‘Absolutely
Brilliant’ food at Great
British Menu - Homecoming
Banquet
RAF Lyneham
BBC Television
19th June 2009
www.bbc.co.uk
Three personnel from RAF Lyneham were lucky enough to be
selected to attend the BBC’s Great British Banquet
at Halton House RAF Halton which saw the culmination of the
latest series of the Great British Menu.
Senior Aircraftman Alan Llewellyn, 30 from Neath in South
Wales, works as a chef at RAF Lyneham. He served
in Afghanistan over the Christmas period, arriving home
in April. Upon returning to work in the Junior Ranks
Mess at Lyneham, he was asked whether he would like to
be put forward to attend the event – of course, he
said yes:
“I could hardly believe it when I got the phone
call telling me that I had been selected to attend the
banquet. I took my wife, Laura, with me, and the
evening was fantastic. The food was just amazing;
I particularly enjoyed Nigel Haworth’s lamb hotpot. It
made a nice change to be dined upon – it was a
bit of a role reversal.”
Alan spoke with Ross Kemp at the dinner, having already
met him when he cooked for him in Afghanistan recently. He
spent his 4 month detachment working in the Britannia Lines
kitchen in Camp Bastian. He said:
“I enjoyed cooking when I was younger and decided
to join the RAF as a chef as you receive all the training
you need and I love my job – it is the best job
ever. I am really honoured that I was chosen to
attend the banquet but I really feel that there are loads
more deserving candidates out there. There were
2 guys on my table who were serving on the frontline
in Afghanistan and they are the ones who deserve it.”
Sergeant Steve Wright works on Number 1 Air Mobility Wing
at RAF Lyneham. He was one of the lucky ones who
was invited to attend and said:
“I have been to Iraq and Afghanistan on numerous
occasions and I will be going for another eight weeks
to Camp Bastian shortly. I have had quite a lot of time
away so tonight I have brought my wife to thank her for
supporting me while I am away. Last time I was
in Afghanistan, I was handling transport aircraft, inbound
and outbound of theatre, which was often very busy. It
is brilliant to be here at the Great British Menu tonight,
I’ve seen a few episodes and to be nominated by
my unit was a real honour.”
The third attendee from RAF Lyneham was Flight Lieutenant
Andy Thornhill who is a pilot on 24 Squadron. He
has been on the J-fleet continuously since the first day
the Hercules C130 J went into Afghanistan in 2002 and returned
from his latest tour of duty in Afghanistan on 20th May.
Special guest for the evening Ross Kemp said:
“What a fantastic event; it is really good to
see that it is a mix of all ranks from all 3 Services,
but, more importantly, the organisers have recognised
that the families who are left behind deserve the thanks
just as much as those serving in Afghanistan. There
are some fine Chefs in this country and it was really
nice that so many entered the competition knowing that
they would be cooking for some of Britain’s finest.”
Lindsey Bradbury, Executive Editor for BBC Daytime said:
“This is the 4th Great British Menu and we always
try to better each final and make it more challenging
for the Chefs. The decision to choose the Armed
Forces was to give it the theme of a homecoming banquet
for our troops. This has been 8 weeks of filming
so, very busy for us all but it is extremely exciting
to see so many here today who are obviously looking forward
to the meal. The proof of the pudding is in the
eating and all three Services have been extremely helpful
during the whole of the series. Having spoken to
many of our guests, they are extremely proud to be here
today which is graced by such a wonderful setting for
what is a great event. Ross Kemp has done us proud
with such a wonderful speech and I can only reiterate
what he has said about our troops.”
A Merlin aircraft from Royal Air Force Benson opened the
event with an enticing flypast and with all the guests
seated, the haunting sound of a Piper moving closer to
the Grand Salon piped in the first course starter of Salad
of Aberdeen Angus Beef, horse radish and Shetland black
potatoes. This was followed by Masala Spiced Monkfish
with Red Lentils Pickled Carrots and Coconut, the main
course of Loin of Lamb Lancashire Hotpot, Roast Loin, Pickled
Red Cabbage and Summer Vegetables and, for those with a
sweet tooth, Treacle Tart with clotted cream and Raspberry
Ripple Ice cream.
The Fireworks finale closed the proceedings for the evening
however, what was the general consensus on the Menu – ‘Absolutely
Brilliant’ was heard as the guests departed.
The Banquet was filmed on 6th June and was shown on BBC
2 on Tuesday 16th June 2009. It is the grand finale of
Great British Menu. The nation's finest chefs have been
battling it out in the ultimate cookery contest.
The Winning Starter - Recipe
Kenny Atkinson for the North East:
Salad of Aberdeen Angus beef, carrots, horseradish and
Shetland Black potato crisps
The Winning Fish Dish - Recipe
Glynn Purnell for Central:
Masala spiced monkfish with red lentils, pickled carrots
and coconut
The Winning Main Course - Recipe
Nigel Haworth for the North West:
Lancashire hot pot, roast loin, pickled red cabbage, carrots
and leeks
The Winning Desert - Recipe
Shaun Rankin for the South West:
Treacle tart with Jersey clotted cream and raspberry coulis
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