From left to right - Nick Nairn (Scotland), Marcus Wareing (England), Jenny Bond (posh), Bryn Williams (Wales) and definitely not least Richard Corrigan (Ireland)
So we’ve had the whole of the four chef’s menu now – canapés and starters are here.
Yesterday was the main feature, would anyone just do turkey? And the answer was yes, two chefs had a new take on boring old turkey and I bet neither tasted bland though I think Richard’s was favoured over Marcus’. Nick’s smoked beef does seem very interesting but it’s not a traditional Christmas day feast – though I think we’ve had beef the last 5 years at least on Christmas day. The goose looked great but peaches? In December? Hmmmm. I really love gammon so I am opting for Richard’s melee of Christmassy treats.
Bryn William's Roast goose, caramelised Brussels sprouts with peach and sage sauce
Marcus Wareing's Roast turkey with one-pot roast vegetables and roast potatoes
Nick Nairn's Smoked rib of Highland beef
Richard Corrigan's Butter-poached Bronze turkey with Irish spiced gammon and suckling pig stuffing rolls
And today was the final flourish on this fine festive feast. My two favourite chefs came up trumps again, Richard with his Christmas pudding soufflé that might encourage me to really like Christmas pudding. And I have a spare Harvey Nix Christmas pudding, as I wasn’t able to include it in my blogging by mail parcel because of import restrictions in my recipient’s country!
I’m never going to turn up my nose at something chocolaty so Marcus’ truffle cake looked fabulous, complicated but fabulous! The judges were rather harsh on Bryn’s custard; he must be having déjà vu! He does suffer at the judges’ hands when they discuss his desserts! I am sure Nick’s hot marmalade pudding tasted great though I am not entirely sure it’s very Christmassy and as he just utterly copied someone else’s recipe (i.e. the famous Three Chimneys) including using their homemade marmalade, does it not seem cheating slightly?
Bryn William's Spiced apple and chestnut crumble with clove custard
Marcus Wareing's Warm chocolate truffle cake with Christmas spices
Nick Nairn's Three Chimneys hot marmalade pudding with Drambuie custard
Richard Corrigan's Christmas pudding soufflé with Irish whiskey ice cream
We will find out which chef wins tomorrow. Personally I am hoping it will be Richard Corrigan, and that's mainly because I like him, though his food is pretty good also!
1 comment:
WHY did Richard Corrigan represent Northern Ireland? He was born in Dublin and brought up in Meath.
Post a Comment