Great British Menu

Great British Menu is a BBC television series in which top British chefs compete for the chance to cook one course of a four course banquet.

Great British Menu
Also known as	Great British Christmas Menu Great British Waste Menu Great British Budget Menu
Genre	Cooking game show
Presented by	Jennie Bond (2006–7) Susan Calman (2020–)
Judges	Matthew Fort Oliver Peyton Prue Leith (2006–2016) Andi Oliver (2017–) Jay Rayner (Great British Waste Menu) Mary Berry (Great British Budget Menu)
Voices of	Jennie Bond (2008–2010) Mark Bazeley (Great British Waste Menu) Wendy Lloyd (2011–2019)
Theme music composer	Daniel Pemberton
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	15
No. of episodes	544
Production
Running time	30–60 minutes
Production company	Optomen
Distributor	All3Media
Release
Original network	BBC Two BBC One (Specials)
Picture format	16:9
Original release	10 April 2006 – present
External links
Website
Production website

Format

Series one and two were presented by Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whereby each week, two chefs from a region of the UK create a menu. In series three and four, both narrated by Bond but with no presenter, three chefs from a region of the UK create a menu; only the two with the best scores went through to the Friday judging. In series five and six, the fifth narrated by Bond while the sixth is narrated by Wendy Lloyd, three chefs from a region of the UK create a menu, with in kitchen judging undertaken by a past contestant chef; only the two with the best scores go through to the Friday judging.

In each series, the Friday show is when chefs present all courses of their menu to a judging panel, tasted and judged by Matthew Fort, Prue Leith and Oliver Peyton. One chef each week goes through to the final, where the judges taste the dishes again and award them marks out of ten. The three dishes that have scored the highest for each course are then put to the public vote.

During the first series, it was decided that a chef could only win one course overall, therefore any chef who won the public vote for a particular course was then eliminated from any subsequent courses they had been shortlisted for. As the results for all four courses were announced on the same day, some chefs were eliminated under this rule. During series two, this rule was dropped, as highlighted by Mark Hix winning both the main course and dessert.[1]

On 28 October 2016, it was confirmed that Prue Leith was leaving the show and would be replaced by Andi Oliver for series 12 in 2017.[2]

On 1 October 2019, Susan Calman was announced as the new presenter for series 15.[3] Filming took place in Stratford-upon-Avon and was completed in November 2019. The show will be broadcast in Spring 2020.

Series 1 (2006)

The birthday meal for the Queen was on 16 June 2006 and for 300 people, so each dish created had to be suitable for a summer banquet. All recipes have been published in a book by Dorling Kindersley.

Contestants

• John Burton Race and Michael Caines (won heat) represent the South West of England
• Antony Worrall Thompson and Galton Blackiston (won heat) represent the Midlands and the East of England
• Marcus Wareing (won heat) and Simon Rimmer represent the North of England
• Paul Rankin and Richard Corrigan (won heat) represent Northern Ireland
• Tom Lewis and Nick Nairn (won heat) represent Scotland
• Angela Hartnett and Bryn Williams (won heat) represent Wales
• Gary Rhodes and Atul Kochhar (won heat) represent South East of England

Final result

• Starter – smoked salmon with Irish soda bread, woodland sorrel and cress (recipe) – Richard Corrigan
• Fish course – pan-fried turbot with cockles and oxtail (recipe) – Bryn Williams
• Main course – loin of roe venison with rosti, celeriac, cabbage, carrot and game gravy (recipe) – Nick Nairn
• Dessert – custard tart with Garibaldi biscuits (recipe) – Marcus Wareing

Great British Christmas Menu (2006)

From 11 to 15 December 2006, a special Christmas series was shown. This involved the four winning chefs creating a four course Christmas dinner that viewers could prepare at home.

Unlike the original series, only one chef was able to be crowned the winner and there was no special prize at stake (i.e. the meal would not be cooked for the Queen). The final result was decided by the judges and a viewers' vote; 30p from calls made in order to vote was donated to Children in Need.

Final result

• 1st – Richard Corrigan (Northern Ireland)
• 2nd – Marcus Wareing (England), Nick Nairn (Scotland)
• 4th – Bryn Williams (Wales)

Series 2 (2007)

Broadcasting of series 2 started on 2 April 2007. The format was the same as before, with the winning chefs from each region from series one taking on new challengers. The final menu was cooked at the British Embassy in Paris at an Ambassadors Dinner.

