Three pub chefs to star in BBC's Great British Menu
Three gastropub chefs are competing in the new series of the BBC's Great British Menu.
Andrew Pern, chef/patron of the Star at Harome, North Yorkshire; Timothy Bilton, chef/owner of Butchers Arms, Hepworth, West Yorkshire, and Tom Kerridge of the Michelin-starred Hand & Flowers, Marlow, Buckinghamshire, are among 24 chefs competing in eight regional finals in this year's series which starts tonight (4 April).
The 2011 Great British Menu theme is sharing platters, taking inspiration from last year's 'Big Lunch', a nationwide one-day event that encourages people to cook and eat with their neighbours and saw a million people taking part.
In each round, three of each regions top chefs will compete against each other cooking starters, fish dishes, mains and desserts.
The winning chefs will have their dishes served at a street party for 100 people called 'The People's Banquet', to be held at London's Leadenhall Market.
Pern and Bilton compete in the North East heat which starts on Monday, 4 April and Kerridge will be representing London and the South East later this month.
Bilton is hosting a Great British Menu event at the Butcher's Arms on the 19 May, where he will demonstrate the dishes he created for the show.
His menu features a fish course of North Sea seafood stew, main of whole roast suckling pig with summer vegetables and pan roasting juice and dessert of gooseberry and apple crumble with elderflower jelly and toffee ice cream.
Other chefs competing this year include Johnnie Mountain of London's English Pig; Aktar Islam, Lasan, Birmingham, Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park, Wiltshire and Phil Thompson of Auberge du Lac, Welwyn, Hertfordshire.
