Great British Menu 2019 chefs: Michael Carr, North East heat

Born and raised in Harrogate, Michael Carr started off as a potwasher at his parents’ restaurant, The Square and Compass, in North Rigton.

Michael moved to Cornwall to train under Neil Martyn and Chris Eden at The Driftwood, and finally went to London, where he worked at Pied a Terre, Texture, Alyn Williams at The Westbury and then at Gordon Ramsay’s Claridges.

He launched his restaurant on Harrogate’s Station Parade in 2015 when he was just 23; it was with great regret that the chef was forced to close Restaurant 92 in January when the financial burden of running an independent restaurant in the area became unsustainable.

First of all, congratulations for making it onto the Great British Menu 2019. What was it like to take part?

It was a brilliant experience, veryhumbling. I lovedeverysecondofit.

Wereyousurprisedwhenyougotthecallfromtheproductionteam?

Yeah, I was really, really surprised. We had some things in the pipeline,  but I was just super excited to get that call. It was just a really cool, cool phone call to have, like kind of being sussed out, I guess.

Hadyoutakenpartinanycompetitionslike it before?

 Not on this level. I did Yorkshire Young Chef of the Year, Chef of the year in Harrogate  and did quite well. I felt quite confident going into it and just relishing in the fact of being a part of something that I'd watched my whole career. I've always wanted to be on there and have some fun doing it so yeah, really cool. 

Whatdidyouthinkofthethemethisyear? Was itwasitfuntranslatingmusicallanguageintofood?

Yeah, itwasbrilliant. Itwasn'tasdifficultassomeoftheotherbriefs. IwouldhavehatedtohavetheNHS [theme]. Inmyheadthat'squitedifficulttorelatefoodto, hospitalsarequiteatragicthing and a depressingplaceforquitealotofpeople. To bringfoodas anupliftingthingdowntothatlevelIwouldfindquitedifficult,butwithmusic it was such goodfun.

Peoplelovemusicand it bringsoutdifferentemotionsindifferentpeoplewithsongsmeaningthingstopeople. So, tohaveBritishmusicasaplatformtowork-ideaswerejustpoundingintomyheadassoonasIgottoldaboutit.Ifoundalotofjoyincreatingmydishes. 

Are you a musician yourself?

Ihadagoat playingtheguitarwhenIwasateenager, but Iwouldn'tsayIwasamusician. To be honest I think if I tried to pick up the guitar now, it be pretty horrendous.

Can you tell us a bit more about the food you cooked in the competition?

I based one of my dishes on an Oasis song - I think a lot of the guys did, one of the lads last week did.

ItriedtokeepawayfromBeatlesbecauseIthoughtit'dbequitegeneric, Ithoughtalotofpeoplewouldgoforthat. AndIdidadishbasedonBritishrockandrolland then mydessert, ItriedtothinkabitmoreoutsidetheboxinsteadofjustlikebandsandgroupsanddifferentthingsandmydessertwasbasedonGlastonbury. 

ThatwassomethingthatwasreallycoolandIhadalotoffuntryingtomakethisdishupanditwasquitetheatrical. A lot of people really loved it which was brilliant. 

Isthatsomethingthatyoutypicallydowhenyoucook, goingfromlikeaconceptoranidearatherthanstartingwithaningredientoryourideaofadish?

Yeah, IthinkobviouslyingredientsplayamassivepartbutIliketotryandthinkofwhatacustomerwouldreadonaplate. 

IfindthewholebasisofbuildingadishreallyexcitingwhenI'vegotanideainmyhead, andthatcouldstemfrom, Idon'tknow, whatplateI'mgoingtouseorwhat'scooltouseatatimeofyear, orwhatpeoplethinkofwhentheythinkaboutgoingoutforameal.

WhatItrytothinkofwhenIgooutforameal is whatIwouldliketoeat,what'sputinfrontofme, sometimesinsteadofjustthinkingabouttheingredients. 

What was your favourite moment in the competition? 

My favouritemomentwasjustgettinginthereandseeingthekitchenandjustfeelingthoroughexcitementtogetkickstarted.

What was it like meeting the other contestants, Samira (Effa) and Tom (Anglesea)? 

IgotonwithTominstantly.TomwasreallycoolandsamewithSamira, but IhadacoolconnectionwithTombecauseheknew aboutmeandworkedwith someoftheguysIworkedwithbefore.

So at the time you still had your restaurant. What would that have meant if it had been cast now? Could you take part as an independent or do you have to represent a restaurant to get on?

I think you do yeah. I'vealreadyhadinitialchatsaboutbeingonit, hopefullythisyear, but I'vegotthingsinthepipelineanyway. 

Last year obviously meant quite a lot to me because I was representing my baby, my restaurant. So it was wonderful. But that's fine. It's just part of life's rich tapestry. Things happen, things change, things move on. 

Howarethings, twoandahalfmonthsdowntheline after the restaurant closing?

It's obviously been very hard, emotionally and hard on people around me that love me and who I love. It's been very difficult, but we're back on the way up now down and contemplating the next steps and moving on and moving forward and seeing what happens.

Are you thinking of relaunching something of your own?

Ican'treallydiscussanythingjustyet, butthere arethingshappeningbelowthesurface, I'mhopingthatinthenextcoupleofweeksI'llhavesomethingscementedandputinplaceandIcanstarttosharethenews. Andyou'llbethefirstguystohearaboutit.