WE told Adam Reid he was a glutton for punishment, taking on BBC2’s Great British Menu again three years after his spectacular Golden Empire Dessert made it through to the final banquet.
Yet once again our lippy Manc hero has seen off some seriously talented opposition to triumph with his main course – ‘Comfort Food Sounds Good’. Just surveying it (above) makes us seriously salivate. It had the same effect on the judges – Matthew Fort, Oliver Peyton, Andi Oliver and, for this course, Wham! legend Andrew Ridgeley.
Let's celebrate the success of that main, which elevates a chicken stew to a new dimension as the centrepiece of this year’s banquet to be held in London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios on Friday, May 17.
The 2019 brief has been all about pop music, marking 50 years since The Beatles last played live as a group. Adam interpreted it, from the Fab Four to Oasis, via these four dishes – Tater’ash with malt bread & beef butter; Northern Soul (almond poached cod, smoked roe sauce and leeks); Comfort Food Sounds Good (roast chicken and stew): ‘Madchester’ I Am The Resurrection (treacle tart, clotted cream ice cream, orange and mint).
He narrowly missed out with his Tater’ash starter, confused the judges by cod instead of sole for his fish course and then coming good against his seven rival chefs with Comfort Food Sounds Good, his highest scoring dish of the finals week.
Rhug Estate organic chicken is served two ways. A sharing portion of garlic and herb brushed roast chicken crown, topped with crispy chicken skin and grated black truffle, is served individual plates of stew made with shredded chicken leg meat, pearl barley, sweetcorn, pickled turnips and buttered leeks. Oh and there’s a pot of decadent chicken gravy on the side.
The dish is based on his Grandad’s recipe – the ultimate ‘hug in a bowl’. Adam swears by the combination of this perfectly pitched comfort food and the power of music to lift his spirits.
You can try the dish to a soundtrack ranging from The Beatles to The Arctic Monkeys at one of the highlights of this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival – a communal feast in the Dining Dome at the cathedral Gardens hub on Wednesday, October 3. It costs £35 a head plus booking fee – get tickets here.
All of Adam’s GBM 2019 dishes feature in a special four course menu available at Adam Reid at The French in the Midland Hotel until midsummer, priced at £85pp, or £145pp with matched wines. Book here.