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Edinburgh has been proving its worth when it comes to inspiring cooking over the last few years… we’ve added multiple Michelin stars to our belt, had home grown contestants on MasterChef and The Great British Bake Off, and now our very own Mark Greenaway of No. 12 Picardy Place fame is gracing our screens to show the Great British Menu judges just what we’re made of.
With this year’s show focusing on showcasing the most creative culinary feats for a feast for our Olympian athletes, it looks like Mark Greenaway, molecular gastronomy extraordinaire, should be in with a fighting chance, and with the buzz on Twitter and the blogs, you can tell that the city is behind him.
Last night Mark and his team invited Total Food Geeks members to join a variety of food bloggers and writers at No.12 to share the airing of the first episode of the Scottish heat of the Great British Menu with him.
We watched with excitement as Mark, Alan Murchison and Colin Buchan served up their starters, and were even lucky enough to try Mark’s braised pork cheek served with hot apple jelly and sea buckthorn before the show, and well, all we can say is that we disagree with the score he was given wholeheartedly. The dish was not only visually entrancing, but also delicate, finely tuned, innovative and absolutely delicious.
You can watch the starter episode here, or better yet, Mark will be serving his entire Great British Menu offering at No. 12 Picardy Place (complete with GBM personal score cards) this month.
We’re looking forward to seeing what Mark creates tonight and for the rest of the week – and will be cheering from our sofas the entire time.
On a final note, if you want to find out more about Mark, his approach to life, cooking and social media, we’d highly recommend watching the first in the Cook That series of Edinburgh chef profiles. Created by King Film UK, it’s a great insight into Mark’s mind and methods.
Photo credit: Georgia
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About Georgia
To me, food means great comfort, enticement, fun, joy, and almost always making a mess. Edinburgh is my haven; we've enough eateries and food fanatics to keep every waking hour of life deliciously fulfilled. You'll find me discussing the delights of baking, discovering our city's restaurants and devouring homely comforts. I geek out over: culinary events, foodie photos and my grannie's fairy cakes Twitter: @ideaspotting Blog: www.bakenation.com
42 Responses to “Geeking Out Over… Mark Greenaway on Great British Menu”
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We have just watched the Great British Menu,fish course for the north west chefs, Marcus Waring was a disgrace. The score for Jonny Mountain was his opinion, the way he totally embarrassed him was uneccessary and highhanded, he destroyed the man. I don’t blame him for leaving, for Waring to then compound his pompous behaviour by accusing the chef of lack of backbone by referencing ‘olympian behaviour” was unbelievable. He showed no sign of the same of the olypian ethic in the way he behaved on national television. .
I completely agree. I thought Marcus Waring was completely out of order. He was hopelessly unprofessional. I really hope that GBM don’t try and defend his behaviour. They certainly shouldn’t try and justify it by saying this is a cut throat business.
I suspect Jonny Montagne has just won a lot of business and Marcus Waring has lost a lot. I can’t imagine wanting to support someone like that. If his food is made from that attitude, it’s not for me…
Agreed. Unnecessary humiliation. If he can give a salad without ‘focus’ the best score in round 1, why did he need a lump of fish in this round?
I imagine it tasted fine – why wouldn’t it?
Marcus has been vindictive and spiteful towards Johnny Mountain since Monday. It has been blatantly obvious that whatEVER Johnny does, he is not going to get decent marks – or balanced comments – from Marcus. Johnny, you’re just not in the ‘Michelin Stars Club’ like the other three – maybe that’s why you are being picked on.
I’m not saying his dish was the best – but awarding Aiden 10 out of 10, then saying he struggled to give a two seemed part of Marcus’s attempt to snuff out any enthusiasm left in Johnny. Shame on you!!
Well if Marcus thinks Johnny can’t take criticism then maybe Maarcus can take that he is just a loser and has a fat ego controling his thoughts?!
Whatever Johnny made, it can’t be the same some poor quality food in some cheap take away on high street.
