‘Much like Highlander, there can be only one.’ An observation perhaps more suited to the Scotland heat, but this was from the charismatic Kareem Roberts, head chef at Trinity in Cambridge. Acknowledging that successive elimination is the nature of the game, he accepted his early exit. Private chef Marianne Lumb braved the competition again after a four-year break (and served up an even braver vegan main course) but just lost out on a tie break to newcomer Thom Bateman, chef patron of The Flintlock in Cheddleton.
And here it gets complicated. Under normal circumstances there can be only one Tom – head judge, Mr Kerridge, but Thom (with an aitch) is also joined by Tom Shepherd, chef patron of Upstairs in Lichfield. Andi Oliver took to calling them Brummie Tom and North Staffs Thom. I’ll settle for Tom K, Tom S and Thom. Obviously, Tom K will be doing more eating (along with his friends Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble). Tom S and Thom seem to have bonded too but will inevitably be cooking off until there’s just one Tom… or Thom.
Oh, let’s just get on with the canapés. Tom S’s is a tuna sashimi croustade, dressed in ponzu with a soy mayonnaise and chive garnish. Thom’s is a roe deer tartare tartlet, dressed in fermented chilli oil. It’s a thumbs up for both, but all agree the tuna is ‘getting lost’ in Tom’s, so Thom tops it. As the voice of Vanessa the Dragon in animated children’s TV series Circle Square, guest judge Duaa Karim should feel at home with Thom’s starter, ‘Dragonology’. His carved celeriac dragon’s egg is flavoured with soy, white miso, mirin and rice vinegar, filled with caramelised celeriac puree and covered with crispy potato scales. It nests on a plate of sherry vinegar caramel, Sichuan pepper-pickled pink onions and a ketchup of dates, black garlic and roasted apple. Thinking that date ketchup is a first for her, Duaa is duly
enlightened by Tom K, who says it’s a posh way of saying brown sauce. He goes on to bemoan a shortage of potato scales and Nisha’s celeriac proves to be a little hard, so it’s generally judged ‘not quite banquet-ready’.
Still on the theme of computer games, Tom S reimagines the iconic Pac-Man as a yellow beetroot and pear jelly, feeding on salt-baked golden beetroot, compressed pear, smoked almond mayonnaise and chopped smoked almonds. Slightly underwhelmed by the flavours, the judges agree it’s still an enlightened bit of cooking. ‘If this started the banquet… it would put a smile on everyone’s face,’ says Ed.