Come Dine With Me South Yorkshire: 'Incredible' food sees The Garisson in Wickersley triumph on C4 show

By Robert Cumber

Published 7th May 2024, 12:02 BST

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Sheffield restaurants Plesters and Butcher & Catch went head to head with Rotherham restaurant The Garrison

A popular restaurant’s ‘incredible’ food blew the competition away as Channel 4 programme Come Dine With Me: The Professionals visited South Yorkshire.

The opening episode in the new series of the hit show, where three restaurants compete to win £1,000, was filmed in Sheffield and Rotherham.

Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield, and, right, Pansy and Jeremy, from Plesters, in Sheffield. Photo: Channel 4

Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield, and, right, Pansy and Jeremy, from Plesters, in Sheffield. Photo: Channel 4

Plesters, on London Road, in Heeley, Sheffield; Butcher & Catch, on Whitham Road, in Broomhill, Sheffield; and The Garrison, on Bawtry Road, in Wickersley, Rotherham, went head to head in the show, which first aired on Monday, May 6.

Each restaurant cooked up three dishes - a starter, a main and a dessert - for their rivals, who then scored them out of 20, with the winner walking away a grand richer.

Plesters

Plesters, run by husband and wife duo Jeremy and Pansy Plester, was first up. Chef Pansy cooked up smoked haddock bubble and squeak fishcakes to start, followed by Caribbean lamb shank and a white chocolate and lime cheescake.

Their fellow diners loved the melt-in-your mouth lamb shanks, but the starter and dessert left them underwhelmed.

Pansy and Jeremy, from Plesters, in Sheffield, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham, and, right, Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield. Photo: Channel 4

Pansy and Jeremy, from Plesters, in Sheffield, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham, and, right, Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield. Photo: Channel 4

The most interesting moment came when Jeremy revealed how he had once run over his foot with a lawnmower, cutting off two toes.

The Garrison

Next up was 1920s themed bar and restaurant The Garrison, represented by manager Sam and owner and head chef Elliott Vaughan.

Elliott whisked up goats cheese and red pepper tortellini with pesto and pine nuts to start, followed by stone bass and scallops for the main course and a chocolate and cherry dessert.

All three courses went down a treat, with Pansy calling the starter ‘incredible’, a fellow diner praising the main course as ‘triumphant’, and another describing how Elliott had ‘smashed it’ with the dessert.

Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Jeremy and Pansy, from Plesters, in Sheffield, and, right, Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham. Photo: Channel 4

Rebecca and Stephen, from Butcher & Catch, in Sheffield, on Channel 4 show Come Dine With Me: The Professionals, with their fellow competitors, left, Jeremy and Pansy, from Plesters, in Sheffield, and, right, Elliott and Sam, from The Garrison, in Wickersley, Rotherham. Photo: Channel 4

Butcher & Catch

That left the seafood and steakhouse restaurant Butcher & Catch, represented by front-of-house boss Rebecca and head chef Stephen, with a lot of work to do.

They started promisingly as the cod cheeks with shallot puree, buttered asparagus and lemon and honey oil were wolfed down.

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But fellow diners found the meat ‘overcooked’ in the main course of duck breast with sweet potato Lyonnaise and a soy-Hendo’s glaze, and there were mixed reviews for the rhubarb and custard mess, which despite the ‘fantastic’ meringue, the others felt could have packed more of a rhubarb punch.

Plesters scored 30 out of 40, finishing third, with 31 for Butcher & Catch, and an impressive 35 for The Garrison, which won the £1,000 prize.

Sam and Elliott at The Garrison, which has a 4.8/5 rating from more than 150 Google reviews, said they ‘thoroughly enjoyed’ filming for the show.

Pansy and Jeremy at Plesters said Elliott and Sam ‘definitely deserved the win’ and described it as an ‘amazing week’, adding ‘we are so pleased we did it with you guys’.

Food Restaurant Wickersley Restaurants Channel 4 Rotherham Sheffield London Road Food and Drink

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