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.
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.
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.
On 1 October 2019, Susan Calman was announced as the new presenter for series 15. Filming took place in Stratford-upon-Avon and was completed in November 2019. The show was broadcast in spring 2020. For Christmas 2020 special series and thereafter, Andi Oliver stepped down as a judge and has replaced Calman as the presenter.
On 7 February 2021, it was announced that Rachel Khoo would be joining as a new judge when the series returns in spring 2021.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Series 6 (2011).
Series 6 of The Great British Menu started on 4 April 2011. The theme for the series was sharing and communities, 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.
The filming started on 15 March 2011.
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.
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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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. The series eventually began on 3 August 2015.
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.
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.
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. The series began on 29 August 2016.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Series 13 (2018).
The 2018 Great British Menu was about celebrating 70 years of the National Health Service (NHS), with 24 chefs 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Final week.
The winning eight chefs cook their courses in celebration of nearly 200 years of British children's literature.
Final result.
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 1 to 24 December 2020, a special Christmas series was shown. Andi Oliver stepped down from the judging panel and began presenting the series, replacing Susan Calman, and comedienne Kerry Godliman took Andi's place as a special guest judge. Twelve previous winners of the show competed to cook their dishes for a six-course banquet originally located at York Hospital. In the first round of each course, various eight of those veteran chefs were selected, and one group of four judges double-blind the other group's dishes in the first rounds. Top three dishes of their respective courses (or four for canapé) are selected for the second round in the judging panel. Godliman is a vegetarian, so chefs cooked vegetarian alternatives of their courses for her.
The main banquet was 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.
Series 16 (2021).
Series 16 began on 24 March 2021. The theme of the competition is innovation, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Sir Tim Berners-Lee creation of the World Wide Web. The series also marks the debut of Rachel Khoo as a judge, with Andi Oliver hosting following the series' Christmas Special. The banquet will be held at Jodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire, but as COVID-19 restrictions were still in effect at the time of the series' filming, the banquet will instead be held outdoors in a marquee, with full social distancing measures in place.
The first course will be referred to as canapés for this season, rather than the amuse-bouche from the last season.
Final week.
The winning eight chefs cook their courses in celebration of British innovation.