Chef Dave Critchley cooks his Great British Menu for one night only
Fresh from facing the judges on Great British Menu, Lu Ban executive head chef Dave Critchley is hosting a special evening featuring all of the dishes from his latest appearance.
The presentation was fun, interactive and slightly bonkers
Critchley represented the North West on the BBC show alongside Sam Lomas from Macclesfield, Lancashire lad Stevie Lamb, and Brazilian-born Caroline Martins from Manchester. And, while it might not have been a place in the grand final for Dave, he certainly did Liverpool proud.
Celebrating 100 years of British Broadcasting, Dave’s dishes were a homage to Liverpool and some of its most famous broadcasting moments and stars including Cilla Black and Sir Ken Dodd.
Dave smashed the first North West heat with canapes, starters and fish dishes, and knocked it out of the park in round two with his main and dessert.
“The presentation was fun, interactive and slightly bonkers,” said Lisa Goodwin-Allen - Northcote’s executive chef - on Dave's Doddy pud.
But it was the North West judges round that didn’t go in Dave's favour, with guest judge, Sue Cleaver, commenting, "I think this is bonkers, but not bonkers in the right way."
Get back to Weatherfield, Eileen Grimshaw. We can’t wait to try Doddy’s Diddy Butty Mine.
Dave will recreate his six-course Great British Menu dishes for one night only at Lu Ban on Wednesday 23 February. As well as preparing the culinary delights in the kitchen, Dave will join guests and tell us all about his experiences on the show, as well as revealing stories about the dishes.
The Great British Menu evening features:
From Childwall to Tianjin
A traditional hot and sour baby vegetable soup. A real favourite from the Lu Ban menu, it’s bold and a real tastebud tingler. It reflects Dave’s journey over the last two years and is influenced by the food of the Tianjin region.
Surprisingly Cilla
Master stock braised pork belly and compressed watermelon. Cilla was a lover of Chinese food especially pork dishes (according to her sons). This dish is a symbol of Cilla’s amazing TV success especially Surprise Surprise, and the dish is influenced by "black, white and the smoke and mirrors of showbiz."
Try it Yourself!
British trout ‘Toban Jang’, choi sum, spring onion oil, soy and crispy fish skin. Influenced by Neil Buchanan, who was born in Aintree, and chef Dave’s training as an artist. This dish reflects the creativity of the TV show Art Attack. The art and presentation of the finished dish is influenced by the eye of the guest. Each dish plated on the day will be an individual piece of artwork.
A Right Royal Night In
This is a celebration of the Royal Variety Performance and the Liverpudlians who’ve starred in the show. Seared fillet of blackened short horn beef, lemongrass and chilli pak choi, truffle and duck egg fried rice and black pepper sauce. Influenced by the Royal Variety Show and a Critchley Chinese take away.
A bit of ‘Brooky’
Cherry lips and "a lovers kiss" Baijiu cocktail. Influenced by the first lesbian pre-watershed kiss on TV, and special to Dave as he was an extra on the show...
Jam butty Doddy style
Broken biscuit ice cream, lychee, shisho and raspberry. Influenced by the late, great Sir Ken Dodd, and the mines discovered in 1627 by Sir Dingle Jetty, from Knotty Ash who sadly died when he fell in a vat screaming, "Heaven preserve us."
The Great British Menu at Lu Ban is priced at £100 per person and can be booked via the Lu Ban website.
Follow Vicky Andrews on Twitter: @planetvicster
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