Review: Great British Menu, BBC2 (From Chorley Citizen)

Review: Great British Menu, BBC2

4:09pm Friday 11th May 2012 in TV By John Anson, Features editor

WELL you can’t accuse the Beeb of under-selling Tuesday’s Great British Menu in their trailers.

“The most dramatic scenes ever seen on Great British Menu,” said the announcer in breathy tones.

Well, she certainly had a point. For we had a strop from one of the contestants that would make a two-year-old proud. But let’s face it, the improbably named Johnny Mountain did have it coming. Of all the cookery programmes Great British Menu has the most pretentious tendencies. Emulsions and foams abound as top chefs try to get to cook for our Olympic heroes.

But Mr Mountain decided to take it to an all new level.

He decided molecular gastronomy was the way forward and his fish course was to be an homage to the Greek god of the sea Poseidon complete with edible sand and jelly.

“My fish different was different,” he told his fellow competitiors. Certainly was, it didn’t have any fish in it!

Judge Marcus Wareing was less than impressed and failed to be fooled by the emperor’s new clothes trick in front of him.

“A lot of toys don’t mean a great dish,” he said sagely, before admitting like the rest of the viewing public, “I just don’t get it.”

A score of two out of 10 led to those toys being thrown well out of the pram as our culinary Mr Man threw down his pinny and left the bleeper operator suffering repeitive strain injury as he stormed out of the studio.

Oh how we laughed!