Great British Menu 2012 – South East, the chefs, dishes and results

This week sees three new chefs appearing the South East heat of Great British Menu. As usual, they’ll be  competing to cook for Oliver Peyton, Prue Leith and Matthew Fort on Friday’s show – but they’ll need to impress judge Jason Atherton first.

Graham Garrett

Chef Proprieter The West House, Biddenden

Graham began his cookery career comparatively late in life at the age of 31 after a He began his cooking career working for Nico Ladenis and Richard Corrigan before opening his own restaurant in Kent. The West House was awarded a Michelin star in 2004 and has retained it ever since.

This is Graham’s first year competing in Great British Menu.

Follow Graham Garrett on Twitter – @grahamgarrett

Marcus McGuinness

Head Chef – Hibiscus, Mayfair

Also competing for the first time is Marcus McGuinness. The head chef at Hibiscus joined in 2006 and cooked for a year in Ludlow before moving to Maddox Street when the restaurant relocated to London.

Marcus has previously worked at Le Champignon Sauvage and 5 North Street in Cheltenham, both of which hold Michelin stars.

The chef describes his cooking style as robust and gutsy.

(Not on twitter)

Phil Howard

Chef & Co-owner The Square, Mayfair

Phil Howard is competing in Great British Menu for the first time although he is not totally new to TV, having appeared on BBC Saturday Kitchen a number of times.

His Mayfair restaurant, The Square restaurant opened in 1991 and has held two Michelin stars since 1998.

Phil Howard also co-owns The Ledbury in Notting Hill which also holds two Michelin stars.

Follow The Square on twitter – @square_rest

Mentor & Guest Judge – Jason Atherton

Chef Patron at Pollen Street Social

Jason Atherton served two dishes at the end of series banquet in 2008. He has returned as a mentor each year since then. Jason’s restaurant Pollen Street Social was awarded a Michelin Star in 2012 having only opened in 2011. He previously worked for Gordon Ramsay Holdings at Maze restaurant.

Follow Jason Atherton on twitter – @jason_atherton

Starter

Grahams starter was ‘pickled rabbit, wild garlic quinoa and frozen rabbit liver parfait’. The chef rolled rabbit loins and pickled them before putting them into a water bath to cook. Phil and Marcus felt the dish had pushed Graham as a chef and thought the balance of flavours on the plate worked really well together. Jason thought it was a great dish and concerns he had about elements being over pickled were unfounded. However, he wasn’t sure it could be executed well for 100 people. [ Score: 7 ]

Marcus prepared an ‘iced lambs liver parfait, malt loaf, fingerling limes and rose geranium’ – a selection of radical flavour combinations. Marcus sliced the malt loaf on a meat slicer and then dehydrated it in the oven to create a crisp brioche. When Phil and Graham tried the dish they thought the flavours were unusual and they weren’t keen on them. Jason felt it was the most original dish of the three presented, he liked the strong parfait and the malt loaf but thought that the dish was let down by the size of the portion. [ Score: 8 ]

Chef Phil Howard served a ’spring salad with goats milk puree, pickled asparagus and quails eggs’. There were small gold medals within the salad and a cone of quails egg mayonnaise with asparagus. Graham and Marcus didn’t think the dish met the brief and questioned if it was too gimmicky. They did think the flavours were very nice though. Jason commented that every element of the dish was cooked to perfection but wasn’t sure if it stretched him as a chef. [ Score: 8 ]

Fish course

Graham prepared ‘octopus, blood orange, feta, cuttlefish ink tuile and black olive salt’. The octopus was cooked in a water bath – when he came to remove the bag, the bag split! Thankfully he had a spare! Both Marcus and Phil comment how everything on the plate went well together and the octopus was well cooked but that the dish itself was lacking in finesse. Jason commented that the colours were beautiful and the black salt was great – however it wasn’t a groundbreaking place of food. [ Score: 7 ]

Marcus’s ‘pollack, peas, coconut and elderflower’ was inspired by a Japanese broth. The chef foraged for some of his ingredients across west London near to his home. Graham and Phil thought Marcus’s food was immaculately cooked and that the fish stock was extraordinary. However they felt the dish might go cold quickly when being prepared for 100 people. Jason found the pollack to be cooked perfectly and thought the plate of food was modern and bold yet delicate. However, he felt there was too much elderflower in the stock. [ Score: 8 ]

