Cal Byerley, chef and co-owner of Michelin-starred Restaurant Pine in Northumberland, represented the North East in the final banquet of Season 21 of The Great British Menu.
Cal first represented the region in the heats, which were broadcast on BBC Two from March 24, competing against Jamie Keeble of Myse in Hovingham, North Yorkshire; Weike Zhao of Wood Hall Hotel and Spa in Wetherby, West Yorkshire; and Ryan McVay of Calabash Tree in Sunderland.
This year’s theme was movies, with a focus on British films and filmmakers. The chefs were tasked with creating dishes that paid tribute to their region, or to filmmakers and actors with connections to their area, in the hope of reaching finals week and securing a course at the banquet, where the winning chefs cooked for luminaries from the British film industry.
This year’s programme saw Andi Oliver return to present, with a judging lineup including Michelin-starred double banquet winner Tom Kerridge; 2019 winner Lorna McNee of Michelin-starred restaurant Cail Bruich, a former champion of champions on Great British Menu; and comedian Phil Wang.
Cal delivered a strong performance in the regional heat, presenting a menu rich in cinematic references. His starter, I Am The Greatest Botanist On This Planet, paid homage to Ridley Scott’s The Martian; his fish course, Black & White Newcastle, drew inspiration from On the Night of the Fire; his main, The Full Monty, celebrated Simon Beaufoy’s iconic comedy; and his dessert, Alien, again nodded to the work of Ridley Scott.
Despite an impressive showing, Cal, competing in his third and final year, was narrowly pipped to the regional title by Jamie, missing out on a place in finals week.
As finals week got underway, eight regional winners competed for a coveted place at the banquet, with the starter, fish course, main and dessert all up for grabs – with the top four then going on to compete for the title of Champion of Champions 2026.
Following the starter and fish course rounds, the finalist with the lowest cumulative score was stood down, making way for presenter Andi Oliver’s wildcard chef, the highest-scoring runner-up from the regional heats, and that chef was Cal.
Given a second chance, Cal was asked to cook his main course for a place at the banquet, held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, which was used as Gotham City Hall in Batman.
“This is my third year of competing, so the pressure was on. I’ve come second three times by the narrowest of margins, so to be brought back as a wildcard to cook the main course was overwhelming and pretty intense to be honest,” said Cal.
Cal’s main course, The Full Monty, hit all the right notes with the judges, earning him a place at the banquet. The dish consisted of whole guinea fowl deboned and stuffed with a roulade of guinea fowl leg and thigh farce, covered in truffle with a truffle-stuffed morel mushroom centre, guinea fowl sausage served with sweetcorn husk, caramel-glazed milk bun, mushrooms, sweetcorn purée, and a guinea fowl sauce.
“I’m chuffed to say my dish hit all the right notes with the judges. I’m the first chef from the region to secure the main course, and only the third chef to represent the North East at the banquet in 21 series of the show. It’s great to shine a light on the whole region, which often gets overlooked,” added Cal.
“Earning a place at the banquet is a significant honour, especially getting to cook the main course, which is the one every chef secretly wants. I’m over the moon to have succeeded after lots of hard work, sleepless nights, and three years of competition.
“I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me, those involved in the programme, my wife Sian, the team at Pine, and especially Ian Waller. From here, I want to see Pine continue to grow and develop, and to support even more up-and-coming talent, both in the kitchen and front of house, as we play our part in putting the North East even more on the UK’s food map.”
The full series is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