Contestants

• Week 1 – 2 April to 6 April – Galton Blackiston and Sat Bains (won heat) represent the Midlands and the East of England
• Week 2 – 9 April to 13 April – Bryn Williams (won heat) and Matt Tebbutt represent Wales
• Week 3 – 16 April to 20 April – Nick Nairn and Jeremy Lee (won heat) represent Scotland
• Week 4 – 23 April to 27 April – Richard Corrigan (won heat) and Noel McMeel represent Northern Ireland
• Week 5 – 30 April to 4 May – Atul Kochhar (won heat) and Stuart Gillies represent the South East of England
• Week 6 – 7 May to 11 May – Michael Caines and Mark Hix (won heat) represent the South West of England
• Week 7 – 14 May to 18 May – Marcus Wareing and Mark Broadbent (won heat) represent the North of England

Final result

• Starter – ham, egg and peas (recipe) – Sat Bains
• Fish course – whole poached wild salmon and duck egg dressing with wheaten bread and country butter (recipe) – Richard Corrigan
• Main course – rabbit and crayfish stargazy pie (recipe) – Mark Hix
• Dessert – perry jelly and summer fruits with elderflower ice cream (recipe) – Mark Hix

Series 3 (2008)

Broadcasting of series 3 began on 17 March 2008. The chefs competed for the opportunity to cook a four-course dinner held in June 2008, at the restaurant at the top of the iconic "Gherkin" building in London. The host was the chef Heston Blumenthal and his guests included top chefs from around the world along with gourmets and celebrities who represent a cross section of modern Britain.

The series began with seven special programmes in which Great British Menu judge Matthew Fort travelled around the UK, selecting the two chefs who would go through to represent their region in the competition.

Contestants

• Southwest: Richard Guest, Chris Horridge, Elisha Carter and Chris Wicks
• Northern Ireland: Danny Millar, Noel McMeel, Liz Moore and Nick Price
• London and the South-east: Jason Atherton, Jake Watkins, Adebola Adeshina and Atul Kochhar
• Wales: Angela Hartnett, Chris Chown, Stephen Terry and James Sommerin
• North: Mark Broadbent, Michael Wignall, Nigel Haworth and Anthony Flinn
• Scotland: Michael Smith, Matthew Gray, Tony Singh and Tom Kitchin
• Central region: Aaron Patterson, Sat Bains, Rupert Rowley and Glynn Purnell

Heats

• Central region: Sat Bains vs Glynn Purnell (Winner)
• Wales: Angela Hartnett vs Stephen Terry (Winner)
• North of England: Nigel Haworth (Winner) vs Anthony Flinn
• Scotland: Tom Kitchin (Winner) vs Matt Gray
• Northern Ireland: Danny Millar (Winner) vs Noel McMeel
• South-West: Chris Horridge (Winner) vs Elisha Carter
• South-East: Jason Atherton (Winner) vs Atul Kochhar

Final result

• Starter – Bacon, lettuce and tomato with croque monsieur (recipe) - Jason Atherton
• Fish course - Organic salmon and smoked salmon with crab fritters and cockle 'popcorn' (recipe) - Stephen Terry
• Main course – Dexter beef fillet, ox cheek, smoked potato puree and marrow bone (recipe) - Jason Atherton
• Dessert – Strawberries with tarragon and black pepper honeycomb with burnt English cream surprise (recipe) - Glynn Purnell

Series 4 (2009)

Series 4 began on 30 March 2009 and revolved around cooking a meal for British service personnel (sailors/marines/soldiers/airmen and women) returning from the War in Afghanistan. A chef from a previous series came back in this series to act as a mentor, giving the two chefs from their region guidance and advice. They were in the kitchen and acted as an unofficial fourth judge.

The North region was split this time into two groups: North-East and North-West.

Heats

• Central: Glynn Purnell (won heat) vs Daniel Clifford
  Sat Bains as mentor
• Scotland: Tom Kitchin (won heat) vs Alan Murchison
  Jeremy Lee as mentor
• North East: Kenny Atkinson (won heat) vs Ian Matfin
  Marcus Wareing as mentor
• Northern Ireland: Danny Millar (won heat) vs Clare Smyth
  Richard Corrigan as mentor
• South West: Shaun Rankin (won heat) vs Nathan Outlaw
  Mark Hix as mentor
• Wales: James Sommerin (won heat) vs Stephen Terry
  Bryn Williams as mentor
• North West: Nigel Haworth (won heat) vs Aiden Byrne
  Marcus Wareing as mentor
• South East: Tristan Welch (won heat) vs Mark Sargeant
  Jason Atherton as mentor

Final result

• Starter: Kenny Atkinson – Salad of Aberdeen Angus beef, carrots, horseradish and Shetland Black potatoes (recipe)
• Fish: Glynn Purnell – Masala spiced monkfish with red lentils, pickled carrots and coconut (recipe)
• Main: Nigel Haworth – Lonk lamb Lancashire hotpot, pickled red cabbage, carrots and leeks (Northcote | Luxury Hotel and Michelin Star Restaurant in Lancashire)
• Dessert: Shaun Rankin – Treacle tart with Jersey clotted cream and raspberry ripple coulis (recipe)

Series 5 (2010)

Series 5 began on 6 April 2010 with a double episode. In this series, the participating chefs were challenged to find food producers they had not previously used, basing their search around a National Trust property in their region, with the aim to source as many of their ingredients as possible from the property itself or the surrounding area. The banquet was for producers of British food and The Prince of Wales was the guest of honour.

