Kenny Atkinson does battle in Great Biritsh Menu

May 7 2010 by Katharine Capocci, The Journal

TOP home-grown chef Kenny Atkinson will be battling it out next week on BBC2’s Great British Menu culinary show. KATHARINE CAPOCCI catches up with him.

KENNY Atkinson, the North East’s most celebrated chef, is set to begin his latest TV culinary battle when he appears next week on BBC2’s Great British Menu.

And the region’s top quality local produce will be firmly in the TV spotlight when Kenny champions ingredients garnered from the National Trust’s Wallington estate in Northumberland.

Celebrating the wealth of produce grown, reared and fished across the UK, the fifth series of Great British Menu will see Kenny, 34, competing against 23 of Britain’s top chefs for the opportunity to cook at a glorious banquet hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales.

Newcastle-born Kenny is hoping to be one of eight regional chefs to win through to the final round.

The North East round, which airs each weekday night on BBC2 from May 10 at 6.30pm, will see Kenny competing against two rivals, Yorkshiremen Tim Bilton of the Butcher’s Arms at Hepworth near Holmfirth, and Lee Bennett of London’s Le Pont de la Tour.

For Kenny, who has recently opened his own restaurant, Kenny Atkinson at The Orangery, at Rockliffe Hall Hotel, near Darlington, County Durham, this is his second appearance on Great British Menu.

Last year he won the starters round and cooked at a banquet for troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Married to Abbie, and the father of two young boys, Kenny is typically upbeat.

“They have made it a real challenge this year. Instead of using our usual local suppliers each chef has been given a National Trust property and a 30-mile radius around. It’s been a real treasure hunt for ingredients.

“There was an old cookbook on the estate and I kept finding lots of old-fashioned pot roasts and rabbit dishes. The competition has been racked up, it’s much more intense. Everyone is fighting tooth and nail to get to the banquet. I’m feeling really confident about my first three dishes.”

This year chefs have to unearth the finest produce from the farms, gardens and neighbourhoods surrounding their National Trust house or countryside location. Kenny will be using rabbit and venison from the Wallington estate at Cambo as well as fresh produce from the property’s farm shop.