Dundee-born chef Adam Handling missed out on the chance to serve his fish course at the Great British Menu banquet despite a perfect score.
The Scotland representative ended up in second place on tonight’s episode of the BBC Two show. Eight chefs are battling to serve their dishes at the Great British Menu banquet, celebrating British animation and illustration.
The competition ramped up tonight as it was the fish courses’ time to shine. With his weakest dish – the starter – out of the way, Adam said the only way is up from now on.
Judging tonight’s dishes alongside Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble was animator and Aardman Animations co-founder Peter Lord.
In the Scottish heat, A Princess Should Not Have Weapons was one of Adam’s strongest dishes, where he picked up a score of 36 out of 40.
The judges previously called for more fish, so the Dundee chef gave them what they wanted. He also changed the berries in his dish from lingonberry to redcurrants due to seasonality.
Adam’s son Oliver was the inspiration behind his fish course, as the two of them love watching the film Brave together.
Just like last year, he was in the final two for the fish course. He scored a perfect 40 this time around, but it wasn’t enough.
The judges were incredibly impressed with Nick Beardshaw’s A Moon Shaped Pool – inspired by Radiohead’s album art – and deemed him the winner.
Fish courses impressed Great British Menu judges
Across the board tonight, competition was tight and standards high. The judges recalled a few of the dishes from the regional heats, showing which of the competitors made a real impact.
It was a complete turnaround for yesterday’s winner Avi Shashidhara. He changed his fish course completely and it unfortunately did not pay off.
Adam was slightly nervous about his barbequed salmon belly, worried it would stick to the grill. It all worked out for the Dundonian, who served his fish course with smoked celeriac puree, berries with salsify, a caramelised whey sauce and burned juniper branches.
Servers wearing Merida wigs and kilts carried the dish into the judges’ room to the sound of bagpipes, setting the scene of being in the Scottish Highlands. Adam himself also donned a ginger wig to serve his fellow competitors.
The judges loved his salmon belly and sauce, calling it a bit of bold, brave cooking.
Head judge Tom said: “It’s a very intelligent, brilliant bit of cooking, by a chef who has a wonderful touch and an understanding of food.”
Several of the chefs knocked it out of the park, with Ed saying they could have put on a full fish banquet this year.
Adam will cook his main course tomorrow night at 8pm on BBC Two.
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