Although not officially part of the Great British Menu meal, we were treated to some ‘snacks’ to start off the night. Michelin-starred snacks go way beyond pork scratchings or Scotch eggs, but I liked that Matt’s dishes had a clear nod to traditional bar snacks, yet took them to another level. Cured mackerel with cucumber, pork croquettes with a sublime blob of apple sauce, and a feather-light Parmesan tapioca served on potato foam set the tone for what was to come.

Matt’s brilliant dual mini loaves – combining white and wholemeal – mean you don’t have to choose between the breads. Served with a creamy disc of butter it was hard to hold back, but fortunately as I knew what lay ahead, I stopped myself at just half a loaf – but only just.

After such impressive nibbles, we were now set to experience Matt’s Great British Menu dishes. I wondered if we would get all the props with our meals including garden gnomes, mini watering cans, and grass. Thankfully we were spared what might make interesting/talkable TV, so the food was able to do the talking for itself. Every course in Matt’s original menu for the Women’s Institute focussed on one particular ingredient as the star. With all of his cooking he likes to feature something unusual in each dish, something that excites him and that’s often a new ingredient that he or a lot of people haven’t necessarily tried before.

Matt’s superbly oniony starter – ‘Sowing and Growing’ – looked a pure delight. With onion purée, malt onions, grelot onions, crispy shallot rings, onion jelly, roasted apple purée and turnips, all served on a bed of soil made with cocoa nibs, black onion seeds, malted brown bread, onion powder, salt and malt extract. The dish was enlivened by a garnish of vibrant viola flowers and Mizuna cress. Despite all of those onions, you weren’t left with an oniony aftertaste after finishing the dish – a credit to Matt’s skill as a chef with a true command of ingredients.

Next was the fish course – ‘Jamming and Canning’ – with sardine as the hero ingredient. This beautiful plate included sardine tartare with Sevruga caviar and lime, and sardine toast with Dijon mustard; imagine a delicate fishy spring roll and you’re there. Langoustine and a crispy chicken wing provided a wonderful contrast to the sardines, and a little jug of sauce made with langoustine stock and rhubarb compote perfectly offset the saltiness of the fish.

Now it was time for the dish we were all waiting for, Matt’s ‘Teaching and Preaching’ which scored a unanimous ten out of ten across the board in Great British Menu finals week, taking it straight into the banquet – a first in the history of the show.

Matt’s dish was inspired by his mother, who hailed from St. Helena and regularly cooked goat at home, and Matt was keen to showcase a meat that isn’t as popular here in the UK. A touching short story, penned by Matt and illustrated by Jo Parry, explained how the rise in goat’s milk products had led to the decline in UK goat meat, as the male Billies were mainly used for breeding, or slaughtered and discarded. It was a perfect example of the Women’s Institute’s ‘waste not, want not’ philosophy.

Matt is one of chefs in the UK who are on a mission to champion the under-used and under-appreciated goat. Working with goat farmers such as Cabrito, they give male goats the best possible upbringing, nurturing them and bottle feeding to produce meat that can clearly be the hero of the meal.

Showcasing every cut of the goat, Matt’s dish of twelve intricate elements included spiced slow-cooked goat shoulder, goat jelly, goat cheese, baked goat leg, goat loin, goat fat dumplings, goat saddle with goat kidney and a truly amazing goat ragu topped with creamy mashed potato (no goat). The latter, a ‘Herder’s pie’, may have looked like an afterthought sat on the edge of the plate, but it was simply stunning. It made traditional Shepherd’s pie look like a very poor relation in comparison.

Finally we set our sights on dessert. Another course which Matt scored highly for in Great British Menu. His ‘Back to Black (and Yellow)’ featured four different types of honey, including wild forest, Manuka and wild flower, and all of the elements were made into hexagonal honeycomb shapes. The honey cake had a beautiful Manuka glaze, topped with a crumb made with oatcakes, sugar, honey and bee pollen.

Further hexagons contained honeycomb panna cotta, honey yogurt and fennel sorbet; all drizzled with a warming mead and lemon gel divided by crisp pieces of honey tuille. It was another wonderfully presented dish and again echoed a Women’s Institute philosophy of saving the bees.

Our meal closed with some delightfully crafted petit fours and an impressive tea menu. Although a wonderful wine flight matched Matt’s menu very well, he’d also thoughtfully created a ‘Juice flight’ to match each course.

Matt excelled himself in Great British Menu this year and in celebration, he’ll be sharing every amazing course at 'Matt Gillan at The Pass' from now until early 2016. You can choose to have the full menu for lunch at £57.50 or for dinner at £75. If you don’t fancy the full menu, you can also sample his winning main dish, ‘Teaching and Preaching’, as part of the normal á la carte options.