Great British Menu is back for 2023 – here’s when it starts on TV and what to expect.
Chefs Tom Kerridge and Nisha Katona, and comedian and food podcast host Ed Gamble are all back on the panel of the hit BBC Two show for its new series.
Andi Oliver returns to host as the most talented chefs from across the UK battle it out to cook at a six-course banquet celebrating the best of British animation and illustration, inspired by Paddington Bear’s 65th Birthday.
Great British Menu 2023 starts Tuesday, 31 January at 8PM on BBC Two and iPlayer.
Tom Kerridge said: “I’ve been involved with the show in some respect now for 12/13 years and I know how much it means, not just to the chefs that compete, but also the British food scene in general.
“It has been hugely influential, in terms of letting everybody know how great chefs and cooking is up and down the country, in all the nations and regions.”
Nisha Katona, Chef and Restaurateur, commented: “What’s fantastic about the Great British Menu is it’s not just a competition about food. It is about the very best chefs in the country, creating not just extraordinary dishes, but these real flights of fantasy.
“I know that having watched it in the past, these people pour their hearts into what they do and it’s just a complete privilege to taste that.”
Ed Gamble, Comedian and host of food podcast Off Menu, added: “Doing my food podcast for so long means that I am very qualified for this job and I know way more than Tom and Nisha who both kept complaining that nobody served chicken nuggets. (They might have edited that out).
“I can’t wait for people to see what the chefs have made this series – the brief is incredible and they really rose to the challenge. And I rose to my difficult challenge of stuffing my greedy face.”
Andi Oliver is on hand to encourage and support the 32 chefs representing eight different regions or nations to deliver their best for the competition.
Each week, Andi will help veterans of the competition whittle the competing chefs for each area down to just two, before they go head-to-head in front of the judging panel in the hope of securing a place in Finals Week.
Andi Oliver said: “I feel really proud to be able to support our chefs and help guide them through the competition. Being able to be there to help them cope with how challenging the competition can be, and watch them develop their dishes – and their mental and culinary agility – is a sight to behold. It’s something extraordinary to see.”
The Great British Menu returns Tuesday, 31 January at 8PM on BBC Two.
You can episodes online and catch up on past series via the BBC iPlayer here.
