Meet the Great British Menu 2017 chefs from Wales: Phil Carmichael

This year Phil Carmichael takes on Nick Brodie, and Paul Croasdale in a bid to make it through to the Great British Menu 2017 banquet which celebrates 140 years of Wimbledon. This year’s brief is to create dishes that capture ‘a taste of summer’ paying tribute to the history and prestige of the Wimbledon Championships.

A returning Great British Menu contestant, Phil has been Jason Atherton’s right-hand man since they met back in 2002. Phil was essential in the opening of Gordon Ramsay’s Maze in South Africa, where he was head chef. After that, he helped the Maze in Prague earn the country’s first Michelin star. It is Phil’s third year on the Great British Menu, but this time, he’s competing against a familiar face.

You’ve done Great British Menu before in the last two years, what prompted you to do it again?

Sucker for punishment, hehe. Yeah, I mean it’s a good laugh doing it, so why not?

How tough was it to come up with dishes which fit the brief?

The taste of summer part was really easy because summertime is a nicer time of the year to cook, really. The food is nice and light with beautiful British produce. So it was pretty easy to come up with dishes. I concentrated more on the taste of summer stuff. I got a touch of Wimbledon there for certain dishes but not all the dishes”

Did you feel under pressure to create theatrical dishes rather than well cooked dishes served simply on a plate?

I wouldn’t say it was pressure. I’ve always firmly believed the food has got the flavour; the food has got to do most of the talking. This year, I used a few more props and theatrical things. Nothing too over the top; it’s not my style of food anyway. We’ve got a few things in the restaurant, like a pork pie trolley. We do that sort of thing, but we don’t serve the food hidden under something or with loads of smoke coming off of it; we’re not that sort of restaurant.

>>> Related: Phil Carmichael, head chef, Berners Tavern, The London EDITION Hotel

Did you enjoy being pushed out of your comfort zone, and how difficult was it to cook in the Great British Menu kitchen alongside other chefs?

You’re in a foreign kitchen, cooking with other chefs… There’s an element of jeopardy. We don’t necessarily get that in a day-to-day basis in a restaurant. But it’s exciting, I mean that’s why we do it. Cooking with others was no more difficult than it has been in previous years. In the regionals, I’ve been up against two new contestants, Nick Brodie and Paul Croasdale, so I had the advantage in the GBM kitchen. But yeah, it’s not my kitchen. Nick is a crazy guy; he’s very on the edge, really super cool guy, really talented cook. I knew Paul anyway, I worked with him. Paul was my head chef at Berners Tavern for over a year, so it was quite amusing going up against him.

Best and worst part of being on Great British Menu?

I think the best part is meeting new chefs, taking part in the show, having a good laugh. The worst part is probably the food they give us at lunch-time.

Would you do it again?

Probably. I don’t know, but I probably would if they called me.

If you were scoring your dishes would you agree with what your judge said or not? If not, why not?

Yeah! I mean I got pretty high scores from my veteran judge, so yeah, I’d agree with him.

How nerve-wracking was it to cook for your peers?

It’s always nerve-wracking, even though I know Paul and I sort of know Nick, I don’t really know what their style of cooking was. Anything could happen. It’s nerve-wracking being judged against anybody but that’s part of the excitement of doing Great British Menu, to see where you stand against other chefs.

>>> Find out about all of the Great British Menu 2017 chefs here