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Great British Menu 2012


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Potentially one of the best weeks viewing coming up. Nathan Outlaw, Simon Hulstone and Paul Ainsworth go head to head.

Wonder who will win the fish course? With the produce available to them, be interesting to see what they use and their take on the brief.

Tom Kerridge is judging.

"So many places, so little time"

http://londoncalling...blogspot.co.uk/

@d_goodfellow1

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I thought Tom Herridge was on the money with Simon Hulstone's dish. It looked nice but it really was just a lot of random bits on a tray without any focus or purpose. And that snail looked quite juvenile, the sort of thing you might get made out of marzipan on a kiddies birthday cake at Tesco.

Edited by KaffirLime (log)
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We've missed most of this, having been in the States for 3 weeks, but have enjoyed the last couple of nights. Although the "you havnt changed your crap food so you can't cook it again" set is just another bit of fecking irritating fake tension arse.

John Hartley

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this week has been fun. It must take some courage to put yourself up for the (public) criticism from the judges - not something a Michelin-star chef gets too much of, I would imagine. To get a 3/10....

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Yep, some big egos have taken a battering on this weeks show. Now of course with that "can't cook your not good enough dish" Just how frustrating and humiliating must that have been for them?

Still the rewards are amazing, bookings must be sky high in some places.

Really glad now that we trecked over to Cambridge to eat Daniel Clifford's GBM dishes especially that 10 10 10 10 chicken dish. Stunning score

"So many places, so little time"

http://londoncalling...blogspot.co.uk/

@d_goodfellow1

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Probably a naive question...but is that the real motivation behind appearing on GBM? If so, I do wonder what the likes of Phil Howard and Simon Rogan standd to gain from appearing on the show. The Square and L'Enclume presumably are not lacking custom...

And conversely, is there price to pay if you do not come across well...

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You say that but I went to L'Enclume for a sunny Friday lunch a couple of weeks ago. The monthly Cartmel farmers market was on and the village was busy. But there were only two other tables (a 4 top and a single) besides me and missus. I was surprised it was so quiet, didn't affect the quality of the food though, it was stunning

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The Square and L'Enclume presumably are not lacking custom...

But, presumably, will always welcome more. Both times I've been to L'Enclume it's been doing good business, but not full.

John Hartley

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If I can say this without getting banned from the forum, If Phil Howard is appearing on GBM to drum up more business for The Square he should concentrate as a matter of urgency on being more personable and less up his own ar*e

Edited by KaffirLime (log)
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Totally called that menu wrong. If it were me I would have had Murchison's duck and pineapple, Simon's Lobster, Daniels Chicken and Stephen's bronze, silver or gold which would have put together a menu of beautiful full flavoured and slightly luxurious ingredients with impeccable presentation across the board. The winning combination of quail. mackeral, chicken and pearsjust doesn't float my boat so I guess it's a good job I've mislaid my invitation to the banquet :laugh:

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Have to say, I think Phil Howard has come across incredibly well on the show. I've never eaten at his restaurant and never met him, but for some reason I thought he'd be a tosser (perhaps because he reminds me so much of Hank Azaria's character in Run, Fatboy, Run). I'd certainly like to eat his grub now.

Oh, and while I'm disagreeing with you, KaffirLime, I thought they picked exactly the right menu in the end. It's certainly the one I'd most like to eat.

I somehow doubt Alan Murchison will be returning next year...

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Totally called that menu wrong. If it were me I would have had Murchison's duck and pineapple, Simon's Lobster, Daniels Chicken and Stephen's bronze, silver or gold which would have put together a menu of beautiful full flavoured and slightly luxurious ingredients with impeccable presentation across the board. The winning combination of quail. mackeral, chicken and pearsjust doesn't float my boat so I guess it's a good job I've mislaid my invitation to the banquet :laugh:

It would definitely have been a bit more colourful - the winning menu did seem a bit beige!

I love animals.

They are delicious.

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In the spirit of GBM, some tongue-in-cheek judging scores

Overall

  • Heats 5/10 - some downright boring weeks. Need to re-think the regional concept if it does not result in an even distribution of talent. Availability of a PVR is crucial to surviving this period
  • Finals 8/10 - some really interesting television and cooking

Judging 6/10

  • Do not agree with choice of two of the guest judges : I like Angela (or her TV persona), but can she judge 2* chefs. I dislike Richard Corrigan (or his TV persona), but can he judge 2* chefs.
  • All-round tedious emphasis on whizzbangery

Chefs

  1. Simon Rogan 9/10 Consistently interesting food - if Cartmel were nearer to Hampshire I would go now
  2. Phil Howard 8/10 Made me want to taste the food and seems to have had his awareness of new techniques enhanced. The Square is on my list
  3. Daniel Clifford 7/10 For the food, but also being desperate to win for his (5!) kids. Awwww
  4. Nathan Outlaw 7/10 Wrong edition of GBM for him, but seemed cosnsistenly good. Kudos for sticking by his cooking.
  5. Colin McGurran 6/10 Promising chef clearly, but style is not to my taste. A large mossy log on which is perched a quail leg/breast?
  6. Steven Terry 6/10 Mismatch between brief and his style - the Olympic rings seemed a particularly tacky concept. But will definitely try the Hardwick next time I am near Abergavenny.
  7. Alan Murchison 5/10 As per my experience (a few years ago now) at L'Ortolan, technique over taste in the main
  8. Chris Fearon 4/10 Good effort, but again wrong series of GBM for him.

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  1. Steven Terry 6/10 Mismatch between brief and his style - the Olympic rings seemed a particularly tacky concept.

The rings were very much in his style. If you look at the Hardwick's menu, there are a number of dishes that are "lots of ways with protein"

John Hartley

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Most Excellent! the best Cooking/Food show bar none! Pls keep us informed from your 'source'

should you get the urge, as you seem to know a few GBM' chefs, Id love to know the brands of the ovens, the cook-top, etc used on the show. It would make an interesting side-show for probably just me: The Great British Kitchen: equipment etc

Ive figured out a few like their combi-0ven, etc.

many thanks!

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