Last week saw the North East's best chefs show off their culinary flair; this week we're going further north into beautiful Scotland, where the quality of ingredients is second to none. Two contenders return from last year, along with a first timer hoping to prove herself. Discover who they are and start placing your bets on who gets through to the final!
Born in Aberdeenshire in 1975, Michael worked as an apprentice in Scotland’s The Pittodrie House Hotel before moving down to London to gain experience in pastry at the Michelin-starred Orrery Restaurant. He soon moved over to become head pastry chef at Quo Vadis when it was run by Marco Pierre White, before travelling around Australia working in the kitchens of Melbourne, Sydney and Airlie Beach.
Michael then arrived in Brighton to work as a sous chef at the Seattle Hotel for three years, before travelling to Canada to work in the country’s highest rated resort, the Pan Pacific Hotel. In 2007 he returned to Brighton to become head chef of Due South on the seafront, and spent the next five years raising his profile in the South East. After a brief stint as head chef at the city’s popular vegetarian restaurant Food For Friends, he opened 64 Degrees in October 2013. Focused on social dining and small plates, it has gone on to win countless awards, cementing his place as Brighton’s best chef. We spent a day with him last year in the city, touring his favourite places to eat and drink.
Earning his stripes working under the likes of Richard Corrigan, Ally McGrath returned to his native Peebles in the Scottish Borders to open Osso – the only Borders restaurant to get a mention in the Michelin Guide – in 2007. He and his wife bought the business in 2014, and now run the restaurant as a relaxed, welcoming, family-friendly venue serving up local produce in an unfussy, natural way.
Ally appeared in last year’s competition as the only chef actually cooking in Scotland, and returns this year to take up the same position.
Angela is a little different to the other chefs appearing on Great British Menu in that she doesn’t actually cook in a restaurant – instead, she runs a catering business and teaches cooking classes. As one of Leiths School of Food and Wine’s top alumna, she is particularly known for her expertise in Asian cuisines, combining the heady flavours with incredible British produce.
This is Angela’s first foray into the Great British Menu kitchen, and we’re expecting plenty of spice and inventive flavour combinations. How she ties that to the Wimbledon brief will be where things get interesting.
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Great British Menu 2017: Scotland preview