Latest news with #LeManoirauxQuat'Saisons
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Bake Off: The Professionals final: who are Channel 4 judges?
Bake Off: The Professionals features familiar faces on the judging team in 2025 🍰 Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Bake Off: The Professionals is back for another season on Channel 4. The show once again has the same judging duo. But who are they and what are they known for? In just a matter of hours, Bake Off: The Professionals will crown the winners of series 10. It has been another hard fought season and the competition has been fierce. Channel 4 has confirmed the start time for tonight's (July 29) final. Find out what challenges are waiting for the three pairs in the final this evening. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Since debuting back in the mid-2010s, two of the judges have remained the same. Here's all you need to know: Who are the judges on Bake Off: The Professionals? Bake Off: The Professionals judges Cherish Finden (L) and Benoit Blin (R) | Channel 4 It will be a pair of familiar faces on judging duty for the 10th series of Bake-Off: The Professionals. Benoit Blin and Cherish Finden are returning to cast an expert eye, and several thousand expert tastebuds, over the contestants' creations. Blin is best known as the Chef Pâtissier at Raymond Blanc's Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons. He said: 'What I've really noticed is that the gap between the strongest and weakest teams has narrowed so much. And when you reach the second or third stage of the competition, you see the teams are all really close together. I think now all the teams really understand what the competition is all about, so they prepare a little better.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Finden is formerly Executive Pastry Chef of the Pan Pacific London Hotel. Speaking ahead of series 10, she added: 'Hitting our 10th anniversary is like pulling a perfectly risen soufflé out of the oven – pure joy and satisfaction. Every series brings fresh talent, new surprises, and breathtaking creations. 'It is amazing to see how they evolve. I'm honoured to still be part of this journey and continue to inspire and challenge the best pastry in the industry.' Both Blin and Finden have been judges on the show since it began back in 2016 on BBC Two - when it was originally called Bake Off: Crème de la Crème. The duo have judged on all 10 series, including the one airing in 2025. Who are the hosts on Bake Off: The Professionals? Unlike the judges, the hosts of the show have changed a lot of the 10 series so far. Over the years the likes of Tom Kerridge, Angus Deayton and Tom Allen have presented the show. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For series 10, former Great British Bake Off contestant and Junior Bake Off judge Liam Charles and comedian, actress and writer Ellie Taylor will be on presenting duties. They have hosted it together since series eight - with Liam first becoming a host on the show in series three. Liam said: 'I feel like the chemistry between myself, Cherish, Benoit, and latterly Ellie, just gets better and better the more time we spend with each other. I also think the challenges have got a lot harder. 'I know that's a bit rich coming from me, who can't do most of the challenges, but they seem to me to have got more difficult as the years have passed. The chefs are using a lot of cool new techniques as well. I think the show has just become a little more slick as time has gone by.' If you love TV, check out our Screen Babble podcast to get the latest in TV and film.
Sky News AU
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News AU
'A slap in the face': Knives are out as former royal chef Darren McGrady fumes over alleged King Charles III snub to palace kitchen staff
King Charles III has come under fire from a former royal chef who claims the monarch's decision to bring in a French cook for a state banquet was a "slap in the face" to the palace's long-serving kitchen team. Darren McGrady, who spent years cooking for Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Diana, and Princes William and Harry, publicly criticised the King after celebrated French chef Raymond Blanc was brought in to help create the menu for Tuesday night's banquet at Windsor Castle. "I get that Raymond Blanc is one of the best chefs in the world, and I get that he is a King's Foundation ambassador- but it's a huge slap in the face to the palace royal chefs," McGrady told The Mail. "For sure, Macron will not be bringing in British chefs for a King Charles state visit to France." The lavish white-tie event was held in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron, who were in the UK for an official three-day state visit. Held inside the grand St George's Hall, the banquet welcomed 160 guests seated along a 50-metre-long table adorned with royal silverware and hand-picked seasonal flowers from the gardens of Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. As a friend of the 76-year-old monarch and an ambassador for the King's Foundation, Blanc was invited to collaborate with the Royal Household's culinary team. He crafted the first course and the dessert, while the main course was ultimately prepared by the palace's own head chef, Mark Flanagan. Blanc, 75, who runs the renowned Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire, defended the decision. "We all have an opinion- and I've got a different one. I like to bring people together," he said. He also explained why he invited Flanagan to take the reins on the main dish. "I wanted to include Mark because he's a royal chef who's cooked for the King for many years, plus he's a great friend – it's all part of respect. "I could have done everything if I'd insisted, but Mark did a beautiful course." The full French-written menu included tender summer vegetables from Le Manoir's gardens with sage, raw tomato and extra virgin olive oil dressing; Rhug Estate chicken with Norfolk asparagus and a French-style tarragon sauce; and an iced blackcurrant parfait with elderflower jelly for dessert. The wine list was just as grand, featuring Domaine Evremond Classic Cuvee, Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru, Chateau Haut-Brion 1996, and Louis Roederer Carte Blanche. A bespoke cocktail named "L'Entente" made with British gin, lemon curd, French pastis and floral garnishes, was also served. Buckingham Palace said the collaboration reflected the "spirit of the Entente Cordiale". King Charles and President Macron sat together at the centre of the table, alongside Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron, with other royal family members including the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Prince Edward and Duchess Sophie also in attendance. Celebrity guests included Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger. During his bilingual speech, the King paid tribute to the centuries of shared heritage between Britain and France, saying: "My firm belief is that friendship between Britain and France is vital if the liberties and peace of Europe are to be preserved." President Macron responded with a poetic reflection on the Bayeux Tapestry, which is set to be displayed in the British Museum next year. He called the missing final scenes of the tapestry "a powerful symbol", adding: "In the great mural of Franco-British history, the end is yet to be written- it is up to us to do it."