Phils dish was ‘a tasting of Cornish mackerel with oysters, mussels, winkles and samphire’, there were four different cooking methods of a veloute, pate, tartare and jelly. The jelly was made using ‘elastic’ and then wrapped around the tartare. Both Graham and Marcus thought the dish looked stunning but they weren’t keen on the jelly. Jason thought the food was very pretty and that the entire plate of food elevated mackerel into something spectacular. [ Score: 9 ]

Main course

Grahams ’slow cooked marsh lamb, breast, rasher and spiced rissole’ pushed the chefs skills with many different elements to prepare. There was the lamb breast which was boned, spiced and salted and fried like bacon. The meat for the rissole was cooked in a pressure cooker, then breaded and fried with the bacon. Graham also create an intense lamb broth which was served in a teapot alongside the lamb in a Moroccan tagine. Both Phil and Marcus thought the broth smelt lovely, the meat was tender and the bacon tasted good. However, they felt it was lacking in vegetables with only samphire and purslane on the plate. Jason thought the same about the missing vegetables but thought the shoulder was cooked to perfection and he really liked the bacon. [ Score: 7 ]

Chef Marcus cooked ‘blade of beef in hay, tendons and beetroot’ by toasting the hay and then sealing it with the beef and cooking it in a water bath. There were three different types of beetroot on the plate alongside beetroot powder. When Graham and Phil tried the dish they thought it was a little chewy. The hay was prominent and did get stuck in their teeth! Overall they thought it was disappointing and didn’t meet their expectations. Jason Atherton found the presentation to be beautiful and loved the textures of the beetroot but found the meat chewy. [ Score: 7]

Phil Howard today prepared a ‘roast loin of lamb with pie and mash, carrots, nettles and mint’. For a twist on traditional mint sauce the chef prepared liquid filled spheres with a sweet and sour taste. However when he forgot that these were in the oven, they melted. The other chefs thought the lamb was cooked well, although would have preferred it more medium. They did question if it was ultimately too simple – it was just lamb and mint. When Jason tried the lamb he thought it was perfect and stunning to look at. The depth of flavours on the plate was super but obviously the jelly needs more work. [ Score: 7 ]

Dessert

‘Lemon Meringue’ with a difference was prepared by Graham. He made raspberry meringues without using the traditional egg whites. He dehydrated the meringues and used sodium citrate to neutralise the acid from the raspberry. He also prepared a hibiscus jelly and put meringue into his ice cream to provide texture. Both Marcus and Phil thought it was a lovely dessert although Phil thought the whole thing could have been more delicate. Jason thought it was the most technically accomplished dish that the chef had presented and that the lemon curd was divine. [ Score: 8 ]

Marcus prepared the unusual combination of ‘asparagus, goats curd and black olive’ with a lot of ribbing from the other chefs. He prepared an asparagus cream and cooked the olives two ways, once with sugar then dehydrated, and with sugar again to make a jam. When Phil and Graham tried the dessert they thought it met the brief for pushing boundaries, but it wasn’t something they wanted to eat. Jason commented that the chef pulled the dessert off well but that it looked messy on the plate. [ Score: 8 ]

Phils ‘rhubarb and custard soufflé’ was a simple dessert that required precision cooking. He prepared a rice pudding base and both a coarse compote and smooth jam with the rhubarb. The soufflés didn’t rise as much as expected raising questions from Marcus and Graham whether it was a dessert that could be prepared for 100 people. Jason thought it was a very polished dish and loved the rice pudding at the bottom. He did question if the judges would feel the chef stretched himself. [ Score: 8 ]

After tasting all the dishes, all three judges selected menu A. Menu A was prepared by Phil Howard, so he will go forward to the finals.

Comments

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  Comment by Jillyf

  Left at 20:10 on 17/05/2012
  

  Jason chickened out with his marks: giving the same for the last two courses, despite comments that implied he thought some were better than others- not as brave as Marcus last week

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  Comment by janet

  Left at 16:23 on 23/05/2012
  

  This is the first time that I have been so angry that I was ranting at the TV Graham’s food was far better than Marcus Mcguinness maybe not as inventive but far better to eat, I am sure that Olympian would not like the malt loaf – an acquired taste and as for the asparagus pudding. Jason was bowing to the 2 star’s and it appears that Angela may be going the same way