Great British Menu 2023 - Two Predictions

March 28, 2023 / Geoff Griffiths

Quick. Before it’s too late!

I’ve offered up a few words on the close call of this year’s Scotland final here. But I’ve missed making any banquet winner predictions before half the courses have already been decided.

Here are the eight runners and riders. They have been doing a reasonable amount of cooking as well!
Portraits link to their websites for more information.

**Nick Beardshaw, Kerridge's Bar & Grill, London**

**Mark Threadgill, Portmeirion Hotel, Snowdonia**

**Adam Handling, Frog by Adam Handling, London**

**Avinash Shashidhara, Pahli Hill Bandra Bhai, London**

**Gemma Austin, A Peculiar Tea, Belfast**

**Tom Shepherd, Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, Lichfield**

The decisions for starter and fish are already made. Congrats to Avi and Tom!
So, just the main and dessert left for me to pontificate on.

No huge front-runners here. Looks likely to be a battle between the three highest scoring dishes from the heats. But that doesn’t take account of extra tweaks, wholesale changes and - heaven forfend - last minute disasters.

I’m thinking that Danielle’s offering should wait for a theme dedicated to the UK’s diversity of culture and food. Professional judges, Nisha Katona and Tom Kerridge gave the nod to Tom in the heats. He gets the honour of cooking the banquet main unless Adam absolutely crushes it with the dish I would prefer to eat. And not just because ‘The Wind In The Willows’ - along with ‘Little Women’ - is one of my Mum’s favourite books!

#SPOILERALERT

EDIT:
29 March
Tom did win! Adam second. Adam second again after coming second to Nick for the fish course.

The final flourish - dessert!

Ooer. An embarrassment of riches here! Danielle and Mark need to up their game. But then things get tasty both in the eating and in the battle to secure the prize to cook the final banquet dish. I still think it will come down to the three along the bottom row.

Nick’s relies on iconic artwork and, whatever its flavour profiles, is limited by that initial visual hit.

Adam and Tom’s dishes retain the element of exploration as you eat. Despite his perfect score, Tom might not have to ‘do a Richard Bainbridge’ and serve two dishes at the banquet.* But only if he is passed over in favour of the layers of popular culture and the nostalgia created by Adam’s dessert. I’m calling it for Adam to do just that.
*Mark Hix earned the double privilege as well.

Second place is a hell of an achievement at this level but if Adam were to repeat his placing for fish and main he will have come ‘Nowhere’ three times in a row. I hope he avoids that. I can’t wait. But, as Sara Cox says… “I’ll have to.”

#SPOILERALERT (last one)

EDIT:
30 March

Phew! Adam gets his dessert to the banquet.
Never in the field of cheffy conflict was so much owed by Adam Handling to Andi Oliver’s ability to use bravery and downright good judgement.
No-one involved, whether competing, judging or viewing, has ever experienced a louder squeaking of bums in pursuit of a result!
Watch again here to confirm how ridiculously close things were.

Plenty of the usual daft moaning from viewers about the quality of chef’s cooking and their ability to address the brief during this series. Par for the course, I guess. It’s certain that a great dining experience will be had at any of these chefs’ restaurants. And I do mean at any of the 32 who took part. Why not make all their efforts worthwhile and book a table at one for starters… followed, of course, by fish, main and all the rest of their Great British Menu.

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