Huge BBC cooking competition show returning to screens this month for brand new series
GREAT British Menu will be airing in just two weeks’ time with a brand new set of contestants.
Spencer Metzger was named the 2022 culinary Champion of the series, while Adam Handling was the 2023 series winner.
The BBC’s ultimate cooking competition is returning for a nineteenth season on January 23, with some of the UK’s best, most celebrated chefs competing for a place at the illustrious Great British Menu banquet.
Professional chefs from eight different regions of the UK will participate in designing a four-course menu, including snacks and pre-desserts based on the show’s chosen theme.
Season 19 will see four chefs in each region compete against each other, with one leaving after cooking their first two courses and another after all four have been judged.
The two chefs with the highest scores will compete in the heat final, and the winner will be put through to finals week.
The theme for the upcoming series hasn’t been announced by the BBC yet, but during a recent appearance on Saturday Kitchen, comedian and host of the food podcast Off Menu Ed Gamble teased that the chefs will be theming their dishes around the Olympics.
Ed also revealed that the final banquet contestants would create dishes wishing the Team GB athletes good luck for the forthcoming Paris Olympics.
Similar to previous years, the hopefuls will be judged by some of the biggest culinary stars in the country.
Host Andi Oliver is believed to be returning alongside judges Ed, chef and restaurateur Nisha Katona and Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, but the line-up has yet to be confirmed.
The season 19 judges will also be joined by a guest judge each week who has a connection to the brief.
Three episodes will be airing every week for the first eight weeks, followed by a five-episode finals week.
The line-up of chefs competing is yet to be announced, but last year, the starter course was won by Avinash Shashidhara, the seafood course by Nick Beardshaw, the main by Tom Shepherd, and the dessert by Adam.
At the banquet, the 35-year-old was declared the ultimate champion after his Beano-inspired pudding won the judges’ hearts.
Great British Menu is back on BBC One on January 23.