Chef line-up for Great British Menu 2021 revealed
The line-up for series 16 of BBC Two's Great British Menu, which begins on 24 March, has been revealed.
This year's brigade of chefs includes one of last year's finalists, head chef at the Princess of Shoreditch in London Ruth Hansom, alongside Alex Bond of Michelin-starred Alchemilla in Nottingham and former finalist Roberta Hall-McCarron, who is chef-owner of the Little Chartroom in Edinburgh.
Ben Murphy, head chef at Launceston Place, and Nick Beardshaw, head chef at Kerridge's Bar & Grill, also hope to do their regions proud in this year's competition.
‘British Innovation' is this year's theme, to celebrate Sir Timothy Berners-Lee's world wide web becoming publicly available, while 1991 was also the year the first British astronaut went into space.
This year's series will see broadcaster and cookbook author Rachel Khoo join the judging panel alongside Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton, with Andi Oliver reprising her role of presenter for a second series. Oliver, who was a judge on Great British Menu for four series, left her seat at the judging table to present the show's festive special in December and will continue this role in series 16.
The chefs according to region are as follows:
Central
- Sabrina Gidda, AllBright, London
- Shannon Johnson, Hicce, London
- Stuart Collins, Docket No 33, Shropshire
- Liam Dillon, the Boat Inn, Lichfield, Staffordshire
London and South East
- Kim Ratcharoen, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, London
- Oli Marlow, Roganic and Aulis, London and Hong Kong
- Tony Parkin, Tony Parkin at the Tudor Room, Surrey
- Ben Murphy, Launceston Place, London
Scotland
- Roberta Hall-McCarron, the Little Chartroom, Edinburgh
- Amy Elles, the Harbour Café, Fife
- Stuart Ralston, Aizle. Edinburgh
- Scott Smith, Fhior, Edinburgh
Northern Ireland
- Paul Cunningham, Brunel's, Newcastle, Northern Ireland
- Gemma Austin, Alexander's, Holywood
- Phelim O'Hagan, Brown Bonds Hill, Londonderry
- Andy Scollick, the Boat House, Bangor
North West
- Kirk Haworth, Plates, London
- Dan McGeorge, Rothay Manor, Lake District
- Dave Critchley, Lu Ban, Liverpool
- Ashwani Rangta, Gupshup, Altrincham, Greater Manchester
South West
- Jude Kereama, Kota and Kota Kai, Porthleven, Cornwall
- Elly Wentworth, the Angel, Dartmouth
- Nick Beardshaw, Kerridge's Bar & Grill, London
- Nat Tallents, the Box, Plymouth
Wales
- Hywel Griffith, Beach House, the Gower
- Nathan Davies, SY23, Aberystwyth
- Ali Borer, the Nutbourne, London
- Chris Cleghorn, the Olive Tree, Bath
North East
- Alex Bond, Alchemilla, Nottingham
- Ruth Hansom, the Princess of Shoreditch, London
- Tom Spenceley, Kitchen Table at Bubbledogs, London
- Gareth Bartram, Winteringham Fields, North Lincolnshire
