Great British Menu
Britain's Success in Pop Music
Top British chefs compete against each other and are scored by a panel of acclaimed judges for the chance to cook one course of a four course banquet.
Where to Watch Britain's Success in Pop Music
29 Episodes
- London & South East - Starter & FishE1
London & South East - Starter & FishThis week it is the heats for the London and south east region. Competing for the top spot are three new chefs to the competition representing some of the most exciting culinary talent from London. Paul Walsh is executive chef at Michelin-starred City Social. He won his star there within just a few months of opening. On the other side of town, Luke Selby has just won a Michelin star as head chef at Hide in the West End. Finally, the youngest chef in the competition - Ben Marks is the chef owner of Perilla, in Hackney. He has been described as one of the most exciting new chefs of his generation by world-renowned chef Phil Howard. Do these three brilliant newcomers know what they have let themselves in for when they meet their surprise veteran judge and then get cooking on their starters in the new GBM kitchen? Ben’s dish Glass Onion takes inspiration from The Beatles track of that name as he reveals a very personal reason for feeling connected to this year’s music theme. Luke also has a dish, The British Invasion, themed around The Beatles for his starter, as he cooks a complicated, fragrant salad inspired by the lyrics from one of their early hits which won over America. Meanwhile, Paul the most experienced chef, has opted to cook Waterloo Sunset, a delicate fish and fregola dish inspired by the view from his rooftop restaurant and the Kinks hit. The chefs then move on to the fish dish. Paul is using john dory for his Oasis-inspired dish, What’s the Story Morning Dory?, while Ben is sticking with The Beatles as he attempts an ambitious, Indian-spiced mackerel dish. Luke’s Rock Stars heroes the lobster with Asian flavours – but just as he is due to plate his dish, he hits a disaster with his tempura batter which may spoil his chances in the competition. - London & South East - Main & Dessert
E2London & South East - Main & DessertThe chefs are halfway through their heat and the pressure is mounting. Once again, they each serve a unique take on the brief. For mains, Ben is confident that his dish Blackbird, once again themed around The Beatles, will prove to be his best and most original dish yet. Luke is running around the kitchen with plenty to do to get his duck dish Spice, inspired by his favourite girl band, ready in time. Paul is using London honey for his dish, Let it Bee. After the nail-biting scoring on the mains dishes, it is the dessert and the chefs’ last chance to impress their veteran judge and stay in the competition to cook for the judges, so tensions are high. Ben finishes his tribute to The Beatles’ White Album, which his grandfather was involved in the design of, with a delicate all-white dessert set in shortcrust pastry. Paul demonstrates all his culinary skill with an ambitious dessert using layers of different chocolate and hazelnuts, called Tiers in Heaven, inspired by the Eric Clapton song and his love for his children. Luke has also given himself a lot to do with his final dish, a take on millionaire shortbread entitled Going Platinum. Will his white chocolate shards in the mould of a record be ready in time? - London & South East - Judging
E3London & South East - JudgingToday the two remaining London chefs must cook their four-course menus again. But will they take on board their veteran’s advice as they serve their tributes to Britain’s music success? The chefs need to impress the formidable judges - food writer Matthew Fort, restaurateur Oliver Peyton and broadcaster and cook Andi Oliver - as well as a guest judge - one of the pop stars the banquet will celebrate. Today they are joined by legendary bassist, Gary “Mani” Mounfield, from the Stone Roses and Primal Scream. - North East: Starter & Fish
E4North East: Starter & FishThree chefs new to the competition compete this week in the north east heats. Three of the region’s most exciting chefs battle it out for the top spot. Mike Carr is the former head chef at Harrogate’s Restaurant 92, Samira Effa, from Huddersfield, is head chef at The Box Tree in Ilkley and Tom Anglesea, originally from Durham, is head chef at ‘The Laughing Heart’ in London. Can these three ambitious newcomers present the menu of their careers, inspired by 50 years of British pop music? What will this week’s surprise veteran judge – who is very rock n roll - think of their efforts? Tom reveals some personal connections to this year’s music brief, beginning with his starter inspired by Britpop pioneers Oasis. Called My Masterplan, it combines the rather humble potato with lavish caviar and truffles to create a special version of a Bellini. To elevate the dish to a banquet-worthy