Dundee-born chef Adam Handling remained in touch with the leaders of Great British Menu after securing a tie for third in the first round.
The 34-year-old, representing Scotland in the BBC Two show after winning the regional heat earlier this month, ended up in a four-way tie for third after serving his starter.
In total, eight chefs are battling to serve the opening course at the Great British Menu banquet.
Since the first round of the heat, he completely changed his starter The Mice That Saved The Lion. While he acknowledged the risk of doing a new dish in the finals, he said: “I’m not here to enjoy a score of eight, I want to do better.”
Once again, Adam had to impress judges Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble, as well as guest judge Kulvinder Ghir.
Despite the change, his starter kept the same name and inspiration. It consisted of steamed and barbequed maitake mushroom, confit potato, a mushroom puree with yeast oil and tempura nettles.
The barbequed mushroom received high praises from his fellow chefs, and the judging panel found Adam’s dish packed full of flavour. Though Nisha said she was looking for a bit of reprieve from his big flavours.
Head judge Tom wished for something to pour over the dish, and the judging panel didn’t feel much of a connection to the story it was inspired by.
Adam scored 30 out of 40, getting eight points from Ed and guest judge Kulvinder, whereas Nisha and Tom awarded him seven points.
While he ended up with the same score as three other competitors, he was glad he took the risk to change his dish.
In the end, it was London and South East representative Avi Shashidhara who won the episode with his Gruffalo-inspired Scrambled Snake by the Lake.
Most experienced Great British Menu finalist
Out of the eight talented chefs from across the UK that have battled their way into the finale, Adam is the only one who has been there before.
He was among the first chefs to enter the kitchen in tonight’s episode, alongside Northern Ireland’s Gemma Austin and Wales’ Mark Threadgill. They have all tried and failed to reach the banquet before.
The competition this year is steep, and Gemma pinned Adam as the main chef to keep an eye out for. When asked by host Andi Oliver how he feels this time around, the Dundee chef responds he’s better than last year and believes third time’s the charm.
For the final week, scores from the heats are reset and all chefs will be judged solely on their performances this week. But with many competitors receiving their highest scores for their starters, competition was tough tonight for Adam.
Each day this week, the finalists will cook one dish and a winner will be picked. On Friday, the winning chefs will cook up a storm at the Great British Menu banquet at Brighton Royal Pavilion.
Who is Adam Handling?
Dundee-born Adam left school at 15, before becoming Gleneagles’ first ever apprentice chef. He later went on to become Fairmont St Andrews’ youngest ever head chef.
In 2013, he reached the finals of MasterChef: The Professionals with Scott Davies and winner Steven Edwards.
His first appearance on Great British Menu was in 2016 for series 11 where he was the runner-up. He first reached the finals in series 17 which aired last year.
Adam owns three restaurants and a cocktail bar, with his flagship The Frog sitting in Covent Garden. Cocktail bar Eve is situated under the restaurant.
The Loch and The Tyne is a restaurant and pub in Old Windsor, while Ugly Butterfly is on the Cornish coast outside St Ives and has a zero waste focus.
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