Things have gone missing from the BBC lately. We’re told a lot of it is for Comic Relief – a Strictly paddle, Pat Butcher’s earrings – the worthy but wily accumulation of fundraising telly treasures. Coincidental perhaps, but this was the week that Great British Menu fell prey too. Exhibit one was Kevin Dalgleish’s main course. The head chef of Amuse in Aberdeen presented his ‘bottomless’ beef pie, which prompted Andi Oliver to question if a pie really needed a bottom and this week’s veteran Tom Aikens to emphatically decide that it did. Along with a mislaid circle of puff, Kevin’s place in the competition disappeared too.
Mindful of last year’s infamous tantrum, award-winning chef Adam Handling returned to the competition determined not to lose either his cool or his temper, but fellow competitor Tunde ‘Abi’ Abifarin soon tested his resolve. ‘That’s one of the things that really grinds my gears big time,’ seethed Adam, as the head chef at Farin Road in Edinburgh failed to remove the intestinal tract from his lobster dish. It was too much for Tom Aikens too, and Abi was first to go.
Composure restored, Adam is left to face another newcomer – Tannadice-born Mark McCabe, head chef and owner of The Ethicurean in Somerset. Marks says he feels like a bit of an underdog but promises to cook his little socks off. So, socks intact (for now) the pair cook again for Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble and relative calmness descends upon the judging chamber as mild-mannered superhero artist, Frank Quitely joins them.
The chefs kick off with a couple of crispy canapés. Adam’s pea and caviar tart goes down well but the judges unanimously favour Mark’s cured char and tomato croustade. ‘Lush!’ declares Tom approvingly.
A brief spell behind bars for Dennis the Menace leads Mark to create a ‘savoury prison porridge’ of pearled spelt, pearl barley koji and mushroom garum, topped with medlar jelly-glazed maitake mushrooms, beer-pickled chanterelles and black truffle. It’s served with koji tuiles, sandwiched together with mushroom puree and toasted pumpkin seeds. ‘Absolutely delicious,’ says Frank, but all agree it’s a hefty portion for a starter.