On the Great British Menu this week, it was time for three esteemed chefs from the South West to do battle. I don’t know what they are putting in the water down there but this has to be the chummiest round I have ever seen. Third time lucky Josh Eggleton, second time round Jude Kereama and newcomer Chris Wheeler were practically falling over each other to help whenever they could. Which is not the done thing in cookery competitions. We want backstabbing, snidey comments and all out war on our telly box, thank you very much. Not this sort of bromance fest. Bloody hippies, I don’t know.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, judge and mentor for this week Lisa Allen brought her mate Simon Rogan to the party for a double whammy. What do they say about too many chefs? But Lisa can be forgiven for sneaking Simon in after closing time. She has a shellfish allergy, a tough draw for a Michelin-starred chef, so Mr Rogan was really just there in a capacity as a taster. Although he did also have plenty to say. Especially whenever Lisa piped up, in a haughty voice: ‘This Simon. Eat this for me.’ Which she didn’t but it would have been fun if she had ordered him about like that.
Starting with the starters (which is a good place to start) Josh kicked things off with his twist on Coronation chicken, a dish originally created for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation way back in 1953. His version was in the guise of a terrine, layered with lobster, as well as the ubiquitous chicken, along with a plethora of side components. This was accompanied by lobster oil, curried mayonnaise, poached apricots and membrillo (a type of thick jelly, as clumsily described by narrator Wendy). We also met some of his farmer mates, which was nice, but alas for the judges, his curry flavour was not quite coming through.