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Caroline Martins: the 2023 Great British Menu chef representing the North West on BBC Two

Her Great British Menu dishes will pay homage to her favourite BBC shows, including Monty Python and Red Dwarf.

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant - 21st February 2023

Great British Menu contestant Caroline Martins is the Brazilian chef in Manchester creating fusion dishes that look like something out of a fairy tale.

From edible candles made from beef fat to desserts disguised as the archetypal poisonous toadstool known as fly agaric, appearance and reality diverge on the plate at her Ancoats’ fusion pop-up The São Paulo Project.

Now, as well as sending foodies flocking to Blossom Street Social and Exhibition MCR, she’s appearing on our TV screens this week in the North West heat of BBC Two’s Great British Menu – representing Manchester as one of four regional contestants.

Image: The Manc Eats

This will be her second appearance on the show, following on from her 2022 debut where she faced off against fellow North West chefs Dave Critchley, Sam Lomas and Stevie Lamb.

Playful as ever, her 2022 Great British Menu dishes will paid homage to her favourite BBC shows, including Monty Python and Red Dwarf.

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When does Great British Menu North West heat air on BBC Two?

Series 18 of the professional cheffing competition airs on BBC Two from Tuesday 31 January at 8pm, and will be screened every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night for the following eight weeks.

This year, the North West heat starts on Tuesday 21 February.

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Image: Caroline Martins

Who is 2022 Great British Menu chef Caroline Martins?

Born in Barretos, Brazil, Caroline Martins spent her twenties training and then working as a physicist to fulfill her family’s ambitions, before making the switch to cheffing in a curveball career move.

Originally hailing from the “Brazilian Texas”, she always wanted to cook but in her early years felt this was not an option. Instead, she moved to nearby São Paulo to complete a science degree, a masters, and then a doctorate in Plasma Physics.

After graduating with her Ph.D., she first worked as a theoretical physicist in Cadarache, France, then took a role as a researcher at The University of Texas, Austin, but spent most of her time waiting for the day to finish so that she could go and explore her true passion: cooking.

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As she neared thirty, she took the plunge and after some encouragement from friends applied to Brazilian MasterChef – drawn in by the prize, which was to study at European culinary school Le Cordon Bleu.

She didn’t win, but her savings enabled her to travel to study at the London school anyway. Scrimping to get by, she opted to take the intensive six-month course – working six days a week, living in a flat with ten other people, sharing a bedroom and getting up at 5am to shower in order to fulfill her lifelong dream.

Read more: Former MasterChef contestant opens fine dining pop-up inside Ancoats wine bar

Caroline Martins first kitchen job after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu took her to Hotel Castel in Tyrol on the Austrian border, where she studied under Thomas Kostner. / Image: Caroline Martins

Caroline Martins CV, career and Michelin star experience

Caroline Martins’ first job after graduating from Le Cordon Bleu took her to Italy, where she spent six months at two Michelin star Trenkerstube at Hotel Castel in Tyrol, on the Austrian border.

Working for free in exchange for bed, board and (most importantly) Michelin star kitchen experience, she graduated with her diploma on the Saturday and by 7am on Monday had already started work.

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Hoping to practise her Italian, she was surprised to find everyone there spoke German and relied heavily on Google Translate to get her through.

Upon returning to London, she worked in a number of esteemed restaurants including the theatrical two-star Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs in Fitzrovia and one-star dining rooms Galvin La Chapelle and Pied à terre.

Hand-dived scallop, cassava mousseline, heart of palm and dehydrated papaya seed at The São Paulo Project. / Image: The Manc Eats

A beef fat ‘candle’ served at The São Paulo Project as part of the Bread Course, alongside caramelised onion butter and Calabrese sausage brioche rolls. / Image: The Manc Eats

The São Paulo Project in Ancoats, Manchester

Caroline is now focused on bringing haute Brazilian cuisine to the UK with her São Paulo Project, undertaking a three-month residency at Ancoats wine bar Blossom Street Social in 2022 before launching her Sao Paulo Bistro at Exhibition MCR.

Here, she’s fusing Brazilian ingredients like heart of palm and guava with local produce from independent Mancunian suppliers in an exciting fine dining-style menu.

Putting a modern twist on dishes found across the 26 states of Brazil, she’s showing diners that Brazilian gastronomy is more than just steakhouses and feijoada. She has also just announced the return of her Sao Paulo Project at Blossom Street Social, this time with a more casual twist.

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Her ultimate ambition is to open the first Brazilian fine dining restaurant in England. Currently, there is only one in the world to be found outside of Brazil, the Parisian restaurant Oka. Navigating between France and Brazil, last year it attained its first Michelin star.

Feature image – Caroline Martins

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Manchester Airport issues update for anyone flying today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Manchester Airport has issued an update for anyone catching a flight today after hundreds of cancellations yesterday.

In case you hadn’t heard, hundreds of flights at several major UK airports – including Manchester Airport – were disrupted by a technical fault at air traffic control provider National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday (8 September 2026), with the incident grounding planes and resulting in numerous cancellations.

According to Flightradar24, more than 1,000 flights were cancelled nationwide, and many passengers were told to expect disruption for the rest of the day.

One of the worst-affected airlines was said to be Ryanair, with around 65,000 passengers affected by the cancellations and delays.

Manchester Airport issued its first statement addressing the matter at 3:15pm yesterday, stating: “We are aware of an issue affecting NATS’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.

“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline. We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”

Now, although the issue has been resolved, Manchester Airport has issued further statements informing anyone travelling today what they can expect.

The airport started off by saying that it is ‘operating as normal’ today, but that passengers are advised to ‘check with their airline for the latest information’.

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“A full flight schedule is expected to operate [today] but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights,” it added.

Passengers were then thanked for their ‘patience and understanding’ over the past 24 hours.

Featured Image – Ivan Shimko (via Unsplash)

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Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.

Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.

According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.

When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.

Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.

Patient in a hospital bed
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)

This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September. 

The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.

Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.

Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.

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But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’

“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.

Featured Image – Pxhere

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