Anglesey chef through to Friday cook off in the Great British Menu

Self-taught Anglesey chef Ellis Barrie has made it through to the cook off in tonight’s Great British Menu.

The Marram Grass head chef landed just a seven out of 10 on Wednesday which saw his lead ahead of the other two competing chefs cut to just three points.

For the dessert course last night Ellis, 27, called his dish “Strawberry Fields” and cooked compressed strawberries on a chocolate soil, with strawberry sorbet, strawberry meringue and panacotta.

In a desperate – and successful – attempt to get his strawberry sorbet to set in time Ellis had to use liquid nitrogen as part of the chilling process.

Judge Daniel Clifford said: “Showing strawberries growing in the field is an amazing idea. Your panacotta was beautiful and I thought the candied tops of the strawberries was a really clever idea.

“However, your chocolate soil was overpowering. For me, the dish didn’t taste of fresh strawberries enough.”

Ellis was given a seven out of 10 for the dish and that was enough to take him through to tonight’s final.

The judge added: “You’ve got some great dishes, but you’ve also got some dishes that need work.”

Ellis said he was “made up” to make it through.

Writing on Facebook after it aired, Ellis said: “So that was a hard course for me.

“1 hour and 30 minutes to prep and serve that! I need to change a few things for tomorrow.

“What a dessert Paul Askew put out though.

“And an honour to learn so much from Daniel Clifford in such a short period of time.”

This year on Great British Menu 24 of Britain’s top chefs are competing for the chance to cook at a Taste of Summer banquet celebrating 140 years of the Wimbledon Championships.

Tonight Ellis will be cooking against Liverpool chef Paul Askew for judges Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton.