1. Great British Menu 2012 - Preview of Finals

    For the last eight weeks in the seventh series of The Great British Menu we’ve watched twenty four of Great Britain’s finest chefs battle it out. Now eight chefs including four chefs from Great British Chefs site are hoping they’ll be repesenting their region to serve at an Olympic banquet at the end of the week. This week (starting 4th June 2012) we will finally get to see who will go through to cook at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich.


    Daniel Clifford’s Raspberry and tarragon, cookie dough and tarragon oil from BBC’s Great British Menu

    Here’s a round up of the chefs in the final.  Nathan Outlaw who won the South West round. Joing Alan Murchison who won the Scottish round,  Daniel Clifford who won the Central round, Colin McCurran who won the North East round, Chris Fearon who won the Northern Ireland round, Simon Rogan who won the North West round, Phil Howard who won the London & South East round and Stephen Terry who won the Wales round.

    Hog’s pudding with seaweed, potato terrine & mushroom ketchup by Nathan Outlaw from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    In Monday’s show the finalists prepare their starters, to be tasted and scored by the Great British Menu judges and veteran judge Richard Corrigan.

    On Tuesday, the remaining finalists cook their fish dishes, which will be tasted and scored by the Great British Menu judges and veteran judge Marcus Wareing. 


    Lobster with pickled beetroot and sweet apple by Simon Rogan - from BBC’s Great British Menu

    On Wednesday, the chosen finalists will prepare their main courses, with veteran judge Tom Kerridge tasting and scoring alongside the other Great British Menu judges 


    Daniel Clifford’s slow poached chicken, sweetcorn egg and chicken spray from BBC’s Great British Menu

    On Thursday it’s the final chance to impress the judges with desserts. The Great British Menu judges will be joined by veteran judge Angela Hartnett.


    Alan Murchison’s Going for Gold Dessert

    On Friday, the four winners will have been announced and the final show follows the successful chefs in the run-up to the banquet.  You’ll see their painstaking preparations for what is likely to be one of the most important meals they will ever cook.

    You can see the full line up of chefs and judges for the Great British Menu 2012 here.  Plus don’t forget our special Great British Menu Recipe Collection. The definitive collection of recipes for Great British Menu fans, featuring old favourites like Nigel Haworth’s Lancashire hotpot, Lisa Allen’s rabbit turnover and Paul Ainsworth’s Taste of the Fairground, as well as newer classics from Great British Menu 2012 like Daniel Clifford’s stuffed red mullet dish and Alan Murchison’s veal sweetbreads 

    All this week Great British Menu will be on BBC2 at 7pm. We wish all competing chefs the best of luck in the run up to the banquet.

  2. Great British Menu 2012 - South West Heat Finals

    Friday 1st June 2012 saw the end of possibly one of the best weeks of Great British Menu. In the South West round all three competitors Simon Hulstone, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw showed British cooking at its best.  However, only one chef could go through.  Great British Chefs blogger Monica Shaw was on hand to see who that would be. 

    Blog post by Monica Shaw

    Is it just me or was the South West week one of the best weeks of Great British Menu? The three competitors - Simon Hulstone, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw - represented a phenomenal trio of chefs, all with strong personalities and incredible skill. But each chef is decidedly different and it was impossible to predict whose style would make its way to the judge’s chamber. And with all three chefs being part of the Great British Chefs website, we couldn’t help but cheer them all on.

    Simon Hulstone’s dessert from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    But come Thursday night, judge Tom Kerridge had spoken, and competitive newcomer Simon Hulstone (despite an amazing dessert) took a bow, leaving Paul and Nathan to battle it out under the careful judging of Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton.

    There was no confusing whose dish was whose, with Nathan standing out for his classic dishes made with local ingredients, whereas Paul used specially commissioned serving platters to create theatre and playful presentations.

     

    Hog’s pudding with seaweed, potato terrine & mushroom ketchup by Nathan Outlaw from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    Nathan was first up with his starter of hog’s pudding with seaweed, potato terrine and mushroom ketchup: his take on a hearty Olympic breakfast. All of the judges were quick to criticise its appearance: “it’s a bit beige,” said Matthew. But the flavour combination was a “beautiful piece of thinking” according to Oliver. Prue agreed: “Composition is perfect…it just looks awful.”

     

    Breakfast of Champions by Paul Ainsworth from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    Paul’s ‘Breakfast of Champions’ brought more breakfast fare, this time pork belly with hash browns and an innovative black pudding pan au chocolat. “The high point is the bacon…cured to perfection,” said Oliver. Prue praised the poached egg with potato crust: “this is just wonderful.” But Matthew was unconvinced by the serving of breakfast as an Olympic starter: “I want them not to have breakfast; I want them to have something they’ve never eaten before.”

