‘In any other week, you’d have gone through.’ In a high-scoring week, Andi Oliver consoled
Andi Tuck, head chef at Harbour House in Flushing, that he missed his chance to cook for the judges not because of bad cooking, but by bad luck. He followed newcomer Mike Naidoo, chef patron at Catch at the Old Fish Market, Weymouth whose competition hopes ran aground after two dishes featuring edible rocks. GBM’s process of elimination is fair to all the regions, but it doesn’t always feel fair to all chefs.
Hoping her third time in the competition will be the lucky one, Elly Wentworth, executive chef at The Angel in Dartmouth now faces newcomer Ben Palmer, chef patron at The Sardine Factory, Looe, whose self-critical eye led to some dramatic underscoring against this week’s veteran, Tom Aikens.
Ben’s canapé is a croustade of cured mackerel pâté and cider gel. ‘Oh, I love that,’ exclaims Nisha, praising both its ‘acidity’ and ‘crunch’. ‘Like a ploughman’s, all in one,’ says Tom of Elly’s pickled walnut, potato and smoked cheese tartlet. It’s ‘very, very, very close,’ he admits, but all opt for Ben’s as their winner.
Starters offer a choice of beetroot or beetroot. Ben’s ‘Firefly’ shares its name with the plane that transported the Olympic flame from Athens to Cornwall in 2012. Golden beetroot is cooked in a kombu and salt crust, glazed with beetroot liquor and lemon thyme, then placed on a base of cashew and seaweed pastry, whipped vegan feta and black garlic ketchup. Subtly illuminated in individual lanterns, Ed says the presentation is ‘absolutely stunning.’ Tom thinks the beetroot needs ‘a touch more pickle flavour’ but he increases his ‘very’ count and calls it ‘a very, very, very, very good starter.’
Elly’s ‘Beet the Competition’ sees the nutrient-rich superfood transformed into a toasted quinoa and vegan feta salad, marinated beetroot spaghetti, roasted baby beets and a dehydrated crisp. Nisha immediately downs the accompanying shot, confessing, ‘I love beetroot juice,’ but Tom is less enthusiastic. ‘It feels like I’m on a diet,’ he says, glumly adding, ‘I don’t want to feel like I’m on a diet at a banquet.’