Great British Menu 2017: North West preview

We’re only two weeks in to this year’s Great British Menu but there’s already been some absolute knockout dishes. Tom Brown did the South West proud by scoring ten out of ten for his main course, and the quality throughout the week was first class. Next up is the North West – take a look at who’s representing the region for 2017.

From working in an Italian restaurant in Liverpool to running the award-winning The Marram Grass with his brother Liam, Ellis’ love of food came from his grandparents, who enlisted him to help in the kitchen. His little restaurant-café on Anglesey might look like a greasy spoon, but it’s won countless awards from the likes of the Good Food Guide and the Welsh Food Awards, with Ellis himself winning the prestigious Acorn Award in 2016.

Top quality ingredients are central to Ellis’ cooking, and he even rears his own pigs and chickens across the road from the restaurant, which started life as a converted potting shed. It now sees up to 2,000 covers a week, and puts locally-sourced produce centre stage.

Paul is a bit of a legend amongst Liverpool’s foodies. After ten years at the city’s London Carriage Works restaurant and Hope Street Hotel, he opened The Art School a few years ago in a bid to get Liverpool its first Michelin star. His childhood was spent travelling the world with his Merchant Navy father, which he credits as his first experience of good food. Now focusing on modern British cuisine – and gaining a spot in The Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants 2017 list – his menus at The Art School namedrop some of the UK’s best producers.

As a former Young Chef of the Year, Tom is no stranger to cooking competitions, so we think he’ll do pretty well in Great British Menu. Cutting his teeth at Northcote under Nigel Haworth and Lisa Allen, he left after seven years to work at The White Swan as head chef. The ethos at Northcote had a huge effect on his cooking style, and now he uses the best of Lancashire’s produce to create seasonal, simple dishes.