Great British Menu 2025: The Yorkshire chefs competing on BBC cooking show judged by Andi Oliver, Tom Kerridge, Ed Gamble and Lorna McNee

The 20th anniversary series of The Great British Menu is back with creative dishes that celebrate well-known historical figures and unsung heroes from the UK’s past.

It returned to BBC Two and iPlayer for its landmark 20th series in January with new judge, Lorna McNee, former Great British Menu champion and one of the UK’s most acclaimed and decorated chefs.

She will be joined by Tom Kerridge and Ed Gamble in the search to find the next best in British cuisine.

Andi Oliver, who has featured on the show since 2017 is back as series host and mentor. This season’s theme of ‘Great Britons’ sees chefs draw inspiration from their choice of important people, from ancient to modern history, who have come from their area.

Four chefs will be competing for north east England and Yorkshire with canapes, starters and fish dishes celebrating great Britons of the past for a banquet at historic Blenheim Palace.

The dishes are judged by past winner of the fish course Michael O’Hare, and they include a suffragette tea party featuring variations of onion, and a green banana curry inspired by Cornelia Sorabji, the first woman to study law at Oxford University.

The episodes will air on BBC Two on Tuesday, February 18, 2025 at 8pm and will be available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Yorkshire chefs competing on Great British Menu 2025

North East and Yorkshire biogs

Scott John-Hodgson, head chef at Solstice (1*)

Scott was born and raised in Teesside and has been a chef for eight years. Six of which were with Kenny Atkinson.

He began his career at Atkinson’s House of tides (1*) in 2018 and worked his way up to sous chef, before an opportunity came up for him to move to Atkinson’s new restaurant Solstice in 2022, where he is at the helm. Within eight months of opening, it received a Michelin star.

Scott initially went to university to study sport and become a teacher, he quickly realised that wasn’t the job for him.

He enjoys focusing his cooking on quality local ingredients, which allows him to celebrate how simplicity on a plate can have the produce front and centre.

He is eager to embrace seasonality and sustainable practices and his menu celebrates iconic North East Great Britons.

Minal Patel, head chef at Prashad

Minal grew up in Gujarat in Western India, before meeting her husband Bobby and moving to the UK in 2004.

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She learnt to cook with her mum and it was clear from a young age that cooking would be central to her life.

Minal spent time learning how to cook from her mum, Bobby’s mum and went to catering college and spent time in London where she did a stage at Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus.

As a lifelong vegetarian, Prashad is a vegetarian Indian restaurant with 2 AA Rosettes and a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Prashad is a family run restaurant that serves authentic, Gujarati vegetarian food, taking the family’s food heritage and inherited recipes and putting her own spin on dishes to create something traditional but also new.

Minal’s ambition is to obtain another rosette and is always striving for perfection in her cooking. Her menu celebrates vegetarian, Gujarati cuisine and highlights some Great Britons from the North East and Yorkshire.

Callum Leslie, executive chef at The Black Swan in Oldstead (1* and 1 Green*)

Callum was raised in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire and at the age of 13, he started working at a local pub as a KP and realised that he wanted to pursue a career as a chef.

When he turned 18 years old, he started working at the Box Tree in Ilkley (1*), before going to Midsummer House (2*), The Berkley (2*), Restaurant Sat Bains (2*) before heading back to Yorkshire and working for Veteran Tommy Banks at his Michelin starred restaurant - The Black Swan in Oldstead, where he started as a sous chef.

Callum was appointed head chef at the Black Swan at 26 years old and was then made executive chef in 2024.

Callum’s passion for the land, local produce and wild ingredients is illustrated across his menu as is his love for Yorkshire.

Ahmed Abdalla, head chef at The Legacy at the Grand, York

While Ahmed is from London, he has made York his home and is passionate about the city, Yorkshire and the produce that surrounds him.

He heads up the kitchen brigade at The Grand, York’s fine dining restaurant, Legacy. After its opening in 2022, Abdalla has been included in the Michelin Guide and gained 3 AA Rosettes in the first year of opening.

Ahmed grew up in a female-led household and watching his mum and sisters cook, gave him the motivation to pursue a career in hospitality immediately after finishing school.

His professional background includes various iconic restaurants in Yorkshire and beyond and he brings flair and experience to his dishes. He creates a culinary experience for his guests whilst leveraging locality and sustainability across his menu, which is highlighted in his dishes for the competition.