Two Lake District chefs will go head-to-head this week in the BBC’s Great British Menu.
Cottage in the Wood’s Jack Bond and Forest Side’s Paul Leonard are among four chefs from the North West battling for a place at the show’s finale banquet.
They are competing alongside Daniel Heffy from NORD in Liverpool and Exose Grant, of Exose at Home in Manchester, for the chance to show off their skills during finals week and ultimately cook at a banquet for Britain’s movie industry.
Cottage in the Wood is in Whinlatter, near Keswick and Forest Side is in Grasmere.
The North West heats start tomorrow on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer today, Tuesday February 24, at 7pm.
This year’s theme is movies. With a specific focus on British movies and movie makers, the chefs competing must cook dishes that pay tribute to their region, or film makers and actors from their area.
Andi Oliver presents the series and judges are Tom Kerridge, Lorna McNee and comedian Phil Wang, who replaces Ed Gamble.
Paul said: “It really is such an honour to represent North West England on Great British Menu.
“The region has a really strong identity with incredible produce, and I’m proud to showcase that on a national stage.
“The theme this year was really good fun and definitely got the cogs turning in terms of new and creative ways to present my food.”
It is Jack’s second appearance in the competition. He won the North West heat last year, but missed out on a place at the banquet.
Jack, 34, said: “I was really chuffed to make it through to finals week in 2025 as winner of the North West heat.
“I’m hoping to make it through again this year, though I’m sure it won’t be easy, especially being up against three other seriously talented chefs from the region.
“As you can imagine, I was pretty disappointed not to make it through to the banquet, but this year’s a fresh start with a theme that gives us all plenty of options to showcase our creativity, so we’ll just have to see where we end up at the end of the week.’’
