This year BBC Two’s Great British Menu will feature the first televised banquet at the Palace of Westminster, to be held in the historic House of Commons Members’ Dining Room.
Contenders will run for the opportunity to cook at the banquet in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s ‘Great Britons’. The challenge for the chefs is to create legacy-worthy dishes inspired by the transformation of British food though the Queen’s reign and by the achievements of the Great Britons of her time.
Some of these Great Britons have been recognised for their contributions to their communities, others have won the highest military honour or been given medals for gallantry for courage at home and overseas.
In the regional heats, judges include veteran chefs Daniel Clifford, Simon Rogan, Phil Howard, Richard Corrigan, Michael O’Hare and Angela Hartnett. The two contenders with the best score will then present a four-course menu to award-winning restaurant critic Matthew Fort; doyenne of British cookery, Prue Leith; and acclaimed restaurateur Oliver Peyton. A different fourth guest judge will join them each week. They will also receive the input of the Great British Menu Judges to select eight regional winners who will compete in the National Finals.
The Competing Chefs:
Scotland
Michael Bremner, 64 Degrees, Brighton
Adam Handling, The Frog, London
Ally McGrath, Osso, Peebles
South West
Josh Eggleton, The Pony and Trap, Chew Magna
Jude Kereama, Kota, Cornwall
Chris Wheeler, Humphry’s at Stoke Park
North West
Adam Reid, The French at The Midland Hotel, Manchester
Kim Woodward, The Savoy Grill, London
Matt Worswick, Thornton Hall, The Wirral (Please note Matt is now at The Latymer, Pennyhill Park)
Wales
Adam Bannister, Slice, Swansea
Andrew Birch, Fishmore Hall, Ludlow
Phil Carmichael, Berners Tavern, London
Central
Danny Gill, The Flitch of Bacon, Essex (please note Danny is now at The Bell at Coleby in Lincolnshire)
Andrew Scott, Restaurant 56, Farringdon
Daniel Smith, The Ingham Swan, Norfolk
London/South East
Russell Bateman, Colette’s at The Grove, Hertfordshire
Mark Froydenlund, Marcus, The Berkeley Hotel, London
Ronnie Murray, Hix Restaurants (Please note Ronnie is now at Peckham Manor)
North East
Chris Archer, The Cottage in the Wood, Cumbria
Tommy Banks, The Black Swan at Oldstead, North Yorkshire
Mini Patel, The Pointer, Buckinghamshire
Northern Ireland
Mark Abbott, Midsummer House, Cambridge
Eddie Attwell, Ardtara Country House (Please note Eddie is now at St Kyrans County Cavan, Eire)
Chris McGowan, Wine & Brine, Country Armagh, NI
For more information on the Great British Menu click here.