Meet the Great British Menu 2017 chefs from Wales: Paul Croasdale
This year Paul Croasdale takes on Nick Brodie, and Phil Carmichael in a bid to make it through to the Great British Menu 2017 banquet which celebrates 140 years of Wimbledon. This year’s brief is to create dishes that capture ‘a taste of summer’ paying tribute to the history and prestige of the Wimbledon Championships.
Paul Croasdale
Starting out in Abersoch, North Wales, Paul moved on to head many prestigious restaurants, including Jason Atherton’s Berners Tavern, holding two rosettes in the AA Restaurant Guide, and Michelin starred Texture and Ynyshir Hall. Today, Paul is head chef at Michelin starredAlyn Williams at the Westbury. His first time on the Great British Menu is not without complications and he’s telling us why.
I was in the process of opening Hurley House Hotel, and I thought it would be great timing for the opening. Unfortunately, I then left before it opened because what we were doing had changed but it was still a great opportunity so I was determined to do it!
How tough was it to come up with dishes which fit the brief: a taste of summer, Wimbledon?
Coming up with ideas is part of being a chef so that part wasn’t difficult, but I’d left Hurley House and then spent some time in hospital, so the hardest thing wasn’t coming up with the dishes it was not having a kitchen to try my ideas out.
Did you feel under pressure to create theatrical dishes rather than well cooked dishes served simply on a plate?
It was always going to be theatrical, but it actually seemed as though they wanted more dishes served on plates rather than loads of props. It seemed more about the food which suited me. I used one prop and that’s about it.
Did you enjoy being pushed out of your comfort zone, and how difficult was it to cook in the GBM kitchen alongside other chefs?
Yeah, I enjoyed the challenge and obviously I was cooking against my old boss, Phil Carmichael which was brilliant! But again, I hadn’t been able to spend much time developing my dishes and I felt I was going into it a little bit blind. That really pushed me though, but it didn’t exactly help with the nerves! It was all just good fun to be honest, especially being back in the kitchen with Phil. It was good to see him again and to see him doing so well.
Best and worst part of being on GBM?
Again the only bad point for me was that I hadn’t been able to refine my dishes, so I was worried about looking daft. The best art was probably my veteran judge, having a Michelin star chef judge my food was brilliant.
If you were scoring your dishes would you agree with what your judge said or not? If not why not?
No, definitely not. I would have scored myself much lower than he did. I’d have given my starter a five, and my dessert a two. He was far more complimentary than I would have been. I’m really self-critical.
How nerve-wracking was it to cook for your peers?
To be honest, you don’t really have time to get nervous on the day and once the filming starts it goes pretty quickly. The week before was the nerve-wracking one with everything that had gone on in the run up. I had everything worked out in my head but you want to be able to try things out and make those initial mistakes or tweaks off camera! So that was the nervy bit. Once you’re there it goes so fast, you’re in and out of the kitchen, the filming’s done and it’s all over.
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
