Great British Menu 2023 episode 1 – NE Starter and Fish

Great British Menu 2023 episode 1 – NE Starter and Fish: Four chefs from the north east of England compete with canapés, starters and fish dishes inspired by animation and illustration to celebrate Paddington’s 65th birthday. Who will be eliminated? Join presenter Andi Oliver in welcoming four talented chefs to the kitchen for this year’s competition inspired by Paddington’s 65th birthday and a celebration of British animation and illustration.

The head chef at the one Michelin-starred Winteringham Fields in Scunthorpe, Gareth Bartram from Grimsby, returns with a determined spirit to light up the competition. Three new chefs are also ready to showcase their skills: Will Lockwood, head chef at one Michelin-starred Roots in York with his modern, ingredient-led cooking; Cal Byerley, the creative, seasonal chef behind Pine with two stars; and Rory Welch, head chef at Tra¨kol in Newcastle, with a Michelin plate, brings his passion for cooking over open fire.

As they gather in the kitchen, they are met with a surprise as the veteran and Michelin-starred Angela Hartnett OBE MBE enters to judge the canapés. She gives her initial impressions but the rankings will only be used in the event of a tiebreak later. The scoring for the competition will be based on the starter and the fish course. This year’s starter is a vegan course, featuring brilliant takes on stop-motion animation classic The Clangers. Dishes include a watercress velouté inspired by the Soup Dragons, a mushroom broth served with barbecued lion’s mane mushrooms, a potato and truffle spiral, and a rich broth enriched with local stout and grains.

The pressure is on as one chef leaves the competition after the fish course. Angela will taste two Paddington dishes, including a buried treasure dish and a stuffed whole plaice cooked over the barbecue. There is also a brill dish dedicated to the whistling Clangers and another inspired by South Shields’ illustrator Sheila Graber’s Just So Stories. Who will leave the competition and be sent home? Find out in this exciting episode of the competition.

Great British Menu 2023 episode 1 – NE Starter and Fish

Great British Menu is back for an incredible eighteenth 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.

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.

Andi Oliver

Now in her third year as host, Andi Oliver is an award-winning TV Chef and Broadcaster who enjoys a rich and varied career, with food and music being at the forefront throughout. Andi was a judge on Great British Menu for four series, but left her seat at the judging table to present the show’s festive special in December 2020. Now, in her second year as host, Andi is on hand to encourage and support the chefs through the heat of the kitchen. Andi is a regular face on screen, having previously hosted her own cookery show on BBC Two, Neneh and Andi Dish It Up, and has appeared on BBC One’s Saturday Kitchen.

On air Andi is a regular contributor to The Kitchen Cabinet on BBC Radio 4 alongside Jay Rayner, as well as a contributor to Radio 4’s Award winning The Food Programme. In 2018 she followed in the footsteps of Yotam Ottolenghi and Giorgio Locatelli, and was appointed Head judge – alongside Sheila Dillon – for the prestigious BBC Food and Farming Awards.

Tom Kerridge – Great British Menu 2023 episode 1

Tom Kerridge is an award winning and celebrated chef who brings a taste of culinary magic to his restaurants, cookbooks and across TV screens up and down the country. A Gloucestershire lad, Tom champions British food and suppliers and is known for his work in training and encouraging the next generation of young chefs. From humble beginnings, Tom and his wife Beth built The Hand & Flowers into what it is today, the world’s first and only two Michelin-starred pub. Tom has since launched several more restaurants, penned nine best-selling cookbooks, launched the hugely successful music and food festival Pub in the Park and more recently campaigned alongside Marcus Rashford to help end child hunger in the UK with Full Time meals.

Tom is no stranger to the Great British Menu kitchen, having participated as a chef back in 2010 and 2011, winning the main course round both years, and returning again in 2012 as a veteran, helping to mentor and guide the chefs through to the judges table.