ADAM Reid of The French is to compete in BBC 2’s Great British Menu on behalf of the North West – the only locally based chef in our regional heat. The others are Cheshire-born Kim Woodward, from London’s Savoy Grill and previous contestant Matt Worswick, who was at Thornton Hall in The Wirral but has moved to The Latymer at Pennyhill Park in Surrey.
The 2016 version of the long-running cook-off show makes history as the Palace of Westminster opens its doors for the first televised banquet to be held in the historic House of Commons Members’ Dining Room.
At the ‘Great Britons’ themed feast celebrating the Queen’s 90th birthday this year the chefs will challenged to create dishes which could be a fitting legacy to our Modern Elizabethan Age.
Her Majesty’s Great Britons are ordinary people who have been recognised on the Queen’s birthday and New Year’s honours' list over the years for their extraordinary achievements in different walks of life. Others have won the highest military honour, the VC, or been given medals for gallantry for courage at home and overseas.
In the regional heats, the chefs’ dishes will be judged by eight competition veterans who are now among the most accomplished and successful chefs in the UK. They include Adam Reid’s mentor Simon Rogan, Lisa Allen of Northcote, Michael O’Hare, Daniel Clifford, Phil Howard, Richard Corrigan and Angela Hartnett.
The two chefs who are scored most highly by the veteran judges will then present their four-course menu to award-winning restaurant critic Matthew Fort; doyenne of British cookery, Prue Leith; and acclaimed restaurateur Oliver Peyton.
Each week the panel of three will be joined by a guest judge who has been feted in his or her field. They include award-winning food writers and critics as well as esteemed chefs and restaurateurs honoured for their services to the hospitality industry.
The eight regional winners will then compete in the National Finals for a chance to cook at the Great Britons Banquet.
Adam Reid will be cooking a special menu of his own at The French on Thursday, June 9 as part of Simon Rogan’s Chef Week.
and during the Manchester Food and Drink Festival in October he will be hosting his own pop-up restaurant for three days in the Albert Square hub.