A Welsh restaurant owner has come under fire for his comments during an episode of Come Dine with Me : The Professionals that aired on Thursday, July 21, on Channel 4. The Gate's Gareth Lee, who competed alongside wife Heather, was deemed "out of order" after telling competitors Sian and Joel from gastropub The Horse & Jockey that they should "stick to pub grub".
Gareth and Heather, who have been running The Gate in Cwmbran since 2017, also competed against Mexican restaurant La Pantera, which was represented by Sam and Gary. To find out what was on the menu of the three restaurants read here.
During the third and final night of the competition Gareth told Joel that his Welsh lamb was "inedible" and proceeded to lecture him on how to cook the meat. He said of their main course: “It’s impossible to cut even with a steak knife. It’s inedible.”
Upon receiving the harsh critique Joel said: "The man knows what he wants when he wants it and clearly he did not want that" before the camera cut to a shot of Gareth saying: "The main course was awful."
Gareth's comments were slammed by the owners of La Pantera in an interview after the awkward moment. Gary said: "I think Gareth was a little bit out of order. The lamb wasn't that bad." The forgiving pair gave The Horse & Jockey 11 points. Meanwhile 'out of order' Gareth and Heather gave them 10 points.
In a further controversial moment Gareth said: “When I saw the menu it screamed out a restaurant that was trying too hard.” Despite his comments appearing harsh they all seemed to be in good humour and all three restaurants seemed to get along.
The new Channel 4 spin-off, much like the original, sees restaurant owners compete to win a £1,000 cash prize. In this particular edition there was a clear victor.
With a menu that boasted seafood and dry-aged steak it was The Gate that took the top prize. Meanwhile La Pantera's Mexican efforts was runner-up and gastropub The Horse & Jockey came in last place.
Upon finding out that he had won the competition Gareth said: “It was never in doubt.” Both him and Heather's night was universally praised, prompting The Horse & Jockey's Sian to say that the "right restaurant won". During their night The Gate received a combined score of 36, just shy of the top score of 40.
Come Dine with Me airs on Channel 4 on weekdays at 5pm
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