     

    Mackerel and mackerel belly roll with oyster, horseradish & cucumber sauce by Nathan Outlaw from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    Moving on to the fish course, Nathan - a two Michelin starred seafood chef - was feeling pretty confident with his mackerel and mackerel belly roll served with an oyster, horseradish and cucumber sauce, which scored a 9 during the heats. The judges weren’t convinced. Oliver called it “poncified fish” with “no personality”: “I’m looking for rock n’ roll”. Matthew Fort agreed that the “mackerel needs a more powerful hit to stand up to the sauce.”

    Monkfish, Two Showings by Paul Ainsworth from BBC2’s Great British Menu 

    Paul’s Monkfish ‘Two Showings’ seemed to fair better, with all of the judges enjoying his nose-to-tail monkfish served on an inventive two-tiered Colosseum-shaped platter. All of the judges enjoyed the top tier: “the curry deep fried monkfish is quite amazing,” said Oliver. But the second tier - monkfish liver on toast - ended things on a bitter note, with Prue visibly cringing at the taste: “too powerful for me.”

     

    Wishful Chicken by Paul Ainsworth from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    For the main course, it was Paul’s turn to feel confident - his ‘Wishful Chicken’ chicken kiev scored a perfect 10 during the heats. And here the judges mostly agreed, with Oliver calling it a “triumph”. But there was some debate over whether the elements worked together, with Matthew once again criticising its “beigeness”.

     

    Duck, barbecue monkfish, rosemary, samphire and asparagus by Nathan Outlaw from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    It was left to Nathan’s modern day surf n’ turf of duck, barbecue monkfish, rosemary, samphire and asparagus to steal the show. And steal it did. All of the chefs loved the barbecue sauce, but it was the whole combination that made this outstanding. “We’ve never had meat and fish together and I love the way the various elements are knitted,” said Matthew, “when they come together they make something even better and that’s where the true genius lies.” Prue agreed: this was “gold medal winning stuff.”

     

    Elderflower and lemon tart, strawberry sorbet and meringues by Nathan Outlaw from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    If Nathan’s main was a win, his pudding was surely a letdown, with all of the judges lambasting his elderflower and lemon tart, strawberry sorbet and meringues. “It’s not a good sorbet,” said Oliver. “The base is very undercooked,” said Prue of the tart: “this is clearly a chef who’s a great chef, but doesn’t think pudding is important - it’s not up to scratch.”

     

    “Then & Now” by Paul Ainsworth from BBC2’s Great British Menu

    Following that, the judges must have been thoroughly pleased to end on Paul’s ‘Then & Now’, a pudding of pistachio and olive oil sponge with chocolate disk and gold caramel sauce. “This chocolate disc is completely orgasmic,” said Matthew. “If I just won a gold medal and had a choice between the medal and this chocolate pudding, I’d choose the pudding - it’s Nirvana,” said Oliver.

    And so, it was judgment time. Earlier in the episode, Oliver Peyton said, “I want the chefs to demonstrate to the world the greatness of Britain.” And so despite Paul’s “dazzling” menu, it was Nathan who won on “pure gastronomy”, an apt reminder that Great British Menu is about showcasing British food, which Nathan certainly does with his use of local Southwest ingredients cooked simply but to perfection.

     

    Well done Nathan Outlaw for winning the South West heat! And well done Paul Ainsworth and Simon Hulstone who put up some pretty heavy competition. It was a fantastic week.

    If you’re in the UK you can watch this episode on BBC’s iPlayer for the next few days.

    The heats are over, and next week, it’s the finals!  Nathan Outlaw will join Alan Murchison who won the Scottish round,  Daniel Clifford who won the Central round, Colin McCurran who won the North East round, Chris Fearon who won the Northern Ireland round, Simon Rogan who won the North West round, Phil Howard who won the London & South East round and Stephen Terry who won the Wales round. You can see the full line up of chefs and judges for the Great British Menu 2012 here.

    Blog post & photography by Monica Shaw

    What did you think of the results of the Southwest finals?  

  3. Great British Menu 2012 - South West Heat Preview

    Week Eight of the seventh series of The Great British Menu and the last of the regional heats ends with the South West. Over these eight weeks, twenty four of Great Britain’s finest chefs including many chefs from Great British Chefs site are competing in regional heats for the opportunity to create a four course menu at an Olympic banquet, hosted by sporting legend Sir Steve Redgrave with a guest list of British sporting greats.  This week (starting 28th May 2012) chefs from the South West will be competing to create the final banquet.

