Great British Menu is nothing if not informative. Did you know that Wimbledon have employed a Harris Hawk named Rufus for the last fifteen years (replacing predecessor Hamish) for the sole purpose of scaring pigeons off the courts? Every week we’ve seen dishes inspired by Wimbledon traditions, but Pip Lacey’s Game Set & Match Rufus – consisting of barbecued pigeon and a pigeon pork pie – has to be my favourite yet.
Week seven of the cook offs saw retuning chef Pip battle it out against newcomer Ryan Simpson. Ryan is one of the youngest chefs in the country to hold a Michelin star, while Pip is head chef at Angela Hartnett’s Michelin-starred Murano, so it was always going to be a close run competition. Historically the central region has always been one of the most successful in the contest, and this week didn’t disappoint.
Bar a couple of dishes, that is. Ryan kicked things off with Summer Fruit & Veg, a stunning looking dish served in a polytunnel which unfortunately fell into the ‘style over substance’ category. The plate consisted of tomato salad, goat’s cheese cannelloni in a cylinder made from feuille de bric rather than pasta, tomato gel, a deep fried courgette flower and tomato and squid ink ‘soil’. Guest judge Jordanne Whiley even commented that the soil tasted ‘like chocolate cookies’ – delicious, but perhaps best omitted from a cheese and tomato dish. Pip’s fish course take on strawberries (roasted until dark) and cream (a lobster bisque) met with equal disapproval with Matthew uttering John McEnroe’s famous ‘you cannot be serious’ in response to the combination of lobster, lovage and fruit.