Great British Menu 2012 – Finals Week – Main Course
Great British Menu 2012 [ about the series ]
Scotland : Central : North East : N. Ireland : North West : South East : Wales : South West
The Final Week :: Starter : Fish Course : Mains : Dessert
The judges picked Alan and Chris as at risk for not cooking their main courses today.
Todays guest judge was Tom Kerridge.
Alan Murchison (Scotland) – Saddle of lamb, basil, goats cheese and tomato.
Alan changed his dish today after feedback received in the heats. However the judges didn’t feel it was a well executed dish, that it was fancy looking food that didn’t live up to expectation.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 3 – Prue Leith: 6 – Oliver Peyton: 5 – Tom Kerridge: 6
Total: 20
Daniel Clifford (Central) – Slow poached chicken, sweet corn, wilted spinach with bacon and peas, chicken juices.
There were just a couple of changes to this dish from the heats; the popcorn was flavoured with truffle and he added in some wilted spinach, pea and brined leg. The opinion was unanimous, it was beautiful to look at and would blow away banquet attendees.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 10 – Prue Leith: 10 – Oliver Peyton: 10 – Tom Kerridge: 10
Total: 40
Colin McGurran (North East) – Hay smoked pigs head served with mock apple and textures of onion.
Oliver felt there was a lot more clarity to the dish than in the heats and Prue agreed. Tom thought there were fantastic flavours especially with the pork being hot and cold. Matthew thought it was a sensational main dish, but questions were raised whether the portion size was appropriate for a banquet.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 9 – Prue Leith: 9 – Oliver Peyton: 8 – Tom Kerridge: 8
Total:34
Simon Rogan (North West) – Suckling pig with Northern Mead, vintage vegetables and beetroot.
Simon changed some of his vegetables to be artichoke dumplings made from Kudzu (Japanese starch). The judges thought the plate of food was very enticing and enjoyed the peppery hit from nasturtium. Although they were divided on the artichokes being there.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 8 – Prue Leith: 8 – Oliver Peyton: 9 – Tom Kerridge: 9
Total:34
Phil Howard (South East) – Roast lamb with pie and mash, carrots, nettles and mint.
Phil used a different cut of lamb (saddle rather than loin) and added a herb crust, making it a very similar dish to Alan’s. The judges thought the dish looked stunning but they weren’t keen on the mash and Matthew found gristle in his lamb.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 7 – Prue Leith: 7 – Oliver Peyton: 8 – Tom Kerridge: 7
Total: 29
Stephen Terry (Wales) – Bunny Pentathlon.
Stephen refined his dish and swapped his jelly moulds to be bunny shaped. The judges didn’t feel that all the elements on the plate linked together and Prue felt there was a definite lack of vegetables on the plate.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 7 – Prue Leith: 6 – Oliver Peyton: 6 – Tom Kerridge: 6
Total: 25
Nathan Outlaw (South West) – Duck, barbeque monkfish, rosemary, samphire and asparagus.
There was a little apprehension with Nathans dish – albeit unfounded when the plate of food was presented. The barbecue sauce pulled the entire dish together, it was simple and focused and the flavours married well together.
Scores: Matthew Fort: 9 – Prue Leith: 9 – Oliver Peyton: 9 – Tom Kerridge: 9
Total: 36
Chris Fearon was unable to make changes to his main course as he’d changed his fish course yesterday so he was asked not to cook today. There were 2 chefs tying for third place, so four chefs have gone through to the final selection; Simon Rogan, Colin McGurran, Nathan Outlaw and Daniel Clifford.
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Comment by Christine
Left at 18:19 on 7/06/2012It doesn’t look like the guests at this so-called Olympic banquet are going to get a good dessert! I know…I’ll suggest getting a rhubarb pie from Asda, with
ready-made custard and taking it along with them! I highly recommend it! Overall, very disappointing watch for me this year as most of the Chefs seemed to have struggled with the brief and producing absolutely ground-breaking food. I think the show has gone past its sell-by date.