    At Great British Chefs we’ll be cheering on all three competitors Simon Hulstone, Paul Ainsworth and Nathan Outlaw - who can all be found on our site.  Tom Kerridge  pictured above will be judging their efforts this week. 

    Paul Ainsworth is a frequent competitor on Great British Menu, wowing the judges with his Taste of the Fairground dessert in the final banquet in 2011.  His Toffee Apple and Marshmallow Kebabs were part of his fairground themed menu

    Toffee Apple and Marshmallow Kebabs by Paul Ainsworth

    Southampton-born Paul got his break courtesy of Gary Rhodes. After spending three years at Rhodes in the Square, Ainsworth moved to Gordon Ramsay’s organisation, working first at his flagship Royal Hospital Road restaurant and then with Marcus Wareing at Petrus.

    In 2006, the opportunity to open a restaurant with two friends brought Ainsworth to the West Country. Here they opened Number 6, set in a Georgian town house in the Cornish fishing village of Padstow.

    After three years emulating his culinary mentors, Ainsworth put his name above the door and re-thought his approach. Now Paul Ainsworth at Number 6 restaurant serves simpler, more affordable food – appealing to both tourists and locals, and achieving two AA rosettes.

    Boiled Egg and Soldiers by Nathan Outlaw

    Nathan Outlaw began his career at his father’s restaurant in Kent, perfecting his culinary technique at Thanet College. Following a decade of work with the likes of Peter Kromburg, Rick Stein, Paul Ripley and John Campbell, Outlaw opened Restaurant Nathan Outlaw at the St Enodoc in 2007 and the Nathan Outlaw Seafood and Grill in 2009.

    Since then, he’s garnered two stars from the critics at Michelin, and his eponymous eatery has been named Best Fish Restaurant and one of the UK’s top 10 restaurants by the Good Food Guide. Nathan has appeared on the Good Food Channel’s Market Kitchen, as well as the BBC’s Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu. 

    Tea and Cake by Nathan Outlaw

    His food can be very playful as witnessed by his tea and cake recipe and his Boiled Egg and Soldier recipe which both featured in Great British Menu in 2009. 

    Finally and with is first time to the show will be be Simon Hulstone. The son of a chef, Simon was a Roux Scholar, Knorr National Chef of the Year and World Junior Chef by the time he was 30. After working in kitchens like Cotswold House, Cheltenham’s Bacchanalian and the Bailiffscourt Hotel, he moved to Devon to head up the Elephant, having already attracted the Michelin panel’s attention.

    Mackerel pate and cucumber pickle by Simon Hulstone

    Simon was selected to redesign the menu for BA First Class in 2012 and was the star of its pop up venue in East London.  Like Nathan he has also contributed recipes to both of the Great British Chefs apps.

    On Monday’s episode,  Paul, Simon & Nathan will be presenting their starters.  On Tuesday, they move onto a fish course, on Wednesday main course and on Thursday it’s the turn of desserts.  For each of those days they will have to impress veteran judge Tom Kerridge before going through to Friday’s final.

    On Friday the two chefs who receive the most points from Tom for the week will cook their dishes again for restaurateur and cookery writer, Prue Leith, fellow restaurateur and businessman, Oliver Peyton, and food journalist and author, Matthew Fort.  Matthew is Great British Chefs strategic advisor who also blogs for us and writes the introductions for a number of our ingredient collections.  The winner will go into the finals (joining Alan Murchison who won the Scottish round,  Daniel Clifford who won the Central round, Colin McCurran who won the North East round, Chris Fearon who won the Northern Ireland round, Simon Rogan who won the North West round, Phil Howard who won the London & South East round and Stephen Terry who won the Wales round).

    You can see the full line up of chefs and judges for the Great British Menu 2012 here. Also catch up on last week’s Wales Heat Final Great British Menu judging on our blog.  This week Great British Menu will be on BBC2 at its regular time of 7.30pm.

  4. A Visit to the Hand & Flowers by Matthew Fort

    With series seven of The Great British Menu underway, at Great British Chefs we’re delighted that a number of our chefs are competing or are veteran judges of the show. Matthew Fort one of the overall judges & our strategic advisor, was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of Tom Kerridge’s new menu at The Hand & Flowers as he gets it ready for public unveiling.  Let’s see what he thought 
    Strawberries & Cream by Tom Kerridge - as prepared for Great British Menu
     
    It’s 4 pm. Tom Kerridge is in his kitchen, carefully trimming a fillet of venison. The deep purple of the meat glistens on the chopping board. Around him, the Hand & Flowers kitchen team are just about winding down after another full lunch session.
     
