Great British Menu 2021 chefs: Dan McGeorge, North West heat

Dan McGeorge of the 3 aa Rosette restaurant at Rothay Manor hotel in ambleside is one of four chefs competing for the North West on Great British Menu 2021.

Series 16 of the competition starts on Wednesday 24th March on BBC Two at 8pm, The North West heat will be on Wednesday 5th May, Thursday 6th May and Friday 7th May. All episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

The competition pitted Dan against Kirk Haworth, Dave Critchley and Ashwani Rangta. Ashwani scored lower than his rivals for his starter and fish course and was thus sent home after the first day of the North West heat.

Dave was next to go after the second day, leaving Dan and Kirk to cook their whole menu for the judge's chamber on Friday.

Kirk fell short of getting enough points to see him through, meaning Dan went through to represent the North West in the national finals on on Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th, Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th May.

The banquet will air on  Friday 21st May, for which Dan was selected to serve his 'Give a dog a bone' dessert.

Biography

Dan had set out to become a lawyer when he decided to change route and signed up to study hospitality and catering at Liverpool Community College.

As well as working with top names in the industry including celebrity chef Simon Rimmer, Michelin-starred chef of Bath Priory Hotel Sam Moody and Ben Mounsey at Cloak Dining in the Wirral, Dan was a National Chef of the Year semi-finalist in 2019 and in 2020.

After being awarded a third AA Rosette in 2019, Rothay Manor was listed in the Michelin Guide 2021 with a Michelin Plate.

Dishes

Starter

Dan's starter, 'Doctor's Orders,' was dedicated to Lucy Cradock, Liverpool's first practicing doctor in the early 20th century. For his take on a lamb scouse stew, he brined a Herdwick lamb loin in black garlic and thyme, pan-fried it and coated in cep powder. He served it with variegated kale crisps, pickled red cabbage foam, baby carrots cooked in lamb fat, caramelised Roscoff onions and confit potatoes. 

Veteran judge Tom Aikens gave the dish a score of 6/10.

Fish course

The chef dedicated his fish dish to 19th century inventor George Garrett, who created some of the first one-man submarine prototypes. 

Monkfish was served with dashi and an XO glaze with braised kohlrabi disks, pickled kohlrabi noodles, pickled dulse, cockles, coriander oil and cress. 

Tom gave it 7/10 points.

Main course

Dan's main course, 'The amazing adventures of Isabella Bird' drew inspiration from the famous 19th century explorer, tracking her travels across the far east with a six-component dish: Korean-fried sweetbreads, char-siu Iberico pork, soy quail eggs, stir-fried lotus fried and carrot, stir-fried morning glory and tempura spring onions. Tom gave it a 7/10 score. 

Dessert

A tribute to the pioneering Guide Dog Association behind the world's first guide dog school, the chef created his 'Give a dog a bone' dish by encasing a chocolate mousse with a miso caramel centre and serving it with miso honeycomb, salted caramel ice cream and yuzu gel. It received 8/10 points from veteran judge Tom Aikens.

Full name

Daniel McGeorge

Nickname 

Dan

Age/DOB

30, born 02/11/1990

Place of birth / residence

From Liverpool, live in Cumbria

Relationship status / children

In a relationship and have a newborn daughter.

Height

Let's just say I'm short.

Type of chef (restaurant, hotel, development chef, etc.)

I'm the head chef at Rothay Manor hotel

Favourite type of cuisine

My favourite cuisine has to be Japanese.

Path to becoming a chef

I became a chef through going to college after dropping out of a law degree. Best thing I ever did.

Past and present place of work

I've worked at the Lawns restaurant in the Wirral, The Bath Priory and a few other places along the way. Currently I work at Rothay Manor Hotel in Ambleside.

Personal and professional mentors / role models 

One of the main ones has to be my previous head chef and friend Ben Mounsey, he helped me to push myself to be better everyday.

Guilty pleasure dish

I am partial to a donner kebab, even if they can be a little dirty.

Best / worst thing about being a chef

The best thing has to be being free to be creative and allowing yourself to create what you want. The worst thing has to be never being able to switch off, for me its more than a job its a passion and that can sometimes be overwhelming to other people.

FeeEings  stepping onto the GBM set

It was amazing, and a little different to what you would expect - in a good way!

Thoughts about the 'British Innovation' theme this year

At first the theme was really challenging as there was not always a clear link to food. However once I got stuck into it, it was really fascinating.

Plans for the future

I'm always planning for the future, whether that be new menus or pushing myself further out of my comfort zone. Who knows what might be next.