He is jealous with Johnny enthusiasium , carefree and confidence attitude.
I dislike him totally. He is so sad….
I agree, Wareing was a snidey little bully who got what he deserved. Johnny has alluded on Twitter to the fact that something happened before filming commenced, so this was just Wareing taking the opportunity to belittle somebody. I’ve never liked MW on Great British Menu, and I hope this is the last series we see him on.
i truly hope that marcus wareing comes to regret his behaviour, what a pathetic little man to feel that he needed to go overboard in the way that he did.
if he has fundamental issues with one of the contestants, and he had any kind of balls, it should have been dealt with off screen not as some half baked attempt at public humiliation.
what is also poor is that wareing’s behaviour calls into question his judgement in general and therefore the legitimacy of the very good mark that he gave aidan byrne.
Marcus Wareing was out of order to award those marks to Johnny. Marcus has the personality of a slug and he is rude, arrogant and not very entertaining to watch. Let’s reverse the roles and have Johnny mark Marcus’s cooking cos I bet that Johnny wouldn’t stoop so low and be so unprofessional as to award 2 marks. GET MARCUS OFF GBM PLEASE.
I thought the way Marcus spoke to Johnny was appalling. He was cruel and spiteful and said nothing constructive. I feel sorry for his staff if that’s how he treats them. Johnny has been enthusiastic and adventurous and I can’t believe the dish can have been that bad. Marcus just set out to destroy him. Well done Johnny for walking out!
Marcus is a Berkshire hunt. His attitude stinks. Someone give that man a good shoe pie.
So, to all those who think Johnny was unfairly judged, presumabley the other two chefs were part of the conspiracy fro berating the poor offering of JM? MW is a fine chef and I would always trust his opinions over those of pretender JM.
They did not berate it. They were not particularly impressed but that is all. They certainly did not give the impression it was inedible. I have heard far worse comments from other chefs about dishes that still got 4-6 so don’t act like the two was justified, patently it was not and besides, his manner is the issue here. He knew exactly what he was doing and went ahead and did it anyway. No one can defend such behaviour.
Where do you get this from? In any of the GBM series he has never given Jonny a good mark. I’ll bet if Heston B. had served that same dish he would have fawned all over him and told him how wonderful and cutting edge it was. The brief was to push back the boundaries and that’s what Jonny did. Certainly a badly (in it’s creators own view) salad for the starter couldn’t have earned a 9.
Marcus Wareing a disgrace. Good cook probably, but the interpersonal skills of a piece of wood.
This completely pathetic marking process has made this weeks GBM totaly pointless. Just started to watch and have given up. The competition element has gone and one feels the other remaining two are going through the motions. Didn’t anybody explain the point of the show to the judge?
I agree with Fee get Mr waring off GBM, I love this show as a non cook but that mans attitude and meaness wass appaling and has spoilt this weeks show for me.
I came on here to see what people were saying because I couldn’t believe my eyes or ears. I totally agree with what everyone is saying. It is an absolute disgrace and Marcus Wareing’s behaviour is indescribably poor, mean and vindictive and, yes, it does show him in a very, very poor light.
I would also like to comment on the other two competitors. They did not stick up for Johnnie at all. Whether they thought much of his dish or not, they should still have stood up for him when he was being treated in such a deplorable manner. Effectively they have colluded with Marcus in his vindictive and bullying behaviour. Shame! Shame! Shame!
Also speaking of ego, does Aidan Byrne not realise that not only is his ten tainted but it was also given to highlight the two given to Johnnie? He is so up himself he would rather slag off Johnnie’s behaviour than admit that his dish was not really a ten. I’m not saying it wasn’t good, because I don’t doubt it was, but a ten? It was probably a nine but Marcus upgraded it just to stick it to Johnnie all the more – pathetic. He should also be ashamed of himself and take a look at himself instead of taking this sycophantic deluded mark and realise he was being used.