    Good cheer shines out of Tom Kerridge’s face as naturally as light from the sun. Even the beetling of his brow when one of the commis chefs drops a pan with a deafening clang passes like a brief shadow.  But beneath the bonhomie and cheer, is a chap who takes the business of cooking very seriously indeed. He has taken the principles of pub food and elevated them to a level of polish and brilliance, and won two Michelin stars, not to mention a cluster of awards and glowing reviews by the bushel, not to mention putting in starring turns in two series of the Great British Menu.

     
    ‘That isn’t easy in a pub with a small kitchen,’ said Tom. ‘You’ve got to keep the standards up there, and you’ve got to keep pushing on at the same time.’ To keep standards up there and to keep pushing, he’s about to extend his kitchen, and that doesn’t come cheap. ‘As fast as the money comes in, it goes out,’ he says philosophically.
     
    Not everyone understands the Hand & Flowers. Getting two Michelin stars suggests a certain kind of fine dining experience to some people, and are disappointed when they come to a pub, with its hugger-mugger tables at which people actually talk to each other and visibly have a good time. The Hand & Flowers is not a place of silent gastronomic worship.  It’s a place for pleasure.

     

    Still, there are enough people who do get it, who are only too happy to settle down in the informal surroundings to dishes that combine great, rollicking, muscular flavours with touches of extraordinary delicacy, almost daintiness, little dashes of acidity or herbal freshness that bring lightness and vividness to his dishes – a leaf or two of  floppy lettuce  with venison with ox tongue; salsa verde with Essex ‘Bun’ with sweetbread; a lovely sweet single large carrot to with red wine shin of beef served in half a marrow bone.
     
    There are a couple of other dishes, too, which are almost ready for public unveiling, an elegant but sumptuous version of choucroute Alsacienne, with pork fillet pigs’ cheek and frankfurter glazed with a sauce of shimmering amber and a leaf or two of emerald-green pickled cabbage ; and a brilliantly stylish and witty take on turf ‘n’ surf, combining beef consommé and lobster with little cubes of pickled apple or kohl rabi to give each mouthful a nip of sharpness.
     
    Tom Kerridge beams again, and bends to his trimming. He is, he says, happy with the way things are going, but he has to keep pushing on.

    Catch up with previews and reviews of Great British Menu 2012 on our site.  Tom will be the veteran judge for week 8, the south west region.

    What’s your favourite pub for dining?  We’re discussing this over on Great British Chefs Facebook page 

  5. How would you react if you won a Michelin Star?

    As many of you know, the new Michelin stars for 2012 were announced last week. We were delighted to see one of the new chefs on our site, Tom Kerridge, become the first chef in the country to ever get 2 Stars for a pub.  Michelin were there when Tom, Sat Bains and James Winter received the letter announcing the awards. Their three very different reactions are all a joy to see!

    How do you think you may have reacted: tears, shock, hugs or a big cheer?

  6. Tom Kerridge’s Hand & Flowers becomes first 2 Star Michelin Pub in Great Britain

    Tom Kerridge who is one of the brand new chefs on Great British Chefs website, is Head Chef at the Hand & Flowers in Marlow, Bucks and has just been named the first two-Michelin-starred pub in the country.

    Tom first won a Michelin star in 2003 at Adlards in Norwich but left the restaurant after 18 months to launch the Hand & Flowers together with his wife, Beth, in February 2005. The pub picked up a Michelin star in 2006 and has since opened four guest rooms on site.

    Kerridge’s happy marriage of robust cuisine and convivial pub atmosphere has become something of a model among the new breed of Michelin-hopeful gastropubs, something that will no doubt intensify following the second star.

    Tom is absolutely over the moon with the result. “It’s amazing,” he said to Caterer and Hotelkeeper. “The fact that we’re a pub with two stars is just incredible.

    “The fact that Michelin is awarding two stars to a pub means they are embracing British culture - it’s the same as a two-star tapas bar in Spain. My cooking may be French but we use British ingredients, we are a British pub and serve ales and we have fish and chips on the menu at lunchtime – the only two-Michelin-starred fish and chips in the world!”

    Kerridge added “It has been a journey, a slow process and we have progressively improved. I am so proud of my staff. All of them bar me and my pastry chef are under 30 so this is a really amazing achievement.”