status, Tom attempts some notoriously tricky pommes souffles but will they hit the right notes or could they fall flat? Meanwhile, Mike is bringing a contemporary vibe to the table with a starter inspired by a Clean Bandit tune, Symphony, which marries veal sweetbreads and pickled radish, but will they work in harmony? Finally, Samira’s taking her motivation from Elton John’s The Circle of Life and the very common but versatile tomato. After receiving the veteran judge’s scores for their starters, the competition ramps up a notch as the rival chefs move on to the fish course, as part of the new hour long format for the regional heats. Mike is using turbot for the second Oasis-inspired dish of the day called Champagne Supernova, Tom takes inspiration from Pink Floyd and dedicates his Japanese-style fish dish called Lost Souls in a Fish Bowl to both a dear departed friend and the pop stars no longer with us, while Samira goes all pun-tastic with a lobster and crab spicy dish called Tikka Look At Me Now. - North East: Main & Dessert
E5North East: Main & DessertThe chefs are halfway through their heat and today they serve up their main courses and desserts. The stakes are high and again they are each serving a unique take on the pop music brief. For their mains, Mike is confident his northern dish Rack n Roll, which puts both classic Yorkshire hogget and traditional Lancashire hotpot in the spotlight, has the edge to help him claim the top spot. Samira is bringing the Nigerian flavours of her childhood to the kitchen with her dish featuring ox cheek and okra, dedicated to the MOBO awards. Tom is trying to keep his nerves under control in order to pull off his Fields of Gold dish. Inspired by the Sting song, it uses guinea fowl as its centrepiece. After the nail-biting scoring on the main courses, it is the dessert and the chefs’ last chance to impress their veteran judge and stay in the competition to cook for the judges. Samira gets nostalgic with a dessert inspired by a memorable Coldplay concert she attended, called Paradise Whatever the Weather, featuring three different kinds of parfait. Tom is celebrating his north east heritage, with a dessert inspired by Billy Elliot and featuring coal-like black macarons. Meanwhile, Mike is praying the sun shines on his final dish of the day, Glass-Gin-Berry, an ambitious, fun dessert a tribute to Glastonbury, combining edible glass, gin and berries. - North West Starter & Fish
E10North West Starter & FishThis week, it is the heats for the hotly contested north west region. Competing for a place on the banquet menu are two chefs returning to the competition for a second time, plus a supremely talented newcomer. Liam Simpson, who co-owns a high-end gastropub near Henley-on-Thames, is hoping to make it all the way after being knocked out in the heats during the 2018 competition. Adam Reid, chef-patron of a top hotel restaurant in Manchester, is aiming to get to the banquet for a second time, after his dessert made it in 2017. But they are facing tough competition from ambitious newcomer Hrishikesh Desai – a Michelin-starred executive chef at a luxury hotel in the Lake District. The chefs begin by cooking their starters for a surprise veteran chef of the competition. Liam’s dish Banging Beets takes inspiration from Liverpool’s legendary Cream nightclub – the place to be in Britain’s 90s clubbing scene – and sees him transform the humble beetroot into a sophisticated dish he hopes is worthy of serving at the banquet. Adam’s musical inspiration is much broader with From the Beatles to Oasis – a refined take on corned beef hash, which he says northern musicians will have eaten through the decades. Meanwhile, Hrishikesh is hoping the luxurious ingredients of scallop, saffron and caviar will give him victory with his tribute to Great British musical greats, Old is Gold. With no time to rest, the chefs move on to produce equally brilliant fish courses. Liam aims to impress with a simple mackerel dish inspired by a song he used to listen to with his husband while fishing, Adam pays homage to Northern Soul music with a hearty dish featuring cod and a rich butter sauce, while Hrishikesh is upping the ante with a complex salmon curry, inspired by the time he taught Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason how to cook Indian food. - North West Main & Dessert
