GREAT BRITISH MENU to Move to Prime Time on BBC Two

Great British Menu is back on BBC Two this spring putting the nation's most talented chefs to the test. With a brand new format and slot on peak television, the series will see 24 chefs from across Britain's regions compete to serve their dish at the final banquet. Here, at the famous Abbey Road Studios, just one exceptional chef will once again be crowned champion of champions.

In 2017 UK artists accounted for one in every eight albums consumed globally and in celebration of this success the theme of this year's series is British pop music. Marking the 50th anniversary of the last time The Beatles played live together, judges Andi Oliver, Oliver Peyton CBE and Matthew Fort have the enviable, albeit difficult, task of choosing the perfect four-course menu to celebrate this cultural success.

Produced and filmed in The Midlands, the series recognises the best of British with renowned chefs from every corner of the country, each looking to impress our judges with a unique take on the theme. With a new format, two mid-week hour-long episodes will see chefs present their dishes to the formidable veteran judges who represent the biggest names in the UK restaurant scene, including Tom Aikens, Angela Hartnett, Paul Ainsworth, and Daniel Clifford.

The week will conclude with a 30 minute regional final each Friday where just two chefs will need to convince the judges that their dishes deserve a spot in the national finals and - if they're impressive enough - to be served up at Abbey Road Studios.

It's not just up to the three judges, however, as each week a guest judge will be joining to help select the best dishes from each region in the Friday regional final. Representing Britain's rich music heritage across the generations, guest judges include MANI from the Stone Roses, Andrew Ridgley from Wham!, and hip-hop musician Loyle Carner.

Patrick Holland, BBC Two Controller, says: "Great British Menu is a brilliant celebration of the best talent in the UK food scene, loved by audiences young and old. I am delighted with its new shape and place at the heart of the schedule."

Julie Shaw, Commissioning Editor, says: "The team in Birmingham have made this year's Great British Menu bigger and better than ever. The theme - celebrating 50 years of British pop music - has brought out the best in the competing chefs and we see some exceptionally creative and visually spectacular dishes. If you love food and drama, this is the show for you."

Andi Oliver says: "It's all kicking off in the BEST possible way over here at GBM headquarters! We've moved to beautiful Stratford upon Avon in the heart of the glorious Midlands and the brief this year is just sensational. We're celebrating the excellence and worldwide knockout success of British music. The passionate and dynamic new talented chefs in THE KITCHEN this year perfectly mirror the inspiring exciting world of British music and holding the banquet at Abbey Road studios is the spectacular icing on the top of a very big and very delicious cake."

Matthew Fort says: "If music be the food of love, eat up. Series 14 of the Great British Menu celebrates the brilliance of British restaurant cooking and flair of British music. Both just keep getting better and better."

Oliver Peyton says: "Food is the new rock n roll."

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