Heats

The format of the heats changed this year. Instead of only two chefs being present for all the heats for their region, in this year three chefs competed in the "courses" section of their heats, with two going forward to cook for the judges in the "judging" episode. As in series four, a previous participant returned each week, but with the added responsibility of scoring each chef's four courses. The chef with the lowest score at the end of the "courses" episodes was eliminated, and the remaining two cooked for the judges.

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge/mentor
Scotland	Alan Murchison	Michael Smith	Tony Singh	Jeremy Lee
North West	Lisa Allen	Aiden Byrne	Johnnie Mountain	Marcus Wareing
Central	Will Holland	Daniel Clifford	Richard Bainbridge	Glynn Purnell
South West	Nathan Outlaw	John Hooker	Henry Herbert	Michael Caines
Wales	Aled Williams	James Sommerin	Richard Davies	Stephen Terry
North East	Kenny Atkinson	Tim Bilton	Lee Bennett	Nigel Haworth
Northern Ireland	Niall McKenna	Derek Creagh	Brian McCann	Richard Corrigan
London and South East	Tom Kerridge	Anthony Demetre	Tristan Welch	Jason Atherton

Final week

In the final week running up to the banquet, the chefs cooked one course per day but instead of being ranked from first to eighth place the top three chefs were all given a possible dish at the banquet, thus allowing the judges to have more choice when choosing the menu at the end of the week.

Final result

• Starter: Lisa Allen – Wild rabbit and leek turnover with piccalilli (recipe)
• Fish: Kenny Atkinson – Mackerel with gooseberries (recipe)
• Main: Tom Kerridge – Slow-cooked Aylesbury duck with duck fat chips and gravy (recipe)
• Dessert: Niall McKenna – Poached rhubarb with strawberry jelly, yellow man and lavender ice-cream (recipe)

Great British Waste Menu (2010)

A one-off, 90 minute documentary-style programme was broadcast in December 2010, Great British Waste Menu was made to highlight and discourage food wastage in Britain. In addition to showing several examples of such wastage, the programme challenged four chefs (GBM regulars Richard Corrigan and Angela Hartnett, plus Matt Tebbutt and Simon Rimmer) to create a three-course menu plus canapes from food destined to be discarded by producers, supermarkets, restaurants and regular households. Regular series judges Matthew Fort, Oliver Peyton and Prue Leith judged the results. The final menu, served as a banquet for 60 people, comprised:
Samosa canapes (Simon Rimmer)
British beef with a beef consommé and summer vegetables (Matt Tebutt)
Fresh Kent fish wrapped in courgette with a pork ratatouille (Richard Corrigan) - judged best overall dish (the 'Dustbin Award').
Ginger floating island with British summer fruits (Angela Hartnett)

Series 6 (2011)

Series 6 of The Great British Menu started on 4 April 2011. The theme for the series was sharing and communities,[4] with chefs being asked to cook food that encouraged people to come together. During the series, chefs visited and cooked for a number of community groups.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge
North East	Andrew Pern	Stephanie Moon	Tim Bilton	Nigel Haworth
Northern Ireland	Chris Fearon	Chris Bell	Brian McCann	Richard Corrigan
North West	Lisa Allen	Johnnie Mountain	Bruno Birkbeck	Marcus Wareing
Central	Aktar Islam	Richard Bainbridge	Sue Ellis	Glynn Purnell
South West	Paul Ainsworth	Andre Garrett	John Hooker	Michael Caines
Scotland	Michael Smith	Tony Singh	Philip Carnegie	Alan Murchison
Wales	Hywel Jones	Aled Williams	Gareth Jones	Angela Hartnett
London and South East	Tom Kerridge	Tom Aikens	Phil Thompson	Jason Atherton

Final week

In the final week running up to the banquet the chefs cooked one course per day but instead of being ranked first to eighth place the top three chefs were all given a possible dish at the banquet, thus allowing the judges to have more choice when choosing the menu at the end of the week.

Final result

• Starter: Chris Fearon – "Season, Shake and Curry On coronation chicken"
• Fish course: Aktar Islam – "Sea bass with battered soft shell crab"
• Main course: Tom Kerridge – "Hog roast"
• Dessert: Paul Ainsworth – "Taste of the Fairground"

This result made Tom Kerridge the first chef on the Great British Menu to cook the main course twice, as well as being the first chef to cook a pork dish for the main course on the final menu.

Series 7 (2012)

Series 7 of The Great British Menu began on 9 April 2012 with Scotland being the first region to cook. The theme for the series was the Olympics to celebrate the games coming to London.[5] The chefs were tasked with creating a menu that captured the Olympic spirit and during the series they met up with Olympians from the UK to gain inspiration and advice for their menu.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge
Scotland	Alan Murchison	Colin Buchan	Mark Greenaway	Jeremy Lee
Central	Daniel Clifford	Paul Foster	Aktar Islam	Glynn Purnell
North East	Colin McGurran	Charlie Lakin	Stephanie Moon	Nigel Haworth
Northern Ireland	Chris Fearon	Chris Bell	Niall McKenna	Richard Corrigan
North West	Simon Rogan	Aiden Byrne	Johnnie Mountain^a	Marcus Wareing
South East & London	Phil Howard	Marcus McGuinness	Graham Garrett	Jason Atherton
Wales	Stephen Terry	James Sommerin	Richard Davies	Angela Hartnett
South West	Nathan Outlaw	Paul Ainsworth	Simon Hulstone	Tom Kerridge with assistance from Jason Atherton

^a After the fish course results, Johnnie Mountain did not appear at the start of the main course, leading to his elimination from the regional heats.

