Great British Menu 2024: Everything you need to know, which chefs are competing, who are the national finalists, when is the banquet and more

The Staff Canteen

Great British Menu 2024 theme is around the Olympics and Paralympics. The panel of judges remains the same for series 19 of the competition and we start with the north east region.

  1. Now in her third year as host, Andi Oliver is an award-winning TV Chef and Broadcaster who enjoys a rich and varied career. This series starts on Tuesday 23rd January at 8pm on BBC, pitting 32 of the country's best chefs against each other for a chance to cook for our olympians and paralympians representing Team GB in the Paris Olympics.
  2.  

All episodes of 2023's series 18 of the programme are available to watch on BBC iPlayer. We'll update this page with everything you need to know so scroll down to see more.

When does Great British Menu 2024 start?

Series 19 of Great British Menu starts on January 23rd 2024 and will run for eight weeks, culminating in a banquet meal celebrating the theme, with a regional chef cooking each course and a champion of champions.

What channel will Great British Menu be on?

Great British Menu will be broadcast on BBC Two.

What is the Great British Menu 2024 theme? 

Great British Menu contestants will create dishes around the Olympics and Paralympics, hoping to cook at a final banquet to wish the Team GB athletes good luck for the Paris Olympics.

Who are the veteran judges?

While the veteran judges are revealed on a week-by-week basis, they usually include Angela HartnettMichael O'HarePaul Ainsworth and Richard Corrigan.

Who are the judges on the Great British Menu?

Returning for 2024 are judges Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge, chef and restaurateur Nisha Katona, and comedian and host of food podcast Off Menu, Ed Gamble.

How many heats / regions are there?

The show pits chefs from eight regions against each other, with four competing chefs from each location: Scotland, the South West, the North West, Wales, Central, the London South/East area, the North East and Northern Ireland.

One chef will be eliminated at the end of the first day of cooking each week, meaning they only have their canapés, starters and fish courses to prove themselves.  Another chef will then leave the competition after their final score from the veteran judge, in the second episode of the week.  

The final two chefs in each region to cook for the judges, who each week will be joined by a guest.

During finals week the eight regional finalists compete against each other, four of whom will cook a dish at the banquet, and an additional runner-up serving their canapés and pre-desserts at the banquet. 

WHEN IS FINALS WEEK?

Great British Menu 2024 finals week starts Monday 18th March 2024 on BBC 2 at 9pm, with the banquet airing on Friday 22nd March at 7pm on BBC 2 (9.30pm in Wales)

Who are the Great British Menu Chefs competing in 2024? 

North East Chefs: January 23rd, 24th and 25th 

Cal Byerley, Chef Owner of Restaurant Pine

Samira Effa, Head Chef of EightyEight at Grantley Hall

Scott John-Hodgson, Head Chef at Solstice 

Adam Degg, Head Chef, Horto Restaurant 

Veteran judge

Aktar Islam

GreaT BRITISH MENU 2024 NORTH EAST REGION

 

CENTAL Chefs: January 30th, 31st and february 1st 

Liam Nichols, Head Chef, STORE

Adam Smith, Executive Chef, Woven by Adam Smith at Coworth Park

Louisa Ellis, Private Chef

Sam Ashton-Booth, Development Chef, Muse by Tom Aikens

Veteran judge

Tommy Banks

Great British Menu 2024

 

london and south east Chefs: february 6th, 7th and 8th

Joe Hill, Head Chef, The Table Broadstairs 

Kate Austen, Private Chef, London

Vince Smith, Development Chef, London

Ashok Kumar, Executive Chef, Kanishka by Atul Kochhar

Veteran judge

Simon Rogan

Great British Menu 2024 Simon Rogan

 

scotland: February 13th, 14th and 15th

Kevin Dalgliesh, Chef Patron, Amuse by Kevin Dalgliesh

David Millar, Executive Chef, Jupiter Artland

Calum Montgomery, Chef Patron, Edinbane Lodge

Ajay Kumar, Chef Patron, Swadish by Ajay Kumar

Veteran judge

Angela Hartnett and Adam Handling

Great British Menu 2024

 

wales: February 20th, 21st and 22nd

Corrin Harrison, Gwen Restaurant

Nick Rudge, The Jackdaw

Larkin Cen, The Monkey King at the celtic Manor

Lewis Dwyer, Hiraeth

Veteran judge

Lisa Goodwin Allen

Great British Menu 2024 Lisa Goodwin Allen

 

north west: February 28th, 29th and March 1st

Andy Sheridan, Restaurant 8

Kirk Haworth, Plates

Nina Matsunaga, The Black Bull 

Ryan Stafford, Fold Bistro

Veteran judge

Michael O'Hare

Great British Menu 2024 Michael O'Hare

 

northern ireland:  March 5th, 6th and 7th

Lottie Noren, Edo

Melissa McCabe, Feast

Colin McSherry, currently monthly running pop-ups in a local restaurant called Graphite

Niall Sarhan, the Rabbit hotel

Veteran judge

Richard Corrigan and Spencer Metzger

Great British Menu 2024 Richard Corrigan

 

SOUTH WEST:  March 12th, 13th and 14th

Andi Tuck, Habour House

Elly Wentworth, The Angel

Ben Palmer, The Sardine Factory

Mike Naidoo, Catch! at The Old Fish Market

Veteran judge

Tom Aikens

GREAT BRITISH MNEU 2024

 

Who is cooking at the banquet in Great British Menu 2024?

STARTER: Firefly, a vegan golden beetroot tart cooked by Ben Palmer, chef patron of the Sardine Factory in Cornwall.

FISH: Road to Paris, a poached brill with truffle trout mousse by Adam Smith, executive chef at the one Michelin-starred Woven by Adam Smith in Berkshire representing Central England.

MAIN: Symposium, a Greek-inspired dish of stuffed quail, truffle French toast and scotch egg cooked by Kate Austen, a private chef represneting London and South East region, with experience in Gordon Ramsay's development team and formerly the youngest female head chef of the two Michelin-starred AOC in Copenhagen.  Kate is the first female to cook the main course on Great British Menu since first airing 19 years ago.

DESSERT: A Taste of Unity, a vegan dessert by Kirk Haworth, chef patron of Plates, representing the North West.

Who is the Champion of champions in the Great British Menu 2024?

Kirk Haworth was crowned champion of champions in the Great British Menu 2024 for his dessert named Taste Of Unity, which featured a cacao gateaux topped with sour cherry and toasted macadamia, coconut blossom ice cream, African pepper and vanilla caramel sauce.

His pudding was inspired by each of the Olympic rings with each one representing a chosen flavour within its own continent.

Great British Menu 2024

 

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.

The Staff Canteen

The Staff Canteen

Editor 23rd March 2024

Great British Menu 2024: Everything you need to know, which chefs are competing, who are the national finalists, when is the banquet and more