Irish Independent
07-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Irish Independent
My favourite room: ‘I wanted to open the house into the garden' – model turned gardener Marie Staunton's renovated cottage
Former model turned gardener Marie Staunton and her husband, fellow gardener Christopher Heavey, share a fascinating home with a garden that showcases their design and planting talents Most of us are plotting our summer sun escapes at the moment but there are some professions where July and August are the busiest times. Marie Staunton, one of our best-known gardeners, isn't planning holidays any time soon. In any case, when she goes away, it's not for the sun but to soak up the delights of glorious gardens. She found the gardens of the Alhambra palace in Spain inspirational – its Arabic design, its pools and sunken gardens, its many columns and arches – and even incorporated some of its details in to her own house and garden. Also on her list of great gardens is that of Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons in Oxfordshire in England – she celebrated her recent roundy birthday there with her husband Christopher Heavey. Famed for its cuisine, Marie enjoyed the food but she raves more about the gardens. 'They have a massive orchard with over a thousand apple, plum and pear trees, a kitchen garden with a pond and the walkway into it is lined with lavender. You know the way you say to yourself 'Don't go somewhere you've been dreaming about', but it was everything I had hoped,' she says.
Daily Record
11-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Ayrshire revealed as contender for new Raymond Blanc cooking or gardening school
Raymond Blanc, an ambassador for The King's Foundation, is hopeful he can work with the charity to create new cooking and gardening schools. Ayrshire is a contender to host a new cooking and gardening school run by Michelin star chef Raymond Blanc. In an exclusive interview with Ayrshire Live, the celebrity chef confirmed that he was "looking at the idea" of founding the learning establishments. Raymond hopes that he can work with The King's Foundation, a charity for which he is an ambassador, to create the new schools and Dumfries House near Cumnock could become home to one of the schools. The French chef already runs cooking and gardening schools at his Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons restaurant in Oxfordshire and he is looking to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. Speaking to Ayrshire Live, Raymond said: "I am looking at the idea of creating a Raymond Blanc Cooking School - and a gardening school as well - as part of The King's Foundation. "We don't know where it will be as there is still some way to go. I'm not promising anything. "I have had a gardening school for the last seven years and it is marvellous. My chefs go into it so they learn to respect the skills of the gardeners and you win all the way. "To me, training is everything. Passing on your knowledge is the most important thing that a human being can do. That is what my mum, my papa and my culture taught me and that is what I will do. "There is much more knowledge so we can grow things better but with less chemicals. We all know, it is very well proven, food is responsible for about 70 per cent of diabetes, heart attacks and strokes. "That is what it does if you don't exercise and you eat badly. I understand people because there is no money so we have to teach people how to cook. "For me, it is easy but not for them. I hope [we can open a school] but we will see how it goes." Raymond was in Ayrshire on Tuesday, June 10, speaking to school pupils at The King's Foundation's Hospitality Careers Fair at Dumfries House. He became an ambassador for the foundation in March 2025 as he shares many of the same values as King Charles III. Raymond added: "I know King Charles is doing exactly the same [passing on knowledge], not on a micro level but a macro level and that is why I am here as an ambassador. "The King, through his foundation, is teaching so many crafts whether it is carpentry, science, cooking, gardening or sustainability especially at Dumfries House which is the heart of it all. "It is marvellous as it has a huge impact on community and world wide. He has played a huge role of making people aware. "With global warming and all the issues it causes, it is going to become more and more important."
South Wales Guardian
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Raymond Blanc hails work in hospitality during careers fair at Dumfries House
Blanc, 75, who became an ambassador for the foundation in March, spoke to 250 pupils from 16 schools at the event at Dumfries House, East Ayrshire, on Tuesday. The French chef, who has two Michelin stars at his Oxfordshire hotel and restaurant Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons, shared stories about working his way up the ranks in kitchens, after starting as a pot-washer, and gave them an insight into the variety of jobs in the industry. Blanc has mentored notable chefs including Heston Blumenthal and Marco Pierre White, and also worked with aspiring chefs on BBC programme The Restaurant between 2007 and 2009 when couples competed to open a restaurant with his support. 10 pupils visited Dumfries House for The King's Foundation annual hospitality day. The pupils learned about all areas of the industry. World renowned chef Raymond Blanc was in attendance and pupils Noel and Phoebe chatted with him about becoming a chef. It was awe inspiring. — Doon Academy (@DoonAcad) June 11, 2025 Dumfries House hosts an introduction to hospitality course run by the foundation, which aims to provide students with the skills, experience and confidence to work in both front and back-of-house roles. The course is accredited by City and Guilds and includes a week-long industry placement. Blanc, a father-of-two, said he is using his new role to 'encourage excellence' in the next generation working in hospitality. He said: 'At their age, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I started off as a cleaner before becoming the best dishwasher and glass cleaner. 'It's so important that young people are encouraged and supported to work in the hospitality industry as there's an enormous opportunity there for those willing to work hard. 'Education is something that's very important to me so I was proud to be a part of The King's Foundation's hospitality careers fair. 'Young people need good mentors to reach their full potential. 'As an ambassador for The King's Foundation, I want to take what we've learnt at Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons and pair it with the excellent work of The King's Foundation to encourage excellence amongst the next generation of culinary and horticulture professionals.' Livia Alexander, hospitality education manager at the foundation, said: 'The hospitality industry continues to face challenges in terms of recruitment and retention, and events like this are so important as they show young people what the industry is really like, and give them an insight into the careers available. 'Having Raymond Blanc OBE come and talk to the pupils was an amazing opportunity for them. 'His story is so incredible, and the pupils left feeling inspired and motivated.'
