It was a close call, but Dundee-born Adam Handling finally secured himself a place in Great British Menu’s regional finals following his Scottish triumph tonight.
He cooked head-to-head with Stuart Rolsten from Edinburgh in the banquet round of the Scottish heat to secure his spot in the final where he will cook off against chefs from England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The panel of judges included two-starred Michelin chef Tom Kerridge, chef and restaurateur Nisha Katona, and comedian and food podcaster Ed Gamble.
Scottish impressionist and comedian, Rory Bremner, was the special guest judge.
Throughout the week the chefs all cooked for judge and three time Great British Menu winner Richard Corrigan, and it was Stuart who led the competition throughout the week with 34 points, one more than Adam.
But it was Adam who prevailed in impressing the new panel of pallets to take home the win.
He said: “I’m going to be sick, my whole body feels so numb. I really appreciate that, it is super amazing.
“Words can’t express how amazing I feel. My dishes really did mean a lot to me and I am so glad what I was trying to build on a plate, people understood when they were eating it. I feel incredible.”
The food
In tonight’s banquet episode Adam and Stuart had to prepare their canape, starter, fish course, main, pre-dessert, and dessert again.
This year’s theme for Great British Menu is in celebration of 100 years of television broadcasting.
Both canapes went down well, however it was Stuart’s starter inspired by TV series Coast which stood out the most to the judges receiving 36 points. Adam scored 34.
For the fish course, Adam had to make a different variation of his lobster dish to accommodate Tom’s shellfish allergy. The chef was put under pressure and got emotional when plating his lobster claws on skewers as they were too hot to serve.
However, after host Andi Oliver spoke with him, the chef got one of the servers to bring them to the judges just in time. While Rory and Nisha managed to collect theirs without burning themselves, Ed Gamble swore after burning himself taking his one from Nisha.
His starter scored 34 while Stuart’s achieved 27.
As for mains, Tom said Adam’s was “one of the most intense, incredible bits of cooking” he had had in a long time and the judges scored it 37.
They also commented on how well Stuart had captured and showcased Scotland’s larder with his Game of Thrones-themed offering, scoring it 32.
For his pre-dessert, Adam adapted his teacake which was inspired by Still Game for something a little more refreshing following Richard Corrigan and Lorna McNee’s feedback, while Stuart stuck with his original sorbet with meringue dish nodding to Scot Squad.
It was Adam’s pre-dessert that impressed and won the approval of every judge.
He continued to go on and wow them with his The Crystal Maze dessert which paid homage to the adventure game show.
After Andi wheeled in the final piece to the puzzle, the judges could then tuck into the completed dish with their very own chocolates shaped as crystals. It received a score of 29.
Stuart’s twist on a banana split inspired by Sir Billy Connelly also proved a hit, but didn’t impress as much.
Representing his home country
Adam had previously participated in the show and had made it to the finals, only to be pitted for the top spot by Michael Bremner in 2016.
However, he will now go on to represent Scotland in the next round.
“I remember that feeling of not having my name called out, it felt like a dagger to the heart,” said Adam.
Tom said that is was Adam’s consistency across his menu and good produced cooked simply was why he was crowned the winner.
The Great British Menu final will air mid-March where Adam will go up against eight other chefs from the South West, the North West, Wales, Central, the London South/East area, the North East and Northern Ireland.
