Northeast Chef to represent the region in cooking show finals week

Cal Byerley, chef and co-owner of Michelin starred Restaurant Pine, in Northumberland is set to represent the Northeast & Yorkshire in Great British Menu Finals Week, after winning through in the regional heat.

Byerley, alongside three other contestants; Adam Degg; Scott Hodgson; and Samira Effa; battled it out 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 fellow contestant Samira Effa, won through to cook their respective menus for regular judges Michelin starred, GBM double banquet winner, Tom Kerridge; Restaurateur Nisha Katona, Comedian and Food Podcast Presenter Ed Gamble, and special guest judge Shauna Coxsey, Britain’s first ever medal winning sport climber.

The series continues with the Central England regional heats up next, which will broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer, at 8pm, on 30th January. Once the nine regional heats have been completed the finalists will gather for finals week to see if they can secure a place at the banquet and claim the series crown.

Cal Byerley, said: ‘’That was a really tough week, there’s some serious cooking talent in the Northeast 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 as I do my best to represent the Northeast and Yorkshire by hopefully getting a dish to the banquet.’’