Great British Menu is back for an incredible seventeenth series, highlighting the amazing culinary talent found across the UK and pitting chefs against one another in a bid to get a spot at the coveted banquet. While the format is staying the same as last year, there are a good few changes, including a brand new judging team and of course a fresh new brief for the judges to tailor their dishes to. Here’s everything you need to know in advance of the series starting.
The first episode of Great British Menu 2022 begins at 8pm on Tuesday 1 February on BBC Two. There are three one-hour episodes each week, airing on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm, covering eight weeks of regional heats, followed by the finals week where we’ll see which chefs make it to the banquet.
This year the chef’s will be tasked with creating dishes that reflect ‘100 Years of Great British Broadcasting’. The BBC’s first ever radio broadcast was in 1922, kickstarting a complete overhaul of how we all consume media and culture ever since. We’re expecting plenty of TV and radio-themed props, as well as dishes that pay homage to some of the most iconic British TV shows ever made. The final banquet will be held at Alexandra Palace in London, attended by all sorts of famous faces from TV and radio.
It’s all changing this year, with last year’s line-up of Matthew Forte, Oliver Peyton and Rachel Khoo being replaced by some fresh new faces. Instead, we have Tom Kerridge, the multi-Michelin-starred chef behind The Hand and Flowers, The Coach and Kerridge’s Bar and Grill; Nisha Katona, the chef behind the very popular Mowgli Street Food restaurants and the author of four cookbooks; and Ed Gamble, who many will know from his role hosting the Off Menu podcast with fellow comedian James Acaster. Andi Oliver will still be in amongst the action in the Great British Menu kitchen, acting as host. Each week the regular judges will be joined by a guest judge connected to the broadcasting theme.
Instead of releasing the names of all thirty-two chefs competing throughout the series, this year they’re being drip-fed in advance of each week’s regional heat. We’ll be updating this page regularly with each week’s roster below.