I am very, very, very disappointed in GBM. It’s made it all look a little shabby TBH! I love this programme and now it has been tainted. Yuck!
Very unprofessional behaviour from Marcus. I don’t think we need Marcus on GBM next series, hopefully we’ll see Johnny again.
Unprofessional is walking out before the end and making a mokery of this week
Marcus Wareing has always seemed a slightly unpleasant character in my opinion, I don’t know the man of course, so this is only based on his media persona; but even when he was a contestant in early series of GBM he consistently seemed to be arrogant and was regularly appeared rude to other contestants. Although, I admit that this may be a result of editorial decisions in the cutting room.
I also agree that the ad hominem attack at the end of the fish course judging (the Olympian-spirit bit) appeared a childish, vindictive, and seemingly personal swipe rather than adding to his role in the show.
None of this should surprise us though, remember the CriticalCouple blog debacle in 2010? His reported treatment of disgruntled customers was less than genial (although I too would have been unhappy in the situation, I hope that I would not have telephoned the blogger to remonstrate with them).
I personally, sincerely hope that this situation contributes to the end of his TV career. He is undoubtedly one of the leading lights of British food, but that doesn’t mean that he is a suitable candidate for hosting TV shows. Which I do not feel he is.
On the other hand…
Johnnie Mountain is a grown man, something that he would do well to remember when he is on camera. If he felt that the judging was unfair, constituted an attempt to denigrate his cooking skills, or damage his career, he should have raised this with the editor/producer of the show. After that, his withdrawl from the competition would not have been turned into quite the current farce, a farce that the producer of GBM could have dealt with in a less sensationalist manner.
If his reaction was purely due to disappointment then he shouldn’t enter public competitions, and should seek some form of therapy to help him address such behaviour. Wearing your heart on your sleeve is one thing, but a screaming on-screen tantrum is quite something else.
In short, while it was dramatic TV, it was most certainly not edifying.
May I presume that if your professional integrity was called into question that you would wait until everything was quiet and ‘had a word with the producer’?
I think Jonnie’s reaction was perfectly apt as it is blatantly obvious that Marcus doesn’t like him and will do whatever it takes to stop him progressing. Is there some history there that we don’t know about?
I’ve stopped watching the show because of this horrible slur on a man’s capabilities from a biased, sad little individual. If I am ever in the area I know whose food I will cross the street to avoid and it isn’t Jonnies.
What can i say Marcus Wareing has ruined Great British Menu.
He has in previous series mentored Johnny Mountain and has been the same towards him, belittling, patronising and has made it blindingly obvious from the start he does not like him.
I always thought the 1st person to serve thier dish was the 1st person to be spoken to by the judges, but Marcus left Johnny to last to ridicule him even more after giving Aiden a 10 what an absolute pompous ass.
I do not want to see him on GBM again as a mentor he could have given Johnny a 5 or 6 to make it respectable, but humiliation is what he wanted.
I am glad Johnny came back today and did not shake his hand.
But he got what he wanted Johnny out of the Kitchen.
This is the first time I have left any kind of comment about anything on TV, but I felt so upset.
I too agree with the comments above, Marcus Wareing had spoiled GBM for me. I feel he has a bullying way about him and if he feels he does not like someone this is reflected in his scoring of the dish.
Why is ONLY one person tasting and looking at the dishes, before the Friday judges?
For the record, I would have liked to have seen more fish in Johnnies dish, but taking a brief and looking at it from another point of view, breaking ground ideas & creating something new (which I felt this was) is the reason I like watching GBM.
To amend this, couldn’t we have Johnnie tasting and judging Marcus’ food?
Glad to see a majority support for Johnny here. MW’a actions were disgraceful, vindictive and made a complete shambles of the show. Scoring the dish as a 2 made it completely pointless for Johnny to continue. MW seemingly didn’t understand the brief or demonstrate the qualities necessary to function as a judge on a TV show. I sincerely hope that Wareing is axed from any future series.
