HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

From early struggles to cajole chefs to compete, to filming in a building site, executive producer Nicola Moody has seen her Great British Menu show come a long way in a decade. ‘We wanted to showcase chefs at the top of their game to show how creative British food can be, and when we began we were the only show to do that. ‘But at first it was hard to get the food suppliers, food producers and chefs as there weren’t as many as there are today. What’s been brilliant is seeing British food and chefs blossom.’ At first there were practical struggles too. ‘We were filming in a restaurant that hadn’t been built – there was a kitchen but the rest of it was just a concrete space. It was extremely cold as we were shooting in winter.’

There are all sorts of specialist ingredients – this year someone wanted birch sap, another was after a particular kelp from Japan that makes a bouillon. Then for his fish course one chef wanted only female lobsters as there’s more meat on the tail, and another asked for pickled rose hip petals.

‘Two chefs wanted veg that had been preserved and stored in an old-fashioned method in Northern Ireland. But they were banned from coming by boat as the soil they were packed in was too heavy. So they had to be repacked in Dublin and then flown over.’

Keeping the chefs to strict cooking and plating-up times is also vital. ‘Sometimes they mess it up by trying to do too many things. Over the years I think the judges have got even tougher as the competition itself has got tougher. They can spot a chef who’s just copied something from their restaurant menu in seconds!’ says Nicola.