Fans of the BBC’s hit series will have sat bolt upright on their sofas the other night at the surprise glimpse of Highgate Road’s famous watering hole on the telly.
Yup, the Bull & Last, one of the UK’s most acclaimed food pubs, and its sous chef Mark Holland, popped up on the first episode of the Professionals spin-off, in which proper chefs try and impress Le Gavroche’s Monica Galetti, Michelin-starred Marcus Wareing and, um, Gregg Wallace.
But indignity wasn’t far away for Mark, alas – at least to begin with. How we held our heads in our hands as he fluffed the first skills test. The task? To make a floating island dessert.
For the uninitiated, it’s a classic French pudding composed of meringues floating in custard. With a bit more to it than that, of course. “I wish that hole had swallowed me up,” uttered poor Mark as the judges pulled various sad faces at his rather sorry contribution.
Happily things soon picked up for our hero in the second round, as the chefs prepared their signature dish. His superior plate – a very Bull & Last-esque roast lamb rump with braised lamb breast, Jerusalem artichoke purée and roasted artichokes – was not only mouthwatering to watch on the screen, it deservedly won lashings of praise, especially from all-round-nice-bloke Marcus Wearing.
Through with a bullet to the quarter finals last Thursday, Mark continued to impress in the typically grim critics round, dishing up a hazelnut-crusted cod with clam vinaigrette, sea vegetables and onion purée.
“It looks like an impressionist painting,” gushed Jay Rayner, although grumpy old Tracey Macleod had a bit of winge about the “crust”. His shimmery chocolate marquise with creme fraiche sorbet won even more of a rave from everyone, especially from the usually curmudgeonly William Sitwell. “It’s amazing,” he drooled.
So wow, Mark must be good – as you’ll already know if you’ve eaten at the Bull & Last. But will NW5’s new cooking hero claim the telly crown? Find out in the knock-out rounds in a couple of weeks’ time.