E11North West Main & DessertIn this episode, the chefs are halfway through the regional heats and, as the lowest scoring chef will be eliminated from the competition at the end of the show, the pressure is on. They start by cooking their all-important main courses - the centrepiece of the banquet menu. Michelin-starred newcomer Hrishikesh Desai is pushing himself to the limit with a complex multi-part venison dish, inspired by the bands which play at the Kendal Calling music festival, held near his restaurant in the Lake District. Laidback Liam Trotman is desperate to impress with a meal he used to enjoy with his family while playing music at home - spicy barbequed pork with wedges. This deeply personal dish is also very simple so needs to be cooked to perfection to be deemed worthy of the banquet. Meanwhile proud Mancunian Adam Reid’s course, Comfort Food Sounds Good, is based around a deceptively simple chicken stew – but he is hoping its comforting, homely vibe can secure him a place at the banquet. After the competition tightens up during the main courses, the chefs turn to their final chance to impress the veteran judge - dessert. Liam’s dish, What’s Your Guilty Pleasure?, hopes to tap into the music diners wouldn’t admit to liking, and is based around the flavours of his own guilty pleasure dessert of black forest gateau. Adam Reid is serving another remake of a classic Northern dish - this time he is resurrecting the treacle tart and naming it Madchester: I Am the Resurrection, in homage to a track by Mancunian band The Stone Roses. Meanwhile Hrishikesh is attempting another highly complex dish, with no less than 13 elements. Perfecting them all could see him secure a place in the national final – but has he pushed himself too far this time? - Scotland: Starter & Fish Courses
E13Scotland: Starter & Fish CoursesThis week, three of Scotland’s finest chefs do battle for a chance to cook at the banquet celebrating 50 years of popular music. Gordon Jones, the only newcomer, faces returners Lorna McNee and Ben Reade, who are going head to head for the second time. Originally from north west Scotland, Gordon is a Michelin-trained chef and owner of Menu Gordon Jones in Bath, offering a surprise tasting menu that changes every day. Lorna McNee is a Scottish Chef of the Year winner and sous chef at Restaurant Andrew Fairlie, the only restaurant in Scotland to hold two Michelin stars. At last year’s GBM, she narrowly missed out on taking her dessert to the banquet. Finally Ben Reade, owner of the Edinburgh Food Studio, a restaurant and food research hub experimenting with the best of Scottish produce. Ben went out during last year’s heat - this time he is determined to make it to Friday’s judging chamber. The three chefs meet their veteran, before cooking their starters in the new GBM kitchen. Gordon’s dish, Fleetwood Mackerel, is a risky combination of raw mackerel and porridge, inspired by childhood memories spent fishing and listening to Fleetwood Mac in Scotland. Lorna’s starter Elton’s Cheese on Toast also draws on memories growing up, listening to Elton John, and offers a twist on the classic snack. Ben is choosing to pay tribute to the electronic rock band Prodigy’s album Fat of the Land with a pig fat centrepiece, but should he be taking a risk using produce he is not familiar with? The chefs then move onto the fish course. Lorna is taking a risk by cooking with Indian spices for her dish Spice Up Your Life, to honour the Spice Girls, while Gordon’s It Must Be Love celebrates his love of unusual flavour combinations with langoustine and lamb’s heart. For his fish dish, The Halibut Peel Sessions, Ben is choosing to champion halibut with a tribute to his favourite DJ, John Peel. - Scotland: Main & Dessert
E14Scotland: Main & DessertIt is the halfway point in the competition. The chefs cook their mains and desserts, each battling to produce smash hit dishes that wow their veteran. For her main, Lorna is confident her lamb dish With A Little Help From My Friends, dedicated to supportive friends, is a celebratory dish fit for the banquet. Ben is also using lamb for his Bass Notes and Beats, paying tribute to his favourite ‘old school’ drum and bass music, with ‘old school’ cooking techniques, while Gordon has chosen pigeon as the star of his dish Parklife, inspired by 90s Britpop artists Blur. There is still everything to play for as the three chefs enter the dessert course, their last chance to secure a place to cook for the judges on Friday. Ben’s dish Alan’s Psychedelic Breakfast plays tribute to a Pink Floyd B-side by incorporating breakfast elements. Gordon’s picked British-Indian Bhangra music as the inspiration for his dessert Bhangra Beats and Bhangra Sweets, celebrating Indian flavours of mango, pistachio and saffron. Lorna has given herself a lot to do with her ambitious Lime and Coconut, There’s Enough for Everyone, which celebrates the Wham classic Club Tropicana. She is building a dessert to look like a coconut, in the hope of whisking diners away to their own tropical paradise. - Wales: Main & Dessert
