Natural Food Finder was invited to dine in the F word restaurant for the long awaited final. We were among the UK's top food critics and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a tough decision for all of us, but most of all for Gordon who could overrule the food critics scoring if he so wished in order to crown "Britain's best local restaurant".
The nations favourite dishes Curry vs Traditional British went head to head in the F word kitchen
The finalists:
VS
How it works: Guests eat a starter, 2 mains and a desert. In our case we had Lasan's starter, both main meals and then The Pheasants desert. The meat used in the first two courses was Janet Street-Porter's very own free range Dexter beef, organic pork and chicken that we all witnessed her rear on her Yorkshire farm throughout the series.
Each course is judged and the diners report back to the waiters their critique and whether or not they would pay for the course and their reasons why. Votes were counted, collected and revealed to the finalists.
The menu's were:
| Lasan | The Pheasant |
| Chicken tandori massala with mint chutney | Brawn (Pate) with pork belly & salad |
| Massala beef with curried pumpkin | Dexter beef served 3 ways - Blade, heart & rib served with horse radish, beetroot, mash and cabbage. |
| Halva parcels and strawberry coulis | Tarte Tatin |
We were shown to our seats where we found that the courses had been selected for us. We were told that we had to judge the food based on the quality of the meal and presentation rather than our own personal preferences. The food should be judged on it's own right.
We were served:
Lasan's Starter: The tandoori chicken was so beautifully tender with a well balanced mixture of spices that complimented the mint chutney well. We were really impressed and would highly recommend it.
We were a little disappointed that we were not able to try the pork belly starter as it is a cut of meat we both enjoy. The discerning food critics seemed to be put off with the level of fat and most likely the brawn (pig head pate). Have we been programmed so much regarding fat content and 'clean' industrially produced meat that we can't appreciate true British food? As Gordon rightly said " Pork belly is meant to be fatty! That's the point of the dish!"
Gordon's starters choice: Lasan
Lasan's main: We felt it was very unusual to see beef in an Indian dish. Traditionally they only cook with lamb, chicken or fish, so actually forced to cook with a meat they are not familiar with. Despite this the curried pumpkin was just right and worked very well with the marinated beef. A first for curried beef, but it did work.
The Pheasant's main: The braised beef was perfect and full of flavour, not over-cooked as several critics suggested. We thought the Pheasant's main was beautifully presented and full of rich and traditional British flavours. Jay was keen to use the heart as it is true to their cooking ethos and traditional British food. Yet again some critics were turned off by it. This is somewhat frustrating as we were all told at the beginning to judge the food on its own merits and not on our preferences, but it seemed that the use of offal and heart was outside what many critics would want to eat. The heart did need a little more seasoning, but was a surprisingly enjoyable cut of meat.
We enjoyed both main meals and would have happily paid for either. It is a difficult deciding between two completely different cooking cultures when both have something unique and special.
Gordon's Choice: Not determined on the show.
The Pheasant's desert: This was one of those dishes that was simple but skillful. We found watching the preparation of this meal fascinating and Jay and Liam were very skilled at it. The dish was flavourful, but we found the caramelised apple left a slightly unusual after taste. Perhaps we are showing our preferences here, but it would have been even more delicious with some traditional baked egg custard rather than a shop bought ice cream!
Gordon's desert choice: The Pheasant
Final scores:
61/100 - The Pheasant
70/100 - Lasan
This was a truly enjoyable experience and take from us, a couple of enthusiastic, traditional foodies, both restaurants are capable of delivering a fantastic meal. It was even better to know that the source of the meat was traditionally reared in organic conditions and so will have been nutrient dense as well.
Despite the hard on screen persona Gordon is actually a very friendly and welcoming celebrity.
Use the F-word map to locate restaurants recommended in your area: Click here