21/01/2025
Great Women on Great British Menu 2025
We are delighted that Great British Menu (GBM) is returning to our screens on 28 January 2025 for series 20 – its 20th anniversary year. 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 and the banquet will be at the end of March at Blenheim Palace. The theme for 2025 will be Great Britons. Women in the Food Industry will be interviewing all of the female chefs competing.

Great British Menu 2025 will see chefs challenged to make dishes celebrating historical figures who hail from their specific region of Great Britain. Once again for 2025 (as introduced in 2023), the starter on Great British Menu will be a vegan course.

You may have seen a new face is joining the judging panel. Scotland’s only female Michelin-starred chef, Lorna McNee, who actually won Great British Menu in 2018, is now returning 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.
“Being invited to join the judges this year was a total surprise but a delight, and I’m loving the chance to help choose this year’s banquet finalists.
“Tom, Ed and Andi have made me feel very welcome, and I’m also meeting some amazing guest judges every week – each of whom has been invited to help us choose the dishes representing their areas to go with this year’s theme of UK Heroes.”

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.
“This year, it’s great to see a former winner of our competition, Scotland’s formidable Lorna McNee, join us as a judge. Audiences are in for a treat! The chefs have come up with incredible ideas on this year’s theme.
“It’s so exciting to see how many of them have come up with unsung local heroes for us to celebrate.”

The Great British Menu 2025 judges are Ed Gamble, Lorna McNee and Tom Kerridge.
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 2024 and this year we are doing the same. It was a joy to interview Kate Austen who made history to become the first woman in Great British Menu’s 19 year history to have her main course reach the banquet.

Our Great British Menu 2025 Interviews
Here are our interviews with the women competing on Great British Menu 2025 : (we will update as the series progresses)
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
In 2024 we interviewed the following women who took part in Great British Menu:
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 region.
We look forward to talking to all of the female contestants on the show for 2025. 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 2025 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.