Great British Menu Season 8 Episode 16

Central Starter

This week three chefs compete in the heat for the central region. Returner Ryan Simson-Trotman, who failed to reach the national finals last year, is originally from Nuneaton and opened his own restaurant Orwells in the Oxfordshire countryside with his partner Liam, who is also a contestant in the north west region. Newcomer Marianne Lumb has 20 years' experience catering for distinguished clientele who demand perfection. Born in Leicestershire, she worked as a private chef and now runs her own restaurant Marianne, which, seating just 14, is London's smallest fine-dining restaurant. And fellow first timer, Wolverhampton-born Sabrina Gidda, is a two-time Roux Scholarship finalist whose fusion cooking combines flavours from all over the world. After nerves are set on edge when they meet their surprise veteran judge, it is on with their starters. Ryan is hoping his inventive brown sauce ice cream and pork cheek donuts will look like a dessert but impress as a starter. Marianne is taking inspiration from postwar Britain when the NHS was created for her onion and potato starter, Potato Pete and Tracy Truffle, while Sabrina is drawing on influences from around the world to honour the 187,000 NHS workers from overseas, and is hoping to transform a classic soup into a dish worthy of the banquet.