I have to add my agreement to those above. Much as I admire Waring as a cook – his marking was utterly disgraceful. On top of that, on the main course he gave good marks for a dish which even the chef agreed was poorly cooked and discoloured and which lacked one of the promised elements.
I haven’t seen such poor or biased judging outside the petty rivalries of a village fete and Waring absolutely must not be allowed to continue, let alone return for any future series.
Utterly pathetic and I hope that he is ashamed of himself. (Alas I doubt he is).
J
Okay, Marcus now looks even more like a petty, sullen faced miserablist than before, if anyone should be embarassed then its him not Johnnie. BUT..come on lets face it, the brief this year is pants, the dishes bordering on inedible at times and its hilarious watching judges moan about boundaries not being pushed when the dishes have been all but genetically modified just to meet the brief! what would be bloody groundbreaking-cook some proper food! Stop messing about
Hadn’t watched this series (or heard of Marcus or Johnny) at all before last week and was fairly stunned by Tuesday’s show, but I have to say I was surprised to see the consensus on here. For me Johnny was really irritating on Monday, and talking balls in this episode, with the “I don’t know what the main element is” and “ooh, actually, it’s the smoke that’s the main element”, and I would have wanted to come down pretty hard on that myself. The main element was smoke and mirrors. He couldn’t explain what the dish was. He just came out with pretentious guff instead. He was trying too hard to be too complex, and SO convinced that it was brilliant in his own mind.
My initial reaction before reading these comments was good riddance. I also thought the atmosphere of the show became a lot less unpleasant after Johnny left, as they were really quite nasty to each other on the first show. In stark contrast to the Northern Irish lot who got on well.
Having said all that, 2/10 was harsh, and on watching the clip again after reading the comments I noticed Marcus’s smirk afterwards which was a bit out of order.
I’ve been watching this show for years and was dissapointed to see Johnny leave. He was great last year and I really wanted to see him progress. Although I thought the whole Olympic Gods thing was a little misguided and he really seemed up against it.
Personally, I would have been disappointed had Johnny’s fish dish been served to me, but I do think they should have called the judges in to confirm such an unusual score. Particullary since the brief was aimed at pushing the boundries.
It’s a great show! They’ve got me hooked, again.
I’ve watched all of the GBM series so far and have become disillusioned by this series. Marcus’ treatment of Johnny was out of order and it’s s shame he can’t overcome his disdain. Has anyone else noticed this year that the chef judge’s interpretation of the brief seems to be in complete contradiction to the panel of judges, who have berated some of the dishes to score 8+ by the chef judge. I’m not sure the chef with the highest score to go through to Friday’s judging has so far gone through to the next round – beware the top scorer from the remaining two North West chefs!
Like other commentators above, I have never been moved to comment on a programme before but I was so horrified by Marcu Wareing’s low, humiliating score, that I had to put pen to paper. Marcus should realise the responsibilities that go with being a judge and humiliating a contestant on TV where not only the man’s family, but staff and customers are watching is just not on. Yes, Johnnie took an interesting view of the brief, but so Stephanie the other week – with her swimming goggles and nose clip! – but the judge there, Nigel, took her to one side half way through the week, had a word with her and ensured she continued without being humiliated.
The BBC should take note of this forum and NEVER use MW as a judge again. He is not worthy
Can’t believe what I’m reading here. In no way did JM’s fish course push boundaries, it was a blatant rip off of “Sounds of the Sea” The chef at the FAt Duck warned him it all had to taste right and not just look the part and he totally ignored him. It was a fish course, and if the only fish there is powdered anchovy with an overriding taste of smoke then quite frankly a 2 sounds like the right score. The comparisons to the salad in the starter lacking focus are completely wide of the mark – it’s a starter so doesn’t need a hero, it can have separate elements complimenting each other whereas the fish dish obviously needs a fish focal point. The ocntestants go into it knowing they are being marked out of 10. That being the case 5 is an average score for a dish, and if this was way below average then why should he be awarded a 4 just to save face? If the marking system is out of 10 then use the whole 10 points, not just scores between 5 and 10 to make people feel good about themselves.
