Great Women on Great British Menu 2024

UPDATE – 20/3/2024 – Kate Austen made history & became the first woman in Great British Menu’s 19 year history to have her main course reach the banquet. Congratulations Kate – we look forward to watching you prepare your stunning Olympian dish for the banquet at the British ambassador’s residence in Paris to celebrate the Olympics and Paralympics – BBC2 22nd March 7pm

We are delighted that Great British Menu (GBM) is returning to our screens on 23 January 2024 for series 19. The BBC Two show puts the nation’s most talented chefs to the test. It will air weekly, Tuesdays to Thursdays, 8pm on BBC Two for eight weeks.  Finals week will start on 18th March, with the banquet on 22nd March.  The theme for 2024 will be the Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Great British Menu 2024 will culminate with an Olympic-theme banquet in Paris, which is hosting the games this summer. The chefs will be competing to cook at a six-course banquet to wish Team GB athletes luck as they head for Paris 2024. Once again for 2024 (as introduced in 2023), the starter on Great British Menu will be a vegan course.

Great British Menu’s executive producer Sarah Eglin said: “Naturally, we want to kick off every new series with some great chefs who capture what the Great British Menu competition is all about.

“It’s a reflection of how strong the food scene is in the North East and Yorkshire that, for two years in a row, we’ve chosen to begin with this heat.” And Tom Kerridge, lead judge on the series, says the region has “amazing food”.

“The chefs there have some great produce to work with and the area is full of talented chefs who cook with heart,” he said.

Samira Effa, of Bar & Restaurant EightyEight at Grantley Hall in North Yorkshire, is making a welcome return to the competition – for a third time in her case and will be representing the North East and Yorkshire in the first week.

Andi Oliver will be returning as presenter and said “This year promises to be our most exciting yet as the chefs are competing to cook at a finale set in Paris hosted by the British Ambassador. As part of the competition, they’ve had to devise dishes for a good luck banquet for the British athletes competing later this year in both the Olympics and Paralympics at Paris 2024.”

The judges are Ed Gamble, Nisha Katona and Tom Kerridge.

Nisha Katona, is one of the UK’s most successful food entrepreneurs and founder of the Mowgli Street Food group of restaurants, She is also a founder of the Mowgli Trust charity.

Nisha said “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.”

Last year we were delighted to interview all of the women chefs who took part in Great British Menu 2023 (pictured below) and this year we are doing the same.

In 2023 we interviewed the  following women who took part in Great British Menu:

Caroline Martins represented the North West on Great British Menu 2023

Amber Francis represented the South West on Great British Menu 2023

Charlotte Vincent represented the South West on Great British Menu 2023

Simmie Vedi represented Wales on Great British Menu 2023

Georgia Sommerin represented Wales on Great British Menu 2023

Kerry Roper represented Northern Ireland on Great British Menu 2023

Gemma Austin represented Northern Ireland on Great British Menu 2023 and

Marianne Lumb represented the Central region on Great British Menu 2023

We look forward to talking to all of the female contestants on the show for 2024. We’ll discover what inspired their Olympic dishes and what it’s like working under the pressure of an unfamiliar kitchen with a TV crew filming their every move. We’ll be uploading our interviews with the women who are appearing on Great British Menu 2024 here.

In 2024 we interviewed:

Samira Effa representing North East on Great British Menu 2024

Louisa Ellis representing Central England on Great British Menu 2024

Kate Austen representing London & the South East on Great British Menu 2024

Nina Matsunaga representing North West on Great British Menu 2024

Lottie Noren representing Northern Ireland on Great British Menu 2024

Melissa McCabe representing Northern Ireland on Great British Menu 2024

Elly Wentworth representing South West on Great British Menu 2024

All were great credits to their regions.

Great British Menu Series Editor, Antonia Lloyd, is an Ambassador for Women in the Food Industry. You might like to  read some of Antonia’s features for us including Top of the Plants on Great British Menu and Filming Great British Menu during the Pandemic.