E20Wales: Main & DessertThe chefs are halfway through the Wales heat. Today they present their musically-inspired mains and desserts aiming to secure a place at Friday’s judges’ chamber. Andy is cooking venison in celebration of his favourite band, Oasis. He accompanies the loin with rhubarb and beetroot ketchup, black pudding puree, pickled beetroot and a pistachio crumb. Westy’s beef dish The Cow Shed is named after a former stage at the Glastonbury festival. But his beef cheeks take longer to cook than he had hoped, leaving him with little time to make his tricky consomme. Cindy’s Spice Girls-inspired beef main course, called Spice Up Your Life, involves an unusual and risky combination of wasabi and horseradish that she is hoping will set her apart from the other two chefs. But will this be a risk that pays off? With the main course scores leaving the bottom two chefs just one point apart it is down to dessert to decide which of our three chefs will be going home and which two will stay to cook for the judges’ chamber. Andy’s tribute to legendary Welsh songstress Dame Shirely Bassey is called Goldfinger. It is a symphony of chocolate and coffee with bling decoration befitting the diva herself. Westy pays homage to his music idols The Sex Pistols with his dish God Save The Queen. He battles to create an eton mess with colours of the Union Jack but can he pull it off? Cindy has her struggles with her dish Our Number One, which celebrates the unsung heroes of the music industry. She has already taken risks with various degrees of success and now she takes the riskiest of all – putting everything she has on a dessert that requires molecular gastronomy technique. Only veteran Phil Howard can decide if she made the right choice. - Northern Ireland Starter & Fish
E22Northern Ireland Starter & FishThis week it is the heat for the Northern Ireland region. Competing are three exciting new chefs to the competition, all at the top of their culinary game. Chris McClurg from County Down is head chef at Paul Ainsworth’s Michelin-starred restaurant No. 6, in Padstow, Cornwall. Alex Greene from County Down is head chef at Michelin-starred Deane’s Eipic in Belfast and Glen Wheeler from Fermanagh is chef patron at the Michelin-recommended 28 Darling Street in Enniskillen. The three chefs begin by cooking their starters for a surprise veteran of the competition. Chris’ dish Brixton Academy Through the Years is his refined take on the classic lamb, post-gig junk food he ate after nights out at Brixton Academy. Can his aged hogget breast, crisp oyster, glazed sweetbread and charcoal grilled flatbread elevate this late night favourite to a Banquet worthy dish? Alex is taking inspiration for his starter Breakfast: Oh You Pretty Things from the artists over the decades that have sung about the first meal of the day. He is attempting to take some of the key flavours of a traditional British breakfast – egg, mushroom, soda bread and bacon - and really make them sing. Glen’s starter is an ode to British hip hop and, fittingly, puts rabbit in the limelight with a stuffed saddle, cep and rabbit ravioli all united with a wild mushroom foam and black garlic puree. The chefs then move on to cook their fish courses. Chris is using scallops for his Oasis-inspired dish Champagne Supernova, while Alex is including lobster, cockles, mussels and salmon in his dish Coney Island and Dundrum Bay, a tribute to Van Morrisson, and Glen is hoping his Procul Harem tribute A Whiter Shade of Pale, featuring john dory, will be all white on the night. - Northern Ireland Main & Dessert
E23Northern Ireland Main & DessertThe chefs are halfway through the Northern Ireland heat. Today they serve their mains and desserts to veteran Tommy Banks hoping to claim one of the two places up for grabs at the regional final. Chris is cooking his interpretation of the classic beef dish Tournedos Rossini using guinea fowl. His inspiration is Proms in the Park and the British artists who mix classical and modern music styles. Alex’s dish commemorates his late brother and the song by Northern Ireland artist Donna Taggart that he associates with the difficult time of his death. Glen creates a chicken dish that he serves in a model of the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury complete with stage smoke. He struggles to serve on time for the third course in a row. It is down to dessert to decide which of the three chefs will be going home and which two will get to cook for the title of regional champion in the judge’s chamber. Dessert promises to be quite the battle, and two of our chefs struggle with the technical elements of their dishes. Chris’s dessert is inspired by the music and food heritage of London’s Camden Town and pairs muscovado monkey bread with soft serve vanilla ice cream. But when he can’t quite get to grips with the ice cream machine and his dish looks in jeopardy, the threat of going home seems very real all of a sudden. Alex’s dish inspired by The Beatles and their Apple record label promises to reimagine the humble apple as an edible sculpture. However, he misjudges critical temperatures and struggles to deliver the dish he’d hoped to. Glen, on the other hand, sails through and banishes his timing demons to serve his pavlova based homage to his favourite band Oasis that he calls Champagne Pavlova.
