BBC’s Great British Menu, A Banquet For D-Day Vets Where A Fingerprint In A Marshmallow Is “Unforgivable” – Just Like Inaccessibility At A Restaurant.

18.04.2014 Update on Hand & Flowers the inaccessible restaurant by Judge Tom Kerridge. With regard to accessibility here’s what they say, “The Hand and Flowers is a grade two listed building. We do have a few steps going down into the pub, however our front of house team will be more than happy to help you down these stairs, you are more than welcome to bring a ramp. Unfortunately we do not have a disabled toilet.”

When I asked why they didn’t have a ramp and where the nearest DT was they responded “Unfortunately we do not have a portable ramp ourselves. There is a disabled to toilet located at Marlow Park, which is just down the high street from us.”………..Not good enough Tom!!

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Great British Menu is back on BBC2 and this time top chefs from around the country compete to cook at a banquet marking the 70th Anniversary of D-Day. A wonderful idea and we love the programme as it highlights just how good and imaginative British cooking can be. It also alerts BBS to new eateries to visit i.e. the restaurants of the competing chefs.

This year, for fun, we thought it would be good to look at the accessibility (or not) of the restaurants run by the chefs. Especially as the banquet is for a generation of people who may well be disabled or just a little ‘less able’.

Last week to kick off, the chefs came from Northern Ireland

They were judged by Tom Kerridge who owns the Hand &Flowers in Marlow. Not a good start as his restaurant had great food but terrible access and no disabled facilities (see our previous review in 2012), even though it’s Michelin Starred….We’ve asked if they’ve changed anything but no response as yet.

So we called the other chefs’ establishments and thank goodness all passed our accessibility tests. Here are the findings:

Raymond McArdle’s Restaurant 23 in The Balmoral Hotel, Warrenpoint, has a lift to its first floor location and there’s a permanent ramp into the hotel. The disabled toilet is on the first floor near the restaurant. He won last year with his starter of ‘Black Truffle & Bacon Soup’. This year he came second in the heat but at least he won in terms of accessibility and Restaurant 23 is rated one of the best in Northern Ireland. We did like his starter called ‘Pigeon Post’ – a confit of pigeon leg with blackberry sauce, carrying a message in its claw……I’d eat that, as I’m sure any hungry soldier would.

Next was Will Brown and The Old Schoolhouse Inn. He’s a newcomer to GBM as you can see from the clip, but again a winner in the accessibility stakes as the Old Schoolhouse Inn has flat access and a disabled toilet… they sounded bemused that I should even ask such a question! He came last in the heat but he’s got a good pedigree having worked for Marco Pierre White and at The 2 Michelin Star restaurant, The Square (see BBS review here).

Finally the winner for Northern Ireland was Chris McGowan, protege of one of my favourite chefs, Richard Corrigan. He is also Head Chef at Corrigan’s in Mayfair (accessible via a portable ramp with a v. roomy & lovely disabled toilet, located just off the restaurant). See our review as it’s one of our favourites! The judges loved his fish course, “We Are Captains of Our Soles” – a play on a Winston Churchill speech. It consisted of Dover sole, long neck clams and horseradish, you can see his full menu here.

So shame on Tom Kerridge as the only one who doesn’t cater for disability……As he said, with regard to one of the desserts, fingerprints in a marshmallow are ‘unforgivable’!!!