Final week

in the final week, the winning eight chefs battled for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points. The three highest-scoring dishes for each course went forward for consideration for the final menu. Unlike previous finals weeks, the judges eliminated some dishes based on their performance in the previous round; unless the chefs had made significant changes in response to the feedback received at the regional final, the judges did not wish to taste and score the unsuitable course a second time. The Olympic banquet was shown in the final show, which was broadcast on 8 June, with all four dishes being prepared and presented for 100 guests.

Final result

• Starter: Colin McGurran – "Quails in the Wood" (recipe)
• Fish Course: Phil Howard – Cornish mackerel with oysters, mussels, winkles and samphire (recipe)
• Main Course: Daniel Clifford – Slow poached chicken, sweetcorn egg, spinach with bacon and peas (recipe)
• Dessert: Simon Rogan – Poached pears, atsina cress snow, sweet cheese ice cream and rosehip syrup (recipe)

Daniel Clifford was the first person to win the main course with chicken

Series 8 (2013)

Series 8 of The Great British Menu, titled Great British Menu Does Comic Relief, commenced on 28 January 2013, with the banquet hosted for people associated with the Comic Relief charity event, held at the Royal Albert Hall.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Celebrity guest judge
South East & London	Tom Aikens	Adam Simmonds	Matt Gillan	Richard Corrigan	Arabella Weir
Scotland	Michael Smith	Mark Greenaway	Tony Singh	Angela Hartnett	Debra Stephenson
North West	Aiden Byrne	Mary-Ellen McTague	Chris Holland	Phil Howard	Rowland Rivron
North East	Colin McGurran	Stephanie Moon	Charlie Larkin	Jason Atherton	Tim Brooke-Taylor
South West	Peter Sanchez-Iglesias	Emily Watkins	Chris Eden	Tom Kerridge assisted by Phil Howard	Simon Day
Northern Ireland	Raymond McArdle	Chris Fearon	Ian Orr^b	Glynn Purnell	Charlie Higson
Central	Daniel Clifford	Richard Bainbridge	Will Holland	Marcus Wareing	Vic Reeves
Wales	Richard Davies	Mary Ann Gilchrist	Luke Thomas	Jeremy Lee	Emma Kennedy

^b Ian Orr's and Raymond McArdle's scores tied but were below Chris Fearon's. To break the tie, Glynn Purnell chose Raymond's menu over Ian's.

Final week

The final week saw the winning eight chefs battle for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu, but in the main course, the judges added a ninth "wild card" chef, the defeated Central area finalist, Richard Bainbridge, as they thought that his dish was worthy enough to be included for the banquet. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points, but in a twist for this series, all the other chefs marked each other's dishes and put their votes in a ballot box. The average score from the chefs was then added to the scores from the judges, who like in the heats, were joined by a comedy guest for each course.

Guest judges

• Starter: Patricia Hodge
• Fish: Ronni Ancona
• Main course: Ade Edmondson
• Dessert: Charlie Higson

The three highest-scoring dishes for each course went forward for consideration for the final menu, but in a final twist, as the judges could not decide which dessert dish should go to the banquet, they decided that both Richard and Daniel's dishes deserved to be put forward to the banquet, with them serving to half the guests each. The Comic Relief banquet was shown in the final show, which was broadcast on 29 March, with all five dishes being prepared and presented for 80 guests.

Final result

• Starter: Tom Aikens – "Chicken Egg, Egg Chicken"
• Fish: Aiden Byrne – "Prawn cocktail"
• Main course: Michael Smith – "I Love Kids, But I Couldn't Eat a Whole One"
• Dessert: Richard Davies and Daniel Clifford – "Strawberries and Cream" and "Going Out With A Bang"

Series 9 (2014)

Series 9 of The Great British Menu, titled Great British Menu: The D-Day Banquet, commenced on 7 April 2014, with the banquet hosted for people who fought on D-Day, of which it was the 70th anniversary in 2014. The banquet was broadcast on 6 June. It was held at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Veteran guest judge
Northern Ireland	Chris McGowan	Raymond McArdle	Will Brown	Tom Kerridge assisted by Marcus Wareing	Celia Sandys grand-daughter of Winston Churchill
North West	James Durrant	Mary-Ellen McTague	Mark Ellis	Daniel Clifford	George Batts in Royal Engineers during D-Day
South West	Emily Watkins	Josh Eggleton	Dominic Chapman	Sat Bains	Ken Sturdy signalman during World War II
Central	Aktar Islam	Mark Poynton	Jason Hodnett	Marcus Wareing	Max Hastings
London and South East	Tom Sellers Adam Simmonds	N/A	Adam Byatt	Richard Corrigan	Joy Hunter worked in Cabinet War Rooms on D-Day
North East	Colin McGurran	Paul Welburn	Frances Atkins	Phil Howard	Molly Rose flew in Air Transport Auxiliary
Scotland	Jacqueline O'Donnell	Stevie McLaughlin	Neil Rankin	Jeremy Lee	Jim Radford believed to be youngest participant in the Normandy Invasion (as a Merchant Navy Galley Boy)
Wales	David Kelman	Mary Ann Gilchrist	Andy Beaumont	Angela Hartnett	Martin Bell

