Great Women on Great British Menu 2026

Now in its 21st anniversary year, BBC Two’s Great British Menu welcomes comedian Phil Wang to the judging panel.  The cookery competition for the very best professional chefs has been filming the latest series in Stratford upon Avon and will return to our screens in February 2026.  The series will continue to be presented by the wonderful Andi Oliver. Phil is joining lead Judge, Tom Kerridge the 2 Michelin starred chef who won the competition twice and Lorna Mc Nee, the Michelin starred Scottish chef who previously won the competition in 2018!

The new theme for the 32 chefs from across Britain and Northern Ireland who are competing for the top prize, is British movies and movie makers. Women in the Food Industry will be interviewing all of the female chefs competing.

The chefs who represent their home region, or nation must cook dishes which celebrate movies with a connection to their region or film makers or actors from their area. Expect dishes inspired from James Bond; Wallace and Gromit; Harry Potter, The Full Monty and Notting Hill.

The winning chefs will cook a banquet for Britain’s movie industry in the finale episode which is being held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool – which doubles as Gotham City Hall in Batman. Liverpool has the oldest film office in Europe and is the most filmed city in the UK outside of London.

In 2025 a new face joined the judging panel. Scotland’s only female Michelin-starred chef, Lorna McNee, who actually won Great British Menu in 2018, returned to the show as a judge, following the exit of Nisha Katona who was on Great British Menu for three years.

As current Chef Director at Glasgow’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Cail Bruich, Lorna’s journey is particularly inspiring, as only 8% of top-level chefs in the UK are women.

Upon joining the show, Lorna who hails from the small town of Forres in Moray said: “Winning Great British Menu back in 2018 made a huge difference to my career as a chef and was partly behind me becoming Chef Director at Cail Bruich, so I know just how much the competition means to Britain’s chefs.”

Phil Wang is no stranger to the Great British Menu family, as he was a guest judge for Science & Invention in series 16.

Sarah Eglin, Executive Producer at Optomen says, “As viewers will see Phil has literally wrestled Ed Gamble for the role. Not only is Phil a lover of food & different cuisines he has a great connection with the movies theme, indeed Phil’s acting skills– as well as his comedy talent, will be on full display in this series – wait and see.”

BBC Commissioning Editor for Factual, Julie Shaw said, “Phil is a wonderful addition to the team and audiences will get to see how much of a foody he really is, and this year’s theme will really showcase the outstanding talent the chefs have under their whites. Let the cooking commence.”

Andi Oliver will be returning as presenter and said “It is an honour and continues to be a huge privilege to mentor Britain’s top chefs through the process of competing on Great British Menu, and it’s incredible to think the series is now in its 20th year.

“The competition strives to provide a platform for new chef talent from all over Britain, and we hope to do so for many years to come.”

Women chefs on Great British Menu

Last year we were delighted to interview all of the women chefs who took part in Great British Menu 2025 and this year we are doing the same.

Congratulations to Sally Abé who made the starter and to Amber Francis who made the dessert and was also crowned Champion of Champions!

Our Great British Menu 2025 Interviews

Here are our interviews with the women who competed on Great British Menu 2025 :

Livia Alarcon representing the North West on Great British Menu 2025

Ashleigh Farrand representing the South West on Great British Menu 2025

Amber Francis representing the South West on Great British Menu 2025

Hannah Rose representing Scotland on Great British Menu 2025

Minal Patel representing the North East on Great British Menu 2025

Ayesha Kalaji representing Wales on Great British Menu 2025

Sally Abé representing Central region on Great British Menu 2025

Eve Seemann representing London & South East on Great British Menu 2025

All were great credits to their region.

We look forward to talking to all of the female contestants on the show for 2026. We’ll discover what inspired their  dishes and what it’s like working under the pressure of an unfamiliar kitchen with a TV crew filming their every move. Return to this page to see all our Great British Menu 2026 interviews here as the series progresses.

Great British Menu Book

For the 20th anniversary year a new Great British Menu book was published on 30th January. Great British Menu : Home Banquets brings together showstopping recipes from the show’s entire run – starters, fish courses, mains and desserts from chefs at the top of their game, representing every region of the British Isles. Check out our review and interview with Avril Beaven, Series Producer of Great British Menu and editor of this book!

Great British Menu Series Editor, Antonia Lloyd, is an Ambassador for Women in the Food Industry and was involved in the production of the book. 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.

You may also like to see a recap of our event Women Chefs and Cooks on TV : The Reality of Reality TV which featured Kate Austen & Antonia Lloyd.