RESERVATIONS

Head Chef at The French Adam Reid is through to the national finals of the BBC Two show Great British Menu.

Adam, from East Manchester, fought off tough competition from Cheshire-born Kim Woodward from the Gordon Ramsay-owned Savoy Grill in Central London, and Liverpool-born Matt Worswick of The Latymer in Surrey, to be crowned the North West heats winner.

The 31 year-old will go into the finals week along with Michael Bremner, winner of the Scottish heat, South West heat winner Josh Eggleton, and the remainder of the regional winners with a chance to cook for the “Great Britons” at the Palace of Westminster.

Adam said: “That point when you’re told you have won the region and got through to the finals week is amazing. After all the sweat and tears it just makes it all worthwhile.”

Adam wowed both the show’s judging panel and Michelin-starred chef Phil Howard with four stunning dishes including a starter influenced by Indian cuisine aptly titled, ‘From Pakoras to the Palace’. His main course was roast loin of Cumbrian beef accompanied by roast farm vegetables and ‘beef’ tea. For dessert he produced a ‘Golden Empire’ of Stewed Empire Apple with hazelnut crumble, meadowsweet custard and golden candy apples.

Adam declares: “Cooking for Phil was daunting to say the least; someone you’ve looked up to your entire career is now judging your cooking first hand. Fortunately, we were in a different room to the main judges, so I tried to focus on serving them as though they were normal guests, VIP’s obviously!”

The French by Simon Rogan was created by chef Simon Rogan, a Great British Menu veteran from previous series who is appearing as a judge in the regional heats.

The new Great British Menu series began on August 29th on BBC2, and the North West chefs were the third to compete. You can catch Adam in action on BBC iPlayer.