Adam Reid is the acclaimed chef-patron of The French in the historic Midland Hotel in Manchester. Adam is no stranger to cooking beautifully presented plates of food. He cooked the main course for the Great British Menu 2019 banquet with his winning dish ‘Comfort Food Sounds Good’.
The Golden Empire was created for Great British Menu in 2016 and is representative of the role the queen has had in changing the British empire to the modern commonwealth along with the British staple of apple crumble and custard.
It is a golden sugar shell in the shape of an apple which is filled with a meadowsweet custard, baked apple compote and a hazelnut granola which is then surrounded by a sharp apple granita made using apple juice sprayed into liquid nitrogen.
Plate selection
The dish is presented in a giant golden apple which is decorated inside with a map of the world with the commonwealth countries highlighted creating a kind of ‘invert globe’.
Shell
The sugar shell of the ‘apple’ is semi filled with an aerated meadowsweet custard mousse.
Compote
A baked apple compote is placed in the centre of the mousse.
Crumble
A hazelnut crumble is used to fill the remainder of the sugar shell.
Placement
The filled sugar apple is placed in the centre of the bowl.
Granita
A nitro apple granita is then used to fill the bowl and submerge the bottom of the apple shell.
