The competing chefs are 
NORTHERN IRELAND
Will Brown, The Old School House Inn
Raymond McArdle, Restaurant 23
Chris McGowan, Corrigan’s Mayfair
LONDON & SE
Adam Byatt, Trinity
Adam Simmonds, Danesfield House
Tom Sellers, Story
NORTH WEST
James Durrant, The Plough Inn
Mary Ellen McTague, Aumbry
Mark Ellis, Peckforton Castle
NORTH EAST:
Frances Atkins, The Yorke Arms
Colin McGurran, Winteringham Fields
Paul Welburn, Searcy’s
SOUTH WEST
Dominic Chapman, The Royal Oak
Josh Eggleton, The Pony & Trap
Emily Watkins, The Kingham Plough
SCOTLAND
Stephen McLaughlin, Andrew Fairlie@Gleneagles
Jacqueline O'Donnell, The Sisters
Neil Rankin, Smokehouse
CENTRAL
Jason Hodnett, The Raven
Aktar Islam, Lasan
Mark Poynton, Alimentum
WALES
Mary Ann Gilchrist, Carlton Riverside
Andy Beaumont, Hammet House
David Kelman, Ellenborough Park Hotel
CONGRATULATIONS
JASON
The GBM Veterans who’ll be judging the chefs 
Sat Bains - Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
Daniel Clifford - Midsummer House, Cambridge
Richard Corrigan - Corrigan’s Mayfair and Bentley’s Oyster Bar and Grill, London
Angela Hartnett - Murano, London
Phil Howard - The Square, London
Tom Kerridge - The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
Jeremy Lee - Quo Vadis, London
Marcus Wareing - Marcus Wareing at The Berkeley, London
 on your SUCCESS
in representing
the West Midlands
in THE GREAT BRITISH MENU
We look forward
to following your progress
on BBC TWO from 28 April
BBC TWO’s Great British Menu returns
to commemorate the heroes of the D Day landings
PRESS RELEASE Great British Menu - The D Day Banquet
"What a plan! This vast operation is
undoubtedly the most complicated and
difficult that has ever taken place."
- Winston Churchill June 6, 1944
Now in its ninth series, BBC TWO’s Great
British Menu is back and the chefs are hoping
it will be their finest hour as they fight it out
for the chance to cook at a glorious banquet
marking the 70th anniversary of D Day at a
bastion of British wartime resilience,
London's magnificent St Paul's Cathedral, for
guests including those who fought on 6th
June 1944 itself as well as others who served
on both the frontline and the home front.
This year’s challenge is for 24 of the nation’s
top chefs to produce 21st century dishes
worthy of our war heroes. Their creations
must evoke the wartime spirit of the
generation which fought for our freedom as
well as honour the bravery shown throughout
the Second World War and, of course, taste
delicious too!
To create their dishes, the chefs have taken
inspiration from their families’ and
communities’ contributions to the war effort,
even travelling to Normandy to the scene of
the allied invasion. From Michelin-starred
Frances Atkins retracing her father’s D Day
experiences through her menu to returning
chef Emily Watkins drawing inspiration from
her grandfathers, with one a prisoner of war
and the other helping plan D Day, the chefs
have all been on a very personal voyage of
discovery.
As ever, to reach the banquet each week three
chefs must first impress a veteran chef of the
competition, who will put through the top two
to the Friday regional final. The chefs must
then prepare their menus again for not only
the regular judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort
and Oliver Peyton but also a special guest
judge with a unique perspective on this
period of British history.
From 93-year-old Ken Sturdy, who fought on
the beaches of Normandy, to Jim Radford,
thought to be the youngest serving in the
Merchant Navy on D Day, and from Celia
Sandys, Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, to
Molly Rose, a wartime Spitfire pilot with the
Air Transport Auxiliary service, these very
special guests will bring their incredible
experiences, personal memories and
discerning taste buds to the judging chamber.
D Day veteran and guest judge Ken Sturdy
said “Helping choose the perfect Great British
Menu dishes to mark 70 years since the D Day
landings is an incredible privilege. With the
best chefs in the land cooking such
unbelievable food, I’m sure the banquet will
be a fitting tribute to both my fellow veterans
and those we left behind, and I feel honoured
to be a part of it.”
Along the way there’ll be both jubilant
triumphs and crushing tragedies as the chefs
do everything they can to get their dishes onto
the final menu. Who will endure toil, sweat
and tears to win the chance of honouring the
incredible wartime heroes at the banquet?
Starting at 7.30pm on Monday 7th April on
BBC TWO, Great British Menu
The D Day Banquet will run every weekday
for nine weeks with the final ‘banquet’
programme to be broadcast on 6th June,
the 70th anniversary of D Day itself.
Further details on this year’s contributors
The special guest judges joining the regular judges in the chamber include –
George Batts - War veteran
George was a Royal Engineer in WWII and landed on Gold beach during D Day. He is the
Chair of the Normandy Veterans Association.
Celia Sandys - Churchill’s granddaughter
Celia is the daughter of Churchill’s eldest child Diana. She visited Chartwell during her
childhood and accompanied Churchill on holidays around Europe.
Ken Sturdy - War veteran
Ken was in the Royal Navy during WWII. On D Day he acted as a signalman, landing on
Sword beach to communicate messages back to the ships in the Channel.
Joy Hunter MBE - Secretary in the Cabinet War Rooms
In 1944, Joy undertook top secret work at the heart of the government and even typed up
battle orders for D Day.
Molly Rose - Spitfire pilot
Molly served in the Air Transport Auxiliary from 1942 to 1945. Her job was to transport
planes to bases around the country for the RAF to then fly to the frontline.
Baroness Trumpington - Bletchley Park
Baroness Trumpington was a ‘cypher clerk’ at Bletchley Park from 1941 to 1946, translating
tapes recorded in German into English in an effort to locate the position of enemy U Boats.
The Series Producer is Tom Clarke and the
Executive Producers are Nicola Moody for
Optomen Television and Lindsay Bradbury for
the BBC.
Jim Radford - War veteran
For further information or pictures please
contact:
BBC Frontdesk Publicity on 0208 008 5600 or
[email protected] or Vanessa Land at
Optomen Television on 0203 227 5941 or
[email protected].
Max Hastings is one of Britain’s most highly-regarded military historians. His father reported
from the frontline during the Normandy campaign.
At 15, Jim is thought to be the youngest to serve in the Merchant Navy on D Day. He is a
keen folk singer and has written shanties about his wartime experiences.
Max Hastings - Military historian
Martin Bell - War correspondent
Martin is a former war correspondent whose father’s book, Corduroy, was prized by soldiers
during WWII.