A Blackburn-born chef appeared on the Great British Menu on Tuesday night (February 27) and one dish received a perfect score.
Kirk Haworth is once again competing for the crown on the BBC cookery show, after appearing on the programme in 2021.
Kirk was an apprentice at the one Michelin-star restaurant in Northcote Manor alongside his dad Nigel Haworth, who currently owns The Three Fishes in Mitton.
He is a plant-based chef and is preparing to open his own plant-based fine dining restaurant, Plates, in London this spring.
- READ MORE: Did Blackburn's Kirk Haworth make next stage of Great British Menu?
Kirk wasn’t always a plant-based chef but, in 2016, after being diagnosed with Lyme disease, he decided to start exploring and learning about the impact of fruits and vegetables on the body. This is how the concept of Plates was born.
His menu in the competition is inspired by high-end athletes who need to be able to put on a performance of a lifetime during the Olympics, delivered with sustainable ingredients following the same ethos as in his restaurant.
Speaking on the show Kirk said he is determined to go all the way in the competition and get his dishes to the final ‘banquet’.
Kirk, who won North West Young Chef of the Year aged 17, said: “Who I am now as a chef is determined by my health challenges. It has completely changed the way I create, cook, work.
“At Plates what I am trying to do is create a new genre of cookery to showcase fruits and vegetables in a new way, with lots of creativity, innovation and deliciousness.
“To get a dish to the banquet would mean the world to me. It will showcase the last seven years of my health journey and how I have changed the way I cook. To really get that recognised and understood on such a huge stage would mean everything to me.”
Kirk impressed the chef judge, Michael O'Hare, winning best canape and receiving a perfect score for his fish dish – which was not made using any fish at all.
Kirk’s starter was a mushroom-based dish called ‘ability not disability’ and it received an eight out of 10.
As a plant-based chef, Kirk tried to “conjure up flavours of the sea just with plants”.
The dish, called ‘a celebration of table tennis’, was made using whipped crème fraiche, fermented cheese, seaweed caviar and crackers.
It wowed Michael, who gave it a perfect score.
He said: “The presentation was excellent and I have learned some fun facts about table tennis. The parsley porridge with mashed potato was delicious.
“The seaweed salad gave it that saline flavour that I look for in a seafood dish. The skill you have implemented in this is extraordinary.”
Kirk made it to the next round of the competition where he will compete against two other chefs in cooking a main and dessert.
He said: “I can’t believe [I made it through to the next stage of the competition] but I want two more 10s so we are only just starting.
“Everything is at stake for me in this competition. I need to stay focused and calm.”
Kirk will be back on the Great British Menu on February 28, on BBC 2 at 8pm.
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