Final week

In the final week, the winning nine chefs battled for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu, but in the dessert, Tom Sellers was taken ill, so only eight chefs competed on that day. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points, and like the last series, all the other chefs marked each other's dishes and put their votes in a ballot box. The average score from the chefs was then added to the scores from the judges, who like in the heats, were joined by a D-Day veteran for each course. One other added twist was that before the final marks were given, the chefs and judges each saw what the top three would have been if only the chefs were marking.

Guest judges

• Starter: George Batts
• Fish: Ken Sturdy
• Main Course: Baroness Trumpington
• Dessert: Celia Sandys

The three highest-scoring dishes for each course went forward for consideration for the final menu. The D-Day banquet was shown in the final show, which was broadcast on 6 June, with all four dishes being prepared and presented for the veterans and special guest, David Cameron.

Final result

• Starter: Adam Simmonds – "Your Share"
• Fish: Emily Watkins – "We Shall Fight Them On The Beaches"
• Main course: James Durrant – "Blitz Spirit"
• Dessert: Colin McGurran – "Homage To The Dickin Medal"

Series 10 (2015)

On 10 June 2015, it was announced that Series 10 of Great British Menu would be broadcast "later in the summer" with the chefs battling it out to cook a course at the banquet at Drapers' Hall in London to celebrate 100 years of the Women's Institute.[6] The series eventually began on 3 August 2015.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Veteran guest judge
Scotland	Jak O'Donnell	Graham Campbell	Jimmy Li	Michael Smith	Angela Baker WI calendar girl
South West	Josh Eggleton	Dominic Chapman	Jude Kereama	Emily Watkins	Radhika Bynon Member of the Forest Gate WI
Wales	Adam Bannister	Phil Carmichael	Stephen Gomes	Tom Kerridge assisted by Tom Aikens on fish course	Rosemary Bishton Long-standing member of the WI
Northern Ireland	Ben Arnold	Chris McGowan	Danni Barry	Phil Howard	Felicity Cloake Food writer
North East	Michael O'Hare	Tim Allen	Mini Patel	Marcus Wareing	Kirsty Bowen WI Sheffield president
North West	Matt Worswick	Eve Townson	Mark Ellis	Sat Bains	Sabrina Ghayour
London & South East	Matt Gillan	Lee Westcott	Mark Froydenlund	Daniel Clifford	Mary Gwynn Food writer & author
Central	Rich Bainbridge	Pip Lacey	Jason Hodnett	Richard Corrigan	Helen Carey Former WI chair

Final week

In the final week, the winning eight chefs battled for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points, and like the previous two series, all the other chefs would be marking each other's dishes and putting their votes in a ballot box. The average score from the chefs was then added to the scores from the judges, who like in the heats, were joined by a WI member for each course. Another added twist was that before the final marks were given, the chefs and judges each saw what the top three would have been if only the chefs were marking.

In another twist for this series, due to the fact that the chefs are cooking for the WI, the judges revealed that only "perfect dishes" would make the shortlist, and unlike the mandatory three in the previous series, for some courses, there might be more or less than that.

Guest judges

• Starter: Angela Baker
• Fish: Kirsty Bowen
• Main course: Felicity Cloake
• Dessert: Mary Gwynn

The shortlisted dishes for each course went forward for consideration for the final menu. The WI Centenary banquet was shown in the final show, which was broadcast on 9 October, with all four dishes being prepared and presented for the WI guests.

Final result

• Starter: Rich Bainbridge – "We All Stand For Jerusa-lamb"
• Fish: Michael O'Hare – "Emancipation"
• Main course: Matt Gillan – "Teaching And Preaching"
• Dessert: Rich Bainbridge – "Inspiring Women"

Series 11 (2016)

On 30 May 2016, it was announced that Series 11 of Great British Menu would also be broadcast "later in the summer" with the chefs this time cooking in the dining room of the House of Commons in London to celebrate the "Great Britons" of Elizabeth II.[7] The series began on 29 August 2016.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Veteran guest judge
Scotland	Michael Bremner	Adam Handling	Ally McGrath	Daniel Clifford	Tim Hayward
South West	Josh Eggleton	Jude Kereama	Chris Wheeler	Lisa Allen assisted by Simon Rogan	Grace Dent
North West	Adam Reid	Matt Worswick	Kim Woodward	Phil Howard	Lady Claire MacDonald OBE
Wales	Phil Carmichael	Adam Bannister	Andrew Birch	Michael Smith	Rosie Birkett
Central	Danny Gill	Daniel Smith	Andrew Scott	Angela Hartnett	Enam Ali
London & South East	Mark Froydenlund	Russell Bateman	Ronnie Murray	Richard Corrigan	Kevin Gould
North East	Tommy Banks	Mini Patel	Chris Archer taken ill after fish course	Tom Aikens	John Williams
Northern Ireland	Mark Abbott	Chris McGowan	Eddie Attwell	Michael O'Hare	Amol Rajan

