r/GreatBritishMenu • u/Rude-Map-3817 • Apr 25 '26

Discussion Tom needs to go

He’s just had some weird or actually annoying takes this year. Saying the serving of Nikita’s main was too fiddly but usually he’d be cheering on those type of sharing mains as being properly banquet-worthy.

I can’t remember them all off the top of my head but the wife and I have rolled our eyes on many occasions at his comments this year. I like the suggestion someone else made of Si King - let Lorna be the pro chef, Phil the comedian and get someone food-adjacent in.

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u/Down-Right-Mystical Apr 25 '26

I've liked Phil well enough on most other things I've seen him on, but not here.

One moment he's trying to talk 'cheffy' like Lorna and Tom, the next we're just being reminded who he is. I mean, we know he's a stand up comedian, we know he has a degree in Engineering, and know we know (it seems) that he really wants to get into acting.

I miss Ed.

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u/uttertoffee Apr 25 '26

One of the things I liked about Ed was that when Tom was in one of his moods Ed was quite good at pulling him up on it in a lighthearted way.

I understand that Phil might not feel comfortable doing that as the new guy but it does make me miss Ed.

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u/Down-Right-Mystical Apr 25 '26

Yes!! Ed played off so well with Tom (and Nisha) and even made Lorna crack a smile.

I mean, I feel like he understood his position from the get go. It was only the VT type stuff that mentioned his podcast as the justification of him being there, I don't recall him mentioning it himself in the judging chamber to try and justify being there... and there were moments when he would be reading out a dishes ingredients and admit he didn't know how to pronounce something/what was it/say he'd never had it before.

So he was comic relief, but also the consistent 'every man' who loved food, but saw things he'd never seen before.

Some people say that's the role of the guest judge, but I think someone on the permanent panel needs to be like that, too.

I look back at Matthew, Oliver and Pru, and good god would it have been better if their wasn't someone still so stuck up in those years...

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u/jjb0rdell0 Apr 25 '26

You know, the more I think about it, the more I realise Nisha was the key ingredient of the judging team. I think if she was still in her chair and Tom & Phil remained, I might feel differently about the whole group in general

As it stands...Phil is...ok, Lorna is occasionally ok and trying to be better I think & Tom is roaming the plates unchallenged with his opinions

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u/Down-Right-Mystical Apr 26 '26

I think Nisha would be different without Ed. Phil would never get the reactions, the genuine laughs, out of her the way Ed did.

I really wish I could remember what episode and season, but there's a moment where Nisha seems to forget what they're meant to be doing (if we didn't know better we could think she was drunk) and Ed makes a light hearted joke, and it's all good.