GORDO has two or three charities he is fond of, one of which is Action Against Hunger, which has a simple aim, to 'save the lives of malnourished children and provide families with access to safe water and good nutrition.'

...by the time his dish was being judged The Fat One was half way through his third bottle

In 2014 AAH helped over 13.6 million people in 46 countries worldwide. Now, that floats Gordo’s boat, so a few years back he agreed to take part in the charity's ‘Too Many Critics’ initiative.

What happens is this; a team of food critics drop their pens and pick up the pans, taking over a restaurant for the evening and cooking for some of the region's top chefs. It’s a great idea with thousands of pounds raised for the charity while the chefs, to the industry's great amusement, get to return some of the fire and give the critics their comeuppance.

Last year Gordo was headed off at the pass at Hawksmoor. The staff gave him a bottle of champagne to calm his nerves, and by the time his dish was being judged The Fat One was half way through his third bottle and delivered a sauce Choron that was devoid of Choron and basically just whisked up butter. Oh, the laughs.

 

This year it’s at Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant Fazenda, while the victims (critics) are: Bill Knott, Financial Times; Andy Cronshaw, Manchester Evening News; Ruth Allan, Manchester Confidential and Manchester Wire; and Fatty himself, Mark ‘Gordo’ Garner, Manchester Confidential and The Gutter.

Judging will be Frances Atkins (The Yorke Arms, Pateley Bridge), Aiden ‘Boxer’ Byrne (Manchester House, Spinningfields), Andrew ‘Confused’ Nutter (Nutters, Rochdale) and Paul ‘Porky’ Askew, (The Art School, Liverpool).

The event is held in conjuction with Thom ‘Trouser’ Hetherington’s Northern Restaurant and Bar Show (NRB) and has become the annual industry piss-up. The host is Nigel ‘Shifty’ Bardon, BBC food and wine presenter, who'll also be compèring the auction.

Tomas Maunier, co-owner of Fazenda, and Caroline Dyer, spokesperson for Action Against Hunger, say some very worthy things in the press release put together by Andy ‘The Crane’ Spinoza, to which Gordo says, ‘Never mind the bollocks, here’s the critics’.

Early bird tickets are £65 and are available now - Gordo says fill yer boots.