Double win for Alex Greene on Great British Menu
Alex Greene has scored a double win on this year's Great British Menu and will be cooking both the starter and dessert at the banquet.
Chef Greene of the Michelin-starred Deanes Eipic restaurant in Belfast was the first chef through to the banquet with his starter, ‘the potato, the onion, the cheese and the wardrobe', and once more scored a full house of four 10s with his dessert, ‘the incredible, edible book'.
Inspired by Oliver Jeffers' book The Incredible Book Eating Boy, his dessert consisted of an edible ‘book' made of coconut parfait, yuzu gel, coffee jelly, chocolate ganache and printed rice paper and coconut tuile 'pages'. The judges said it was "the perfect ending to the banquet".
L'Enclume's Tom Barnes is cooking the main, and Whatley Manor's Niall Keating cooking the fish course.
It was also revealed that the chefs who cooked the two highest-scoring runner-up dishes would be joining the three chefs at the banquet. Ruth Hansom was revealed as cooking the amuse bouche due to her highly-scoring fish dish ‘don't put the marmalade spoon in among the sardines', based on The Railway Children; and Ormer Mayfair's Kerth Gumbs will be cooking the pre-dessert having scored 38 for his dessert, inspired by Enid Blyton's Magic Faraway Tree.
The theme of this year's competition is children's literature, to mark 150 years since the death of Charles Dickens, with judges Matthew Fort, Oliver Peyton and Andi Oliver joined by guest judge, Kid Normal co-author Greg James.
Alex Greene first chef through to 2020 Great British Menu banquet >>
Tom Barnes to cook the main course at the 2020 Great British Menu banquet >>
Niall Keating reaches Great British Menu 2020 banquet with fish course win >>