The head chef of Ambleside’s Rothay Manor hotel has been crowned champion of champions for the 16th series of BBC’s popular Great British Menu.
Dan McGeorge represented the North West in the finals of the series, battling it out among seven other chefs for one of his dishes to feature in the finale banquet.
His dessert, Give A Dog A Bone, was chosen for the outdoor socially distanced banquet at Jodrell Bank Observatory, screened last night.
The course celebrated the training of the first four guide dogs by Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond in Merseyside, in 1931.
Since then, Guide Dogs has transformed over 36,000 lives thanks to their dedicated staff and volunteers and the vital support of the public.
Dan’s dish featured a bone shaped milk chocolate mousse, with a miso caramel centre, sprayed in chocolate, served with a miso caramel sauce, salted caramel ice cream, honeycomb miso tuille and yuzu gel and zest.
Once the invited guests had finished dining they were asked to vote for their favourite dish and Dan’s pudding resulted in him being crowned series 16’s champion of champions.
Dan said: ‘‘I still can’t quite believe that I’ve had the opportunity to represent the North West, my hometown of Liverpool and my adopted home, the Lake District on a show I’ve followed for years.
“It’s been a rollercoaster journey, really exciting to be involved with but also pretty challenging, especially being on camera with so much going on while you’re trying to do your job and cook food to a really high standard.
“Having a camera on you all the time is a very different way of working that’s for sure.
“To be recognised as champion of champions is just mind blowing, especially after having cooked alongside some really amazing chefs who’ve produced some incredible food.
” It hasn’t sunk in really and won’t for a bit yet, but my family, my partner and daughter are over the moon for me and that means everything.’’
