to get a big score to keep close to the other competitors. She cooked beef cheek in ale alongside hanger steak and a unique addition, smoked mash that was flavoured with woodchip smoke.
Richard hoped for excellence with all the dishes and was not disappointed. He praised Jude’s dish for its inventive and theatrical presentation in tiffin boxes and how many flavour combinations there were in the dish. However, he was disappointed that the carrots in the dish were undercooked.
Tom received glowing praise as well for his dish which Richard described as being a ‘really sophisticated dish’.
Olivia was lauded for the cooking of her hanger steak and ox cheek and labelled the potato mash as ‘triumphant’. But, he was not a fan of the dishes presentation.
Leading on to the scores, Jude was given a 9, which Richard pointed out would have been a 10 had the carrots been cooked. Tom was given another 10 and Olivia received an 8.
The dessert course
Day 4 was the Great British Menu chef’s last chance to impress Richard Corrigan and get a place in the judge’s chambers.
Jude Kereama continued his trend of complex dishes with his dish ‘An Apple A Day’. Made up of 10 items it included a caramelised apple terrine, granny smith sorbet and vanilla parfait which he hoped would combine together and get him a place in the regional final for the second time.
Olivia, who has a speciality in pastry wanted to wow Richard with her dish that was dedicated to the midwives who helped her through her pregnancy. ‘Welcome to the World’ was made of two ingredients associated with pregnancy, stout, for its iron-giving properties, and milk as it is the first thing a baby will drink. She made a stout ice cream, cake and syrup along with a milk ice cream, gel and crisp.
Tom Brown was looking for his hat trick of 10s ith his historically inspired dessert ‘Invalid Fruit Tart’. The tart was made of set custard and poached pear topped with Italian meringue and pear and ginger beer sorbet.
Richard, who had been impressed by the chefs all week had exceptionally high hopes for all the dishes.
Jude’s dish was praised for the apple terrine, particularly the pastry, which according to Richard was ‘up with the best’. He was also commended for his sorbet which had a ‘wonderful zing’. However, Richard found the parfait to be rock solid and would have preferred a nice thick custard instead.
Olivia was praised for the high levels of technique she showed with her milk gel and crisp and Richard found the ice cream to be a wonderful texture. But, the ganache didn’t set properly meaning Olivia had to serve ganache that wasn’t fully set and once again Richard did not like the presentation.
Richard enjoyed Tom’s link to the brief and the thickness of the pastry for his tart. Despite this Richard found the custard to be not set enough and combined with the Italian meringue, there to be too many soft textures on the plate.
When it came to the scores, Tom was given an 8 and therefore went straight through to the regional final. This left Jude and Olivia, Olivia received a 7 while Jude received yet another 9. This meant that Jude and Tom will be going through to the regional final!
South West regional final
It was finals day for the two remaining Great British Menu chefs. Jude Kereama and Tom Brown had one final hurdle to overcome to get them a place in the national finals, and that was to impress the judges with their dishes.
Joining the esteemed judges was Barbara Childs, a matron at the Great Ormond Street Hospital who has worked there for 23 years.
Tom was up first to serve his starter, ‘Beef Tea’ which had scored a perfect 10 earlier in the week meaning Tom had high hopes for his dish. While Barbara struggled with the raw beef, Andi Oliver said ‘One bite and I absolutely loved it’.
Jude, who made his dish ‘Jelly and Ice Cream’ made some adjustments to his dish following Richards’s feedback earlier in the week. He added more horseradish to the savoury ice cream which the judges enjoyed and made the dish come alive.
Neither chef fared as well in the fish course though, the judges found Tom’s to be well cooked but a bit boring. Jude’s dish on the other hand was described as a blur of flavours that didn’t quite work.
Moving on to the mains both chefs didn’t very well further in the week with Tom scoring a 10 and Jude a 9. The judges all loved the presentation of the dish but found parts of it not quite perfect, the wantons were a little dry and broth a little salty for Matthew Fort.
Tom did fantastically well earlier in the week and did the same on the finals day. The judges found it to be a piece of exquisite cooking that they could see at the banquet.
The desserts were the chefs last gasp attempts to wow the judges. Jude was up first and Oliver described it as ‘food of the gods’. They were particularly fond of the vanilla parfait which had been rock solid in the dessert day earlier in the week.
Toms dish didn’t do as well, Oliver was not a fan of it and did not think it was a banquet dish.
Once Tom served the last dish the chefs could do nothing more than wait for the judges to deliver their verdict. The judges decided that Tom should go through as they particularly loved his starter which scored 3 10’s. Jude, while not getting through, still scored exceptionally well with 4 9’s for his dessert.
