it comes from Paul and he’s got something he wants to work on, this is what I do and I’m tried and tested in, but for the competition we were really close working together on everything.
I’d talk about ideas and Paul would be like “you know what, that’s fucking brilliant, go with that” and so I’d work on the dish, bring it to him, he might say yes or he might take it in a different direction.
Some of the other ones, like the fish course, we had a dish on the menu that fitted the brief completely and I knew I had three brand new dishes to try and develop so I literally used the scallop dish that we do here.
You learn to execute things perfectly and we all work in professional kitchens so the best dishes have all been tried and tested and make that link.
Were you happy to have Tommy Banks as a veteran judge?
Stoked. Absolutely stoked. He’s a legend, as a human being and on a chef-to-chef level. It was his first time as a veteran so I knew that as nervous as I was, he would have had some nerves in there too.
He did amazingly in the competition but he had a different job to do and I felt that he did it really well. He was critical where he needed to be, he was encouraging where he needed to be.
He kept the competition alive really well. He knows how to cook, he’s a very good lad.
What would you say are the advantages of taking part in competitions like GBM are?
Taking part in any competition that puts you peer-to-peer is healthy because we all work in busy restaurants and it’s important not to get your head stuck in the sand.
It’s a big world out there and there are lots of people with different styles and different goals. I think you can learn something from everyone.
I think this sort of competition is very healthy as long as it doesn’t consume you with nerves and so long as if it goes against you, you don’t lose your head or self-belief.
Image: Oliver Peyton, guest judge Loyle Carner, Andi Oliver, Matthew Fort
I don’t do loads of them, I pick and choose them. I don’t like to overstretch myself because my number one commitment is the restaurant and that always has to be.
There are competition chefs and they make it their life and that’s not necessarily my MO but I think once in a blue moon – especially if you respect the people you’re up against and you know the competition is going to be healthy and you can take something from it - I think it’s worthwhile.
