WHO’S SERVING UP THIS YEAR’S CULINARY DRAMA?

Here are some of the 24 talented chefs battling to win this year’s competition.

RONNIE MURRAY was former group head chef at Hix Restaurants and now runs his own company, Peckham Manor. ‘The greatest challenge was submitting a menu,’ says Ronnie, 37, who has a shortened left arm which he says has never held him back in the kitchen. ‘At the time I was working for Mark Hix, who has a fantastic library of old British cookbooks. I spent days poring over ideas and he’d come over and squeal, “You’re not going to cook that!” On the show everything has to be made from scratch, even stock. My sous chef would normally make that – I’ve not made a veal stock for 15 years. You’re not even allowed to take any ingredients in.’

TOMMY BANKS, the 26-year-old head chef of his family’s pub, The Black Swan in Oldstead, Yorkshire, managed to defy the latter rule by insisting on only using his own home-grown ingredients. ‘My ethos is to be self-sufficient,’ says Tommy, Britain’s youngest Michelin- starred chef, ‘so I wanted to use items grown on our family farm, which my dad then drove down to the London studio. I didn’t want to be awkward, but I wanted to be true to myself.’

KIM WOODWARD, a protégée of Gordon Ramsay, became the first female head chef at London’s Savoy Grill in 2015. ‘I’m pleased female chefs are getting more recognition,’ says Kim, 35. ‘Gordon played a huge part in shaping my career and he was so enthusiastic about me competing on the show.’

Making history: Kim Woodward