Final week

In the final week, the winning eight chefs battled for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points, and like recent series, all the other chefs marked each other's dishes and put their votes in a ballot box. The average score from the chefs was then added to the scores from the judges, who like in the heats, were joined by a veteran for each course. As with recent series, before the final marks were given, the chefs and judges each saw what the top three would have been if only the chefs were marking.

Guest judges

• Starter: Lady Claire MacDonald OBE
• Fish: Tim Hayward
• Main Course: John Williams
• Dessert: Grace Dent

As with the previous series, if certain dishes were thought to be more banquet-worthy than all the other dishes, then the dishes would immediately advance to the banquet.

Final result

• Starter: Mark Abbott – "Ordinary To Extraordinary"
• Fish: Tommy Banks – "Preserving The Future"
• Main course: Mark Froydenlund – "A Celebration Of Rose Veal"
• Dessert: Adam Reid – "Golden Empire"

Series 12 (2017)

The chefs had to cook for a banquet in celebration of the 140th anniversary of Wimbledon. This was the first series with Andi Oliver as a judge, replacing Prue Leith.[8]

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Veteran guest judge
London & South East	Selin Kiazim	Tom Kemble	Mike Reid	Angela Hartnett	Leon Smith
South West	Tom Brown	Dom Chapman	Andy Clatworthy	Michael O'Hare	Marion Regan
North West	Ellis Barrie	Paul Askew	Tom Parker	Daniel Clifford	Greg Rusedski
North East	Tommy Banks	Josh Overington	Danny Parker	Jeremy Lee	Judy Murray
Scotland	Michael Bremner	Ally McGrath	Angela Malik	Nathan Outlaw	Gary Parsons
Wales	Phil Carmichael	Nick Brodie	Paul Croasdale	Tom Aikens	Dan Bloxham
Central	Pip Lacey	Ryan Simpson	Nick Deverell-Smith	Rich Bainbridge	Jordanne Whiley
Northern Ireland	Tommy Heaney	Eddie Attwell	Joery Castel	Michael Smith	Mansour Bahrami

Final week

In the final week, the winning eight chefs battled for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points, but in a change to recent series, the chefs no longer had a vote on the dishes. In a further twist, the result for each course was announced at the end of each day, rather than a shortlist of a few dishes being carried forward to the end of the week. In the event of a dead heat, the three regular judges would decide which dish went through to the banquet.

Guest judges

• Starter: Sue Barker
• Fish: Tim Henman
• Main course: Gordon Reid
• Dessert: Annabel Croft

Final result

• Starter: Pip Lacey – "Whatever The Weather"
• Fish: Tommy Banks – "Turbot With Strawberries & Cream"
• Main course: Michael Bremner – "The Grass Is Greener"
• Dessert: Selin Kiazim – "Honouring Venus Rosewater Champions"

Series 13 (2018)

The 2018 Great British Menu was about celebrating 70 years of the National Health Service (NHS), with 24 chefs[9] attempting to win a place on the final banquet menu, to cook "A Feast To Say Thank You" for people of the NHS to be held in the Great Hall of St Bartholomew's Hospital.[10]

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Veteran guest judge
North East	Dan Fletcher	Danny Parker	Dave Coulson	Angela Hartnett	Dr Anne Weaver
London & South East	James Cochran	Selin Kiazim	Scott Goss	Tom Aikens	Jenny Turner
Scotland	Lorna McNee	Ross Bryans	Ben Reade	Phil Howard	Dr Sara Kayat
Central	Marianne Lumb	Ryan Simpson-Trotman	Sabrina Gidda	Daniel Clifford	Dan Smith
Wales	Chris Harrod	Andrew Sheridan	Jason Hughes	Paul Ainsworth	Aneira Thomas
South West	Tom Brown	Jude Kereama	Olivia Barry	Richard Corrigan	Barbara Childs
North West	Ellis Barrie Craig Sherrington	N/A	Liam Simpson-Trotman	Michael O'Hare	Dr Jake Dunning
Northern Ireland	Tommy Heaney	Shauna Froydenlund	James Devine	Jeremy Lee	Shehan Hettiaratchy

Final week

In the final week, the winning nine chefs battle for their dishes to be part of the final banquet menu. Each day, the chefs cooked one of their courses for the four judges, who each marked the dish out of a possible ten points. As with the previous series, the chefs no longer had a vote on the dishes, and the result for each course was announced at the end of each day, rather than a shortlist of a few dishes being carried forward to the end of the week. In the event of a dead heat, the three regular judges would decide which dish went through to the banquet. After the four winning chefs had been announced, the judges revealed that for the first time ever, the guests at the banquet would vote for their favourite dish and a Champion of Champions would be crowned.

