With the radical changes to The Great British Bake Off now distant news and MasterChef storming towards its season finale, it’s time to tune in to the nation’s favourite over-the-top culinary competition. Great British Menu is back, with twenty-four of the country’s top chefs battling it out for the chance to cook a course at the grand finale banquet. This year, contestants have been tasked with creating a taste of British summertime for the Wimbledon Championships’ 140th birthday celebrations. Will the chefs smash it with ambitious twists on strawberries, cream and Champagne? Will the judges love each dish? Or will the true spirit of British summertime shine through in a washout of soggy sandwiches, backhanded compliments and dodgy tennis puns? Only time glued to your TV – or reading our weekly round-up – will tell.
Round one of the competition kicked off with three contestants from London and the South East. This region is always a strong contender in the competition, with Mark Froydenland in charge of the main course for last year’s banquet, something emphasised by guest judge Angela Hartnett from the start and reiterated by Oliver Peyton on Friday night. No pressure then.
After Michel Roux Jr’s protégé Mike Reid was eliminated on Thursday (possibly the combination of strawberries, cured amberjack and aerated white chocolate was a Wimbledon-inspired step too far), it was up to Tom Kemble and Selin Kiazim to show us what they were made of. Cue an intense few hours in the kitchen accompanied by plenty of the awkward banter that the show – whether intentionally or not – does so brilliantly.