Great British Menu 2024 - Finals week

[Sunbird24]

So SouthWest Ben has the Starter, who will win Fish, Mains and Dessert…? Will there be fighting over the freezer? How many more flames and medals will the judges have to pretend to be surprised by?

Oooo, I'd send it anyway....

Oh the scotch eggs have gone wrong!

I'd rather have an overcooked scotch egg than no scotch egg

She’d literally said a bit less time on the eggs as well!

I'm sorry but if I were guest I would rather have a slightly overcooked scotch egg than no scotch egg. I think Kate may be thinking in terms of a competition and not of catering an event. The guests aren't going to be as picky as the judges.

Yep! Totally agree

honestly most of them wouldn’t have noticed

I missed that. Who was in charge of the scotch egg cookery? Kate or one of the others?

And Kirk, bless him, has been cooking fish and main for veggies, as well as prepping dessert. Which is what we all though would be best, but can't have helped his timings!

It's not like it's a disgusting burnt scotch egg, it was just a gourmet delicious scotch egg with a firm centre. She should have sent it, she put her pride above her guests

Are there no pre desserts then?

Hang on. All that hoo-hah about pre-desserts and they haven't bothered with them. This is a terribly organised banquet. Not in terms of the chefs but in the overall vibe.

I don’t think a lunch works as well as dinner

I guess having a lunch means not having to meet costs for overnight stays.

And pretty much no props…

Oh god, yes. That train's toilets are going to be busy.

Yay, Kirk. I would have been happy for anyone to win but he had a really strong and creative competition.

So pleased for him! And no ice cream dramas.

MasterChef starts soon. See a lot of you there. Have a look at Popbitch to see the kind of thing Gregg actually says while he is judging.

Am watching it now, been in the pub!

Can't believe Kate didn't send the eggs. Big mistake on her part.

It was definitely between Ben and Kirk for the champion of champions. Totally agree kate should have sent the eggs but I get how frustrated she must have been in that moment. She did well to get the quail all cooked well. I felt a bit sorry for Adam - seemed to lack the wow some how.

Trying to rush everyone there, eat and home in the train in one day definitely meant the relaxed feel of the banquet was missed. You need an evening meal with wine to enjoy it. Surely the judges normally sit together?! Anyway a better series than last few years 👍

Really pleased for them all. I would guess no pre deserts was because they were basically all terrible. The only reason they did the canapés was to have an extra chef (I noticed mention of the invisible back kitchen staff but don't think they said how many.)

Very good point that none of the flamboyant visuals got in, I'm sure Kate's originally had more pantomime involved.

Well done Kirk!

Ben’s lamps and tickets stayed in albeit slightly smaller in size. And Kirk still has his domes so a bit unfair to say no visuals stayed in.

Were there 80 domes made?

Or just first table got them as later dishes were sent off without them (maybe they used the same batch for each table and were just put in last minute)

No, they addressed that in the show. The domes were recovered from the first tranche of tables to be reused on the last tranche.

Yes, all that fuss about visual connection to the brief and in the end they hardly bothered. In terms of everything but the food, it was the most disappointing of all the GBM banquets I've seen. Total lack of atmosphere. If they spend nine weeks demanding theatre from the chefs, the producers need to ensure theatre in the banquet. Make some effort.