A dessert for a hero: David Taylor’s Great British Menu tribute to selfless boy

When chef David Taylor created a dessert for Great British Menu, he wasn’t just plating a dish - he was telling the story of a remarkable young boy from Birmingham.

Harry Moseley was a little boy from Sheldon, Birmingham who despite going through an inoperable brain tumour, through the face of adversity, he proved that regardless of your age, wellbeing or lifestyle - you can achieve anything in life if you are passionate about something. 

During radiotherapy treatment, Harry met a man called Robert Harley. When treatment ended they stayed in touch and when Harry heard that Robert was sick with his brain tumour, Harry knew more needed to be done. He didn't want to shake a bucket and so he created beaded bracelets to give as a thank you for everyone's donations. In the last two years of his life, Harry raised over £750,000 before he sadly passed away on October 8, 2011 aged 11 years old. 

A Selfless Spark 

David was inspired by Harry, saying: “I just thought, in the midst of incredible pain - because as a 10-year-old boy, you’ve got no idea what you’re really up against - to not even think of yourself in that scenario, but to think of someone else... That’s what struck me. Harry was going through chemotherapy, he was dying from cancer, and yet all he cared about was raising money to help someone else, a man named Robert who he met during treatment. That kind of selflessness - especially at his age - it’s beyond remarkable. It stuck with me. It still does.”

The Dessert That Took Five Weeks 

David added: “You don’t see all the hours chefs put into these dishes on TV. That dessert took me five weeks of development. Each layer tested, tweaked, reworked while running Grace & Savour in the background. I think it was the hardest I’ve worked on a single dish. And the fact no one really saw the final version on TV… it’s heartbreaking. But even if it didn’t make it to air, it meant something deeply personal.

“When I started working on the dessert for Great British Menu, I knew I wanted to do something that truly honoured Harry. Every layer of that trifle had a purpose. There was no food colouring - I couldn’t put anything in it that children couldn’t eat, not when it was about a child. I focused on organic British fruit because he loved fruit kebabs. The layers followed the colour sequence of his wristband logo - from bottom to top. There was blackcurrant leaf sponge, then a blackcurrant jelly, raspberry compote with a splash of cream to give it that pink, apricot custard, and a blueberry cream coloured naturally with spirulina. I worked on it for five weeks, layer by layer, tweaking, remaking, trying again. It became the dish I worked hardest on in the entire competition - and probably in my career.”

David's commitment to authenticity went deep. Each layer reflected something about Harry - his love of fruit, his energy and his optimism. 

A Trickster’s Spirit

David said: “Harry was known for being a trickster. A real cheeky chappie. So I wanted to honour that too - not just in flavour,