    We’d like to extend our congratulations to Tom and his hard working team who have worked for seven years to elevate comfort & pub food to new heights.

    Discover recipes from The Hand and Flowers such as, Slow-cooked Duck with Duck Fat Chips and Gravy, on his page on Great British Chefs website.

  7. Food Festivals this weekend 10th -11th September 2011

    September heralds the end of summer and the beginning of Autumn and there’s plenty of food festivals running across the England this weekend to help you celebrate the new season.


    Harvest at Jimmy’s comes to Jimmy’s Farm in Suffolk on September 9th-12th.  Jimmy Doherty the celebrity TV farmer is putting on a unique mix of music festival (including camping) with an impressive food festival running alongside.  At both festivals, you’ll be able to feast your ears as well as your belly.

    The line up of Celebrity Chefs includes household names such as James Martin and Mary Berry, our very own Michelin starred Nuno Mendes, Tom Kerridge, Paul a Young (who wowed everyone at our Great British Chefs Food Crawl), Alex James (remember the furore over his cheese for Asda), Yotam Ottelenghi (Issac made one of his gorgeous dishes for team lunch earlier this week) and many more.  

    The bands are equally impressive and include The Kooks, Eliza Doolittle, Turin Brakes, The Divine Comedy and The Feeling. It’s the “perfect marriage of good food and great music”.  You can start pitching up your tent from the afternoon of 9th September and tickets can be purchased here.  Clearly the foodie highlight of the weekend.

    Photo by David Griffen, dish by Alan Murchison

    Elsewhere, The Ludlow Marches Food and Drink Festival will be on September 9th-11th.  This was Britain’s first successful food and drink festival, which started back in 1995 and it is still going strong.   Michelin starred chefs - Daniel Clifford from our app & Alan Murchison, soon to be on our website will be running cookery demonstrations on Saturday

    This town is known for its good food and drink. As well as food producers, Ludlow will be hosting numerous food related events throughout the town, such as Sausage Trail and the Festival Loft trails.  The various food events will be taking place inside and outside of Ludlow Castle.

    The Royal Leamington Spa Food and Drink Festival will be from September 10th -11th , with various events such as taste trials, food demonstrations from chef Rustie Lee and James Mcintosh and even a celebration of Mexican Independence day with Discovery Foods and go on a taste.


    Newquay, known for its beautiful coastline, will be given the opportunity to showcase its harbour, with a two day fish festival on September 9th-11th. Enjoy practical demonstrations from chefs and try fresh local fish from the harbour.  

    In London, as part of the Thames Festival, on September 10th-11th, you can experience a two day Korean Food experience- Korea Calling. There will be Korean food tasting, chef demonstrations, Taekwondo, juggling and many more Korean inspired events.

    Brixton is hosting a mini event for the local community on September 10th. Make it Grow It Sell It, is a community market, promoting the talents of people who grow their own produce or make and design their own products.  You can meet the producers, taste their food and even buy some plants for your garden. The Brixton pound can also be used on the day!

    The Oyster, known as the foodie aphrodisiac- is having its very own festival of dedication on September 9th-11th in Woburn. At the Woburn Oyster Festival expect to learn oyster recipes and unique ways of using them in your dishes at home. The festival also boasts a giant flea market and a children’s funfair to keep the whole family entertained.

    The St Fagans Food Festival will take place in Wales on September 10th-11th. Taste Welshcakes, pork sausages made with meat from animals reared at the Museum and some of the finest Welsh food from local producers. There will also be various food from around the world I’m sure you will find something to enjoy. A small festival, but with lots of bite!

    Finally, renowned food blogger MsMarmiteLover will have a pop up Underground Restaurant at the Bestival Festival on the Isle of Wight (tickets to Bestival are now sold out, so this is only for people who already have tickets).  While you’re trying to  walk in your Rockstar costume you may want to change costume and head down to her restaurant. The menu caters for those with specific dietary needs as well. On September 10th, there will be a Midnight Feast, where you will be encouraged to wear pyjamas, nighties, slippers, dressing gowns and don’t forget your teddy and your water bottle. The menu is not yet known. Sounds exciting! So if you’re lucky enough to have Bestival tickets already, book your table here, tickets selling fast! 

    Let us know if you visit any of these festivals, we would love to see some pictures. Also we’re bound to have missed some special food festivals taking place in Great Britain this weekend (not weekly food markets, there are hundreds of those every week), so please let us know in the comments. Enjoy!

    Blog post by Monique from Great British Chefs