Great British Menu 2021 chefs: Jude Kereama, South West heat

Restaurateur and chef Jude Kereama is one of four chefs representing the South West region on Great British Menu 2021.

Series 16 of the competition starts on Wednesday 24th March and will air on BBC Two at 8pm every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday for eight weeks. The South West heat will be on Wednesday 12th May, Thursday 13th May and Friday 14th May. All episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Jude went head to head against chef and private catering company owner, Nat Tallents; Head chef at Kerridge's Bar and Grill, Nick Beardshaw, and head chef at The Angel Dartmouth, Elly Wentworth. 

Caught in a tie-break with Nat after the starter and fish course, Elly narrowly secured a spot in the second day of the South West heat. On the second day, Jude beat Elly by one point, meaning he and Nick would go through to the judge's chamber. 

Finally, Jude secured a spot in the national finals on the third day of the heat, giving him the opportunity to secure a spot at the banquet for the South West by cooking his heart out on Monday 17th, Tuesday 18th, Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th May.

The banquet will air on  Friday 21st May - and although Jude's dishes narrowly missed out on making it onto the banquet table, thanks to the highest sum of points from the judges across all of his dishes, he will be serving his amuse bouche and pre-dessert at the banquet.

Biography, Path to becoming a chef, past places of work, Age/DOB, relationship status, Height

Born and raised in New Zealand, the Maori-Chinese Malay chef moved to the UK in 1996 after training under Simon Gault. After several years working in London restaurants, Jude relocated to Cornwall with his wife Jane.

Together, they opened 2 AA-Rosette restaurant Kota, followed by Kota Kai, both in Portheleven, and became founding members of the Porthleven Food Festival, a community led event which attracts 40,000 people each year, featuring a chef's theatre, food stalls, street food, music and entertainment.

In 2019, after 23 years of marriage, Jane Kereama passed away after battling with cancer, to the heartbreak of her husband, children and Cornish community.

In February 2020, Jude announced that he would be opening a third restaurant, Kuki, located in The Valley in Carnon Downs. 

This year will be Jude's fourth appearance on Great British Menu, as he previously appeared on the programme in 2015, 2016 and 2018. 

Dishes

Starter

'The Future of Medicine is Clear' was Jude's first take on the British Innovation theme, inspired by the Plant Factory Cornwall research group and and the advances it is making in food as medicine.

For this he prepared a som-tum style tomato and crab salad which he served with an avocado purée, micro Thai green basil, red basil and tomato crisps. Central to the dish was a tomato consommé clarified using a centrifuge. The plate was served alongside a Thai granita. 

Veteran judge Angela Hartnett scored the dish 7/10

Fish course

Jude's fish course, inspired by Henry Trengrouse's rocket line pulley system used to rescue people from sinking ships. His take on a Cornish hotpot saw him cooking lobster, griddled prawns, pan-fried cod, steamed mussels and cockles and deep-fried scallops, presented on a minuature replica of the rescue system with shiitake mushrooms, pak choi, saffron mayonnaise and garnished with samphire, enoki, shimeji and spring onions.

Impressed by the dish but advising that he remove some protein from the plate, Angela gave it a score of 8/10.

Got to love a prop eh @AngelaHartnett #lifeline #greatbritishmenu pic.twitter.com/4ck3dw33wT

— Great British Menu (@GBMofficial) May 12, 2021

Main course

For his main course, Jude had a new veteran judge to impress in Richard Corrigan. His 'Oggy, oggy, oggy' dish, inspired by Sir Humphrey Davy, the chemist who invented the Davy lamp, a safety lamp for use in flammable atmospheres, and the chant which miners called down to their fellow workmen in hope of receiving an 'Oi oi oi' response.

A nod to the Cornish pasty, it consisted of a Tomahawk steak, sticky short ribs, a braised oxtail croquette, shallot purée, swede fondant, chicken fat turnips, all topped with a pastry disc, beef jus and watercress. 

Richard Corrigan gave it a score of 7/10.

Dessert

Jude's dessert, 'From Poldew to Goonhilly' was his tribute to the modern telecommunications systems developed in Cornwall, from the first radio transmitter to the Earth Station satellites. 

Strawberries came in many forms, with a parfait encapsulated in a sphere of white chocolate, fresh, freeze-dried strawberries strewn on a plate, accomapnied by a sorbet, matcha sponge, clotted cream and frozen yoghurt. 

The dish received an 8/10 score from Richard.