Cal Byerley, chef and co-owner of Restaurant Pine in Northumberland, will represent the North East & Yorkshire in Great British Menu Finals Week after winning the regional heat.
Cal battled Adam Degg, Scott Hodgson and Samira Effa throughout the week as they created dishes celebrating Britain’s success in the Olympics and Paralympics, all in the hope of securing a spot at a celebratory banquet being hosted by the British ambassador to France to wish Team GB athletes good luck as they prepare for Paris 2024.
After a hard-fought week, Cal and Samira won through to cook their respective menus for judges Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona, Ed Gamble and Shauna Coxsey – Britain’s first medal-winning sport climber – with Cal making it through.
Following the completion of the nine regional heats, broadcast weekly on BBC Two at 8pm and available on the iPlayer, the finalists will gather for finals week to compete for a place at the banquet.
Cal said: “That was a really tough week, there’s some serious cooking talent in the North East and Yorkshire. Hats off to Adam, Scott and Samira – they all created stand out dishes. I was fortunate enough to be able to pull everything together this year and do the business at the judges’ table, despite Samira giving me a run for my money. I’m looking forward to seeing who else makes it through from each of the regions in the coming weeks to see who I’ll be up against in Finals Week.”
