Cal Byerley, chef and co-owner of the Michelin-starred Restaurant Pine, is representing the North East in the final banquet of Season 21 of The Great British Menu.
Cal first flew the flag for the region during the heats, which aired on BBC Two from 24 March, where he competed against fellow chefs Jamie Keeble of Myse, Weike Zhao of Wood Hall Hotel and Spa, and Ryan McVay of Calabash Tree.
This year’s theme is Movies, with a focus on British films and filmmakers. Competing 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 cook for luminaries from the British film industry.
This year’s programme sees Andi Oliver returning to present the series, with a judging line-up of: Michelin-starred, GBM double banquet winner, Tom Kerridge; 2019 winner and Scotland’s Lorna McNee, of Michelin-starred restaurant Cail Bruich, a former champion of champions on Great British Menu, returning alongside new addition to this year’s panel, comedian Phil Wang.
Cal delivered a strong and creative 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 Keeble, 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. That chef was none other than Cal Byerley.
Given a second chance to prove himself, Cal was asked to cook his main course for a place at the banquet, held at the iconic St George’s Hall in Liverpool, famously 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.”
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 puree with 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 Northeast at the banquet in 21 series of the show, the first since 2016. It’s great to shine a light on the whole Northeast region, which often gets overlooked.”
“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 Northeast even more on the UK’s food map.”
Over the years, The Great British Menu has proven a powerful springboard for some of the nation’s most celebrated chefs, and Cal Byerley’s landmark achievement looks set to be no exception.
Watch the full series on BBC iPlayer.
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