Guest judges

• Starter: Rangan Chatterjee
• Fish: Chris Ogden
• Main course: Tom Lynch
• Dessert: Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent

Final Result

• Starter: James Cochran – "Cep-tional"
• Fish: Ellis Barrie – "Bun in the Oven"
• Main course: Tom Brown – "Poor Man's Goose"
• Dessert: Chris Harrod – "Tea and Cake"
• Champion of Champions: James Cochran

Series 14 (2019)

In the 2019 Great British Menu, 24 chefs competed to serve a course at Abbey Road Studios for the 50th anniversary of the last time that The Beatles played together.[11]

The kitchen had moved to a new location in Stratford-upon-Avon and, in a change to the transmissions, instead of being five 30-minute shows broadcast between Monday to Friday, the shows became two 1-hour shows on Wednesday and Thursday, with the starter and fish courses on the Wednesday and the main and dessert courses on Thursday, with the judging being unchanged as a 30-minute show on Fridays.

Heats

Location	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated	Judge	Musical guest judge
London & South East	Luke Selby	Ben Marks	Paul Walsh	Angela Hartnett	Mani
North East	Tom Anglesea	Samira Effa	Michael Carr	Michael O'Hare	Pete Waterman
Central	Kray Treadwell	Sabrina Gidda	Ryan Simpson-Trotman	Paul Ainsworth	Ali Campbell
North West	Adam Reid	Hrishikesh Desai	Liam Simpson-Trotman	Tom Aikens	Amy Macdonald
Scotland	Lorna McNee	Gordon Jones	Ben Reade	Richard Corrigan	Keisha Buchanan
South West	Lee Smith	Joe Baker	Emily Scott	Daniel Clifford	The Rev. Richard Coles
Wales	Andrew Sheridan	Tom "Westy" Westerland	Cindy Challoner	Phil Howard	JB Gill
Northern Ireland	Chris McClurg	Alex Greene	Glen Wheeler	Tommy Banks	Loyle Carner

Final week

As in the previous series, all eight chefs cooked all their menus and each course winner was picked at the end of each day. Following the announcement of all the course winners, the judges confirmed that they also wanted the chefs to create vegetarian options of their meals and, like the previous year, there was also a "Champion of Champions" vote with all the diners.

Guest judges

• Starter: Martin Kemp
• Fish: Kanya King (with assistance from Novelist)
• Main course: Andrew Ridgeley
• Dessert: Peter Hook

Final result

• Starter: Luke Selby – "The British Invasion"
• Fish: Tom Anglesea – "Lost Souls in a Fish Bowl"
• Main course: Adam Reid – "Comfort Food 'Sounds' Good"
• Dessert: Lorna McNee - "Lime and Sunshine, There's Enough for Everyone"
• Champion of Champions: Lorna McNee

Series 15 (2020)

In the 2020 Great British Menu, many changes were announced to the format. The comedian Susan Calman became the host and hosted in the kitchens at Stratford-upon-Avon. Also, for the first time since series 3, each region had four chefs, instead of three. Each chef was to cook six courses, instead of the usual four. As well as the traditional starter, fish course, main course and dessert, each chef had to create two other courses, which although not marked by the judges, could be used as a tie-breaker if needed. They were an amuse-bouche at the beginning, and a pre-dessert palate cleanser between the main and dessert courses.[12]

The theme for the series was children's literature with the banquet due to be held at Exeter College, Oxford, and each region had its own sub-theme towards the brief.[13]

As with the previous series, the shows were 1 hour long with the amuse-bouche, starter and fish courses on the Wednesday and the main, pre-dessert and dessert courses on Thursday, with the judging being unchanged as a 30-minute show on Fridays. The main difference was that one chef was eliminated after the fish course on day 1, with another chef eliminated after the dessert on day 2.

Heats

Location	Sub-theme	Won heat	Runner-up	Eliminated after dessert	Eliminated after fish	Judge	Literary guest judge
Central	Fantasy Fiction	Niall Keating	Sally Abé	Dom Robinson	Alex Claridge	Paul Ainsworth	Charlie Higson
London & South East	Capital Authors	Kerth Gumbs	Steve Groves	Ivan Tisdall-Downes	Karl O'Dell	Tommy Banks	Konnie Huq
Scotland	Heroes & Villains	Roberta Hall-McCarron	Amy Elles	Ross Bryans	Gordon Jones	Michael O'Hare	David Baddiel
Northern Ireland	Magical Lands & Time Travel	Alex Greene	Shauna Froydenlund	Leigh Ferguson	Paul Cunningham	Tom Aikens	Cerrie Burnell
North West	Action & Adventure	Tom Barnes	Hrishikesh Desai	George Farrugia	Sam Buckley	Angela Hartnett (Michael O'Hare for main course)	Julia Donaldson
South West	Picture Books & Animal Characters	Joe Baker	Guy Owen	Thomas Carr replaced by Harriet Mansell after leaving competition early	Harriet Mansell	Richard Corrigan	Nina Wadia
Wales	Giants & Dragons	Hywel Griffith	Tom Phillips	John Chantarasak	Georgia Sommerin	Lisa Goodwin-Allen (Michael O'Hare for fish course)	David Bradley
North East	Real Life	Ruth Hansom	Alex Bond	Josh Angus	Samira Effa	Tom Brown	Jacqueline Wilson

Final week

The winning eight chefs cook their courses in celebration of nearly 200 years of British children's literature.

