Chef Shaun Rankin

BOHEMIA chef Shaun Rankin wowed the judges with his treacle tart in last night’s TV series Great British Menu.

Judge Prue Leith described his pudding, made from brown bread and fresh Jersey cream and butter, as the ‘best treacle tart in the world’.

The chef climbed up the table of competing chefs with scores of nine and ten out of ten. After a disappointing week, with placings in the bottom half of the table, he did everything he could to turn it around, impressing the judges by placing pictures of Jersey cows on his clotted cream jars.

For the past eight weeks, he has battled against leading British chefs to cook a homecoming feast for members of the armed forces returning from Afghanistan.

Speaking to the JEP from London this morning, Mr Rankin said that treacle tart was his strongest dish. ‘It is all about a taste of home,’ he said. ‘All the dishes are made to bring back memories. I am not trying to do something whacky; it is a simple dish. When I was in primary school we had treacle tart and treacle sponge, so this is a nostalgic dish to me and my taste of home.’

In the final round, each of his four courses was judged against the seven other regional finalists.
Viewers will get the chance to vote for their favourite dishes and the winning dishes will be announced on BBC 2 from 6 pm this evening.