Restaurateur Nisha Katona is leaving the Great British Menu after three series on the judging panel and will be replaced by Scottish chef Lorna McNee.
For the BBC Two show’s 20th series, McNee, a former champion of the show, will join chef Tom Kerridge and comedian Ed Gamble in the search to find the best cuisine in Britain.
The programme sees top chefs from various regions compete to produce a menu around a specific theme, and if successful the chef’s dishes are served at a prestigious banquet.
Katona, 53, who has been a judge on the show since 2022, said: “I absolutely loved the time I was lucky enough to spend on Great British Menu.
“It is with the heaviest of hearts that I pass on this most delicious of batons.
-
Famous TV series boosts Scottish brewer as it targets growth
-
Inside the 'perfect' Scottish town that's at its 'best in autumn and winter'
-
'Hungry office workers queuing down the street': Understanding the magic of Sprigg
“I will miss my wonderful brother judges and the fantastic crew terribly. I loved every moment I was fortunate enough to spend with them.”
McNee, who hails from Forres on the Moray coast, is head chef at Glasgow’s Michelin-starred restaurant Cail Bruich, and is the only female chef in Scotland to currently hold the prestigious award, according to the BBC.
Speaking about her new role, McNee 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 (Oliver) 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.”
Chef Oliver, who has acted as a host and mentor on the show since 2017, 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. In fact, 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.”
This season’s theme, Great Britons, will see the chefs draw inspiration from notable people from their area.
Each episode will feature a guest judge with strong connections to the region or nation being judged who will help decide the winning chef.
In September it was announced that Katona would front a new series called Nisha Katona’s Home Kitchen, commissioned for ITV1, STV, ITVX and STV Player.
Launching in spring 2025, the Mowgli Street Food restaurants founder will welcome viewers into her home, near the Wirral, as she prepares some of her favourite dishes.
Series 20 of Great British Menu will air on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in early 2025.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel