BBC's Great British Menu is Back with a New Judge

Great British Menu returns to the small screen for its 16th edition, complete with a new judge in what promises to be one of its most inventive series yet.

This season, chef, food writer and TV show presenter Rachel Khoo joins the long-standing judges Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton, and Andi Oliver as host.

Who is Rachel Khoo?

Croydon-born Khoo graduated with a diploma in pastry from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. She spent several years as a pastry chef and baking teacher in Paris before rising to fame with BBC series Little Paris Kitchen: Cooking with Rachel Khoo in 2012, and later producing a book of the same name.

She has since released eight bestselling books, including follow-ups My Little French Kitchen and The Little Swedish Kitchen, and has travelled the world making TV food series. Her most recent being Rachel Khoo’s Simple Pleasures on Food Network UK as well as being a co-host on Australian baking competition Zumbo’s Just Desserts.

Speaking of her new role at Great British Menu, Khoo said: “I am delighted to be taking on the role of judge at the Great British Menu. We have some extraordinary chefs in the UK and the programme does a great job of showcasing that homegrown talent. I’m so proud to be part of the series and I can’t wait for viewers to see what’s in store.”

Khoo is married to Swedish chef Robert Wiktorin and lives between London and Stockholm.

Here's Khoo in action on Food Network making an easy roast chicken:

The judging panel will be completed by a different guest each week, as the nation's top chefs compete for the chance to cook at an incredible four-course banquet.

What's on the Great British Menu?

This year the chefs will take inspiration from British innovation and invention, from early inventors in the world of computing, through to modern-day medical pioneers, creating dishes that demonstrate originality and technical flair to be in with the chance of serving their creations at the Great British Menu banquet.

So far dishes have included a venison dish in honour of the only British woman to win a Nobel prize in science, and two-layered chocolate dishes made using edible paper in tribute to dictionary-maker Samuel Johnson and the other capturing the invention of smooth tarmac in a chocolatey re-creation of a cross-section of a road.

Here's a taster of James Cochran's winning dishes in 2018: