Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Harvey Perttola, Central heat

The Staff Canteen

Editor

26 year-old head chef of Restaurant Six at Trent Bridge Cricket ground, Harvey Perttola is is one of four chefs representing the Central region on Great British Menu 2022

Series 17 of the competition starts on February 1st 2022 on BBC Two at 8pm and will air at the same time every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for eight weeks.

Harvey is competing against Sally Abé, Liam Dillon and Benjamin Orpwood. This will be Harvey's first appearance on the show. Before making it to the judge's chamber, the chefs' food is to be judged by veteran chef Aktar Islam, who appeared on the programme in 2014.

As per the programme's new format which starts each heat with four chefs (as opposed to three, which was the case until series 15), Harvey was eliminated after the fish course. Liam was the next to go, leaving Ben and Sally to face judges Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble on Thursday, 2nd February 2022.

Biography

Harvey has always been passionate about cooking. Aged just 14 he entered a cooking competition judged by legendary Opus head chef David Colcombe.

He didn't win, however he did secure a weekend job at Opus, where he stayed on full-time after finishing school.

Harvey then went to work at Hampton Manor's Peel's restaurant, and was part of the team when it won a Michelin star and 4 AA Rosettes in 2016.

After a brief stint in recruitment and some temping jobs, Harvey joined the team at Birmingham fine dining restaurant, Maribel, taking over as head chef at the tender age of 24 when Richard Turner left.

In 2020, the chef left to work at Friends Restaurant Pinner, then briefly ran Hill 101 with his fiancé before taking on a role as the head chef at Restaurant Six at Trent Bridge Cricket ground, with a menu developed by chef Tom Sellers.

Harvey was a finalist and runner-up in the 2017 Chef Stagiaire competition, as well as a finalist in the 2018 British Culinary Federation Young Chef of the Year.

The chef's Modern British food is informed both by classical French culinary techniques and his Punjabi background. He likes to use spices where he can, a nod to his family and Birmingham’s curry culture, and his GBM dishes will draw inspiration from Birmingham programmes, celebrating the plethora of shows that are either based or made there.

Instagram: @harv.p1

Twitter: @HarveyPerttola

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