Guest judges

• Starter: Cressida Cowell
• Fish: Malorie Blackman
• Main course: Anthony Horowitz
• Dessert: Greg James (with assistance from Chris Smith)

Final result

• Amuse-bouche: Ruth Hansom – "Golden Snitch"
• Starter: Alex Greene – "The Potato, The Onion, The Cheese and The Wardrobe"
• Fish: Niall Keating – "Witches of the Northern Lights"
• Main course: Tom Barnes – "Beatrix Potter's Herdwick Lamb"
• Pre-dessert: Kerth Gumbs – "Snozzcumbers and Frobscottle"
• Dessert: Alex Greene – "The Incredible Edible Book"
• Champion of Champions: Niall Keating

Although Ruth Hansom and Kerth Gumbs did not win any of the courses, Ruth's fish course and Kerth's dessert course were the two highest-scoring runners-up, so they were invited to cook the Amuse-bouche and Pre-dessert respectively.

Great British Christmas Menu (2020)

From 18 to 29 December 2020, a special Christmas series was shown. Twelve previous winners of the show competed to cook their dishes for a six-course banquet located at York Hospital. The main banquet was then cancelled due to restrictions during the pandemic, so mini banquets occurred in various areas, while some other units of the six-course meal were home-delivered. The filming of the banquet occurred at a gazebo outside the Hospital under tier-two restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.[14] Andi Oliver hosted and presented the special series, and comedienne Kerry Godliman took Andi's place as a special guest judge.[15]

Guest judges

• Canapé and starter: Vicky Hall
• Fish and main course: Tim Spector
• Dessert and petit four: Beverley Knight

Final result

• Canapé: James Cochran – "T'was the Night Before Christmas"; Alex Greene – "Christmas Tree Bauble"; Lisa Allen – "Retro Christmas Canape"
• Starter: Alex Greene – "Not Mushroom under this Tree"
• Fish: Tom Barnes – "Smoked Salmon Over Pine"
• Main course: Lisa Allen – "Christmas Fallow Deer Feast"
• Dessert: Lisa Allen – "Christmas Snowglobe (Thank You)"
• Petit four: Tommy Banks – "The Night Before Christmas"

Transmissions

Series	Start date	End date	Episodes
1	10 April 2006	16 June 2006	41
GBCM	11 December 2006	15 December 2006	5
2	2 April 2007	8 June 2007	41
3	17 March 2008	13 June 2008	49
4	30 March 2009	16 June 2009	46
5	6 April 2010	4 June 2010	45
GBWM	25 August 2010		1
6	4 April 2011	3 June 2011	45
7	9 April 2012	8 June 2012	45
8	28 January 2013	29 March 2013	45
GBBM	11 July 2013		1
9	7 April 2014	6 June 2014	45
10	3 August 2015	9 October 2015	45
11	29 August 2016	28 October 2016	45
12	2 May 2017	30 June 2017	45
13	13 August 2018	12 October 2018	45
14	20 March 2019	17 May 2019	29
15	18 March 2020	15 May 2020	29
GBCM	18 December 2020	29 December 2020	7

References

1. "BBC - Food - TV and radio - About the show".
2. Teed, Paul. "Andi Oliver revealed as new judge on BBC Two's Great British Menu". BBC. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
3. "BBC - Susan Calman to present BBC Two's Great British Menu - Media Centre". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
4. "The Great British Menu 2011". thefoodplace.co.uk. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
5. "The Great British Menu 2012". thefoodplace.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
6. "BBC - BBC Two's Great British Menu returns - Media Centre".
7. "BBC Two's Great British Menu is back with the Great Britons' Banquet". BBC Media Centre.
8. "BBC - Tennis icons Sue Barker, Tim Henman, Greg Rusedski and Judy Murray to guest judge on Great British Menu - Media Centre".
9. "Great british menu 2018 blog by HtE Recruitment-Hospitality and Catering recruitment agency". chefjobs.hterecruitment.co.uk. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
10. "Great British Menu reveals 2018 chef line-up". Big Hospitality. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
11. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/great-british-menu
12. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2019/great-british-menu-themes
13. https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/mediapacks/great-british-menu-2020
14. Willers, Daniel (23 December 2020). "York Hospital staff to appear on BBC TV show". York Press.
15. Coldstream, Henry (11 November 2020). "Great British Christmas Menu 2020: Everything you need to know". SquareMeal.

External links

• Great British Menu at BBC Programmes
• Great British Menu at IMDb
• Great British Menu at UKGameshows.com
• "How much can it cost chefs to take part in Great British Menu?" (12 June 2017) at The Staff Canteen