I suprised we don't have a thread on this programme alone - we've had the scottish round last week and now are looking at the central region overseen by Glyn Purnell.
That's because people decided they wanted a single thread to cover all TV, resulting in a thread that doesn't really get used and a slew of posts that make no sense as you can't actually tell who people are referring to.
I was going to start a thread about GBM last week, having sat through the Scottish heats and been utterly enthralled, but I couldn't be bothered. So instead I'm filling up my Sky+ with every episode of what I believe to be the best 'cooking' show on TV and I'll spoil myself with the lot when I get the time.
However, I can talk about the Scottish heats as I did see those, bar the judging at the end. From what I
did see, Alan Murchison was at his best, trying too hard and serving up plates of food that delighted and disappointed at the same time. That main course of his was a complete mess, although he might have pulled it out of the bag for the Friday.
I didn't particularly take to Mark Greenaway but that was more about his personality than his food - and I did think his dessert was the stand-out dish of the week His starter looked great, although I wouldn't want to eat cold pigs cheek myself, and his main course had my mouth wetting at the mere sight of it. But as AM said himself, that crab cannelloni just didn't work - if I wanted a mouthful of cold butter, I'd chew on a knob of Lurpak.
Colin Buchan was my favourite of the three as he was relatively unassuming and didn't come across as being a complete tool, but his food seemed confused. That starter just had too much going on and despite his best efforts to persuade otherwise, pigeon heart isn't going to sit well with the target audience. His fish course was a perfect example of style over substance, yet his main was stunning in its execution and presentation. And despite the other chefs mockery, I really liked his dessert and would have polished the lot off in a moments thought.
Overall, I'd say it was a relatively weak line-up for Scotland this year, although there were four decent dishes served up. The problem was that two of them came from the chef who got knocked out and two of them were for the same course.
I'd imagine that Murchison would have won against Buchan, but he'll not stand a chance of getting a dish to the final banquet unless something dramatic happens. Like all the other chefs getting locked in a room. Or the judges taking leave of their senses and liking his stupid medal dessert.