Great British Menu

The four winning chefs who cooked for the Queen at her 80th birthday banquet are back to battle it out for Christmas. Their challenge is to create the ultimate Christmas feast and this time there can only be one winner.

In this one-off Great British Menu special, three of Britain's leading chefs come face-to-face with one of the most pressing issues of our times: food poverty. Recent research estimates that nearly five million people in the UK are struggling to feed themselves properly and eat nutritiously. Great British Budget Menu goes straight to the heart of the problem as James Martin, Angela Hartnett and Richard Corrigan live with three households where people are finding it hard to make ends meet. Food prices have risen by 25% in the last five years, hitting household budgets hard. The chefs discover how tough it is for a pensioner to put food on the table and the difficulties working parents face cooking tasty, nutritious food for themselves and their children when supermarket offers on cheap convenience foods look tempting on their limited resources. Daily food budgets in households across the country can be less than many of us would spend on a cappuccino. Richard Corrigan visits a family of six in Mansfield who, on average, have just £1.66 per day to feed each member of the family. The chefs have to eat just like the families do and need to call on every ounce of their professional skills when challenged to shop and cook on their households' budgets. Britain on the breadline is a wake up call for the chefs but, fired up by their experiences, they want to try and help by inviting the great and good to a special Budget Banquet where they willl raise the issues facing households in food poverty with the people who can do something about it. The chefs' Budget Banquet challenge is to cook cheap nutritious meals on next to nothing for the Great British Menu judges - Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton - who are joined for this special event by the doyenne of home cooking, Mary Berry. Invited to taste the chefs' food and discuss the issues are politicians, high street supermarket representatives, well-known faces and movers and shakers from the charity world

Tonight, eight former champions compete to create Christmas themed canapes and starters. And in a new twist - they aren't just cooking; they're judging each other too! Four chefs cook, while the other four taste and score their dishes in a blind tasting, with Andi as referee. The roles are then reversed as they take it in turns to both cook and score. With only three chefs out of the eight going forward to cook for the judges in tomorrow's episode competition is hot, and the standard of cooking world class, as the chefs unite to create unforgettable dishes for Britain's key workers.

Tonight, the top three chefs from yesterday's canape and starter rounds cook for the judges. At stake is the chance to cook their dishes as part of a special festive feast for some of the key workers who were the heroes of the pandemic. With Andi Oliver hosting proceedings, there's a vacancy in the Judging Chamber. Joining Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton is actor and comedian Kerry Godliman, who brings plenty of Christmas cheer. Adding to the challenge, Kerry is a vegetarian, meaning the chefs are also judged on the vegetarian alternatives to their dishes. Also joining the judging panel is actor and nurse Vicky Hall, someone with first-hand experience of working on the frontline of the pandemic. Best known for roles in Teachers, Line of Duty and Casualty, Vicky became inspired to train after shadowing a nurse for a role, and now juggles her work in hospital and on the screen.

Tonight, two special guest chefs join the line-up. Multi-Michelin starred Chefs Jason Atherton and Tom Aikens, both former winners and judges on Great British Menu, put their reputations on the line and compete again against some of the UK's best young chefs. The fish and main courses are the heart of any Great British Menu Banquet and, with so many the incredible standard of chefs taking part, opulence, luxury, and mouth-watering food are on the menu. The fish course sees a spectacular salmon and a huge turbot, known as ‘the King of the Sea', cooked in a giant antique copper pan known as a turbot kettle. For mains, there's venison and a roast combining 12 different birds. And the chefs won't just be cooking, they'll be judging each other too. Four chefs cook, while the other four taste and score their dishes in a blind tasting. The roles are then reversed, resulting in incredible cooking, tough criticism and surprising scores.

With a Christmas theme and some of the country's most talented and imaginative chefs taking part, opulent food is on the menu. For the fish course salmon and turbot take centre stage, with the ‘the King of the Sea' cooked in a giant antique copper pan. For mains, there's mouth-watering venison and a roast combining 12 different birds. With actor and comedian Kerry Godliman joining Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton in the judging