This year Ross Bryans who has previously held roles at Pollen Street Social and Corrigan's Mayfair takes on Lorna McNee and Benedict Reade in a bid to make it through to the Great British Menu 2018 banquet which celebrates 70 years of the National Health Service. This year’s brief is to create celebratory and heartfelt dishes in tribute to the heroic staff of the NHS.
Ross Bryans
Why did you want to be involved in Great British Menu?
The Great British Menu is a series I’ve always followed and really enjoyed watching. When the opportunity came up to take part in this year’s competition, I was thrilled and honoured to do so.
This years’ theme is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the NHS – how easy was it for you to come up with dishes to be served at the anniversary banquet?
As always, the Great British Menu themes are quite open to your own interpretation of what they mean to you personally. I enjoyed the brainstorming part of creating my dishes following the brief and then testing them out. Was it easy? I had a few different ideas of the direction and choosing between them wasn't that easy, but I was happy in the end.
What does the NHS mean to you and how rewarding is it to possibly cook your food for these incredible individuals?
My cousin has worked for the NHS for many years and she is an incredible individual. cooking for the heroes of the NHS was just a great honour. All the hard work and dedication that these people give each and every day is just amazing.
How difficult is it to cook in the Great British Menu kitchen alongside other chefs?
Working in a foreign kitchen is always a challenge and it is a competition at the end of the day.so you are nervous and just want to do your best but, what made it so much more enjoyable was the two amazing chefs I got to compete against that made the whole experience for me.
What was the best part about being on Great British Menu 2018?
It was a whole new thing for me, the Great British Menu. I've never done anything quite like it before. Getting to meet all the team of production people and the chefs I was competing against and how we all got on so well and enjoyed each other was the best part for me. Generally, just the taking part.
Were there any negative parts to being on Great British Menu?
Nah not really, it’s hard sometimes during the competition - but nothing negative.
How did you find the criticism and being judged?
It’s all part of the competition. Yes, sometimes it can be hard to take when you've worked hard on the dish and it’s just not to their liking or you know in your heart you could have done so much better.
Were you more nervous about being judged by the veteran chef or the judges?
All of them really, everyone's opinion matters.
Do you have any standout memories during your time on Great British Menu?
It’s too hard to give just one but waiting for the veteran to walk through the door on the first day was something I will never forget.
Would you take part in Great British Menu again?
In a heartbeat. I really love the whole experience and I would be honoured to be asked back to the competition.
Would you encourage your peers, colleagues and chef friends to take part in a competition like Great British Menu?
I would recommend taking part in the Great British Menu to any of my peers and colleagues.
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