Warings behaviour will be no surprise to anyone who has watched the last couple of series.he basically dislikes JM which has always been obvious. Having recently eaten in warnings new st pancreas restaurant (overpriced shite would be kind) I cant believe he a judge of food full stop. The manna an idiot!!
Have to agree with the majority of the comments above. However my issue with Waring isn’t so much that he gave a low score but with the comment about struggling to even give that. How backward thinking that the dish has to have a slab of fish on it. Clearly it was a fish dish.
Interesting to see that Aiden’s dish, which Wareing gave a 10, was nowhere near as highly rated by the three judges on Friday. Not the first time this has happened. I seem to recall in a previous series the judges comments as to what they expected, having criticised a course from both fianlists, almost perfectly described a dish that the mentor that week had panned, given a low score and the chef had not gone through to the final two. Maybe the format needs a rethink.
Finally, I hope the judges, when making their final choice, recognise one other factor that so far seems to have been ignored. I know a few people hoping to compete this year and am pretty sure that if Aidan’s lumps of fat had been presented in a dish they would have been pushed to the side of the plate. These athletes are very careful about what they eat.
Yes Waring is a disgrace and I won’t watch the show if heis featured again. He was similarly disliking of Johnny last year with scores that were pre-determined.
You would hope there would be some chef solidarity here – rather than potentially destroying anothers reputation.
The chef-acting-as-midweek judge is an awful element. They have often made their mind up before they tasted the dish.
Oh Mr Waring what a twatful little bully you turned out to be!….ok so maybe not a great dish by Johnny but Mr W,s judging days will now be a thing of the past ….great and Britsh you are not sunshine
BBC please take note. Several weeks of bias have spoilt a very good programme, as several adjudicating chefs seem in awe of some of the competitors and mark accordingly. Consequently I have lost interest.
It appears certain chefs are promised a ticket to the judges chamber despite poor execution of their dishes in the scored round.
The food is the star, not the personalities/competition element.
I have watched all the episodes of great British menu from the first series Mr Waring has always had issues with Mr Mountain Irrespective of food quality the manner that Marcus W conducted himself was a disgrace and went against the ethos of the Olympian theme.
Separately Jason Athertons judging has been weak and biased against the 1 star chef – in favour of the 2 star chefs in particular he seemed scared on Phil Howard.
All other judges have been brilliant
I was a regular viewer but have given up on GBM.
BBC you have turned a golden idea into repetitive dross.
The concept is entertaining the execution is abysmal.
Judging day 1-4 tedius, and/or illogical, and/or biased.
Judging day 5 beyond idiocy.
Don’t tell me the day 5 judges don’t know who has cooked which menu – what a joke.
By taping this programme it is possible to cut out 25 minutes of tedium. But is it worth it? not for me.
Change the format. Let it live again.
I agree with ‘cookie’ i am totally fed up with GBM they said they wanted innovation & new ideas yet the last two chefs they’ve chosen have not used any new techniques and have had a very arrogant attitude say that their food quality speaks for itself. What a load of nonsense. this is the last one i’ll be watching.
maybe they need to shake it up, maybe change the judges so they judge different areas
Having just watched episode 1 of the GBM final I am appalled at the petty comments by some of the judges. There seems to be disparity between the negative comments from the judges and the more positive opinions of the chefs who are also sampling the food. The only encouraging comments seem to come from Prue Leith, the other three just seem to be playing upto the camera.
Really agree with your comments Maria. Putting Nathan Outlaw through was a joke. All the innovation was shown by the other chef but they put his dull boring food through, it was a shocker. I think the judges actually need some new blood in there as humorous as they might be, and with the exception of Oliver Peyton, they are antiquated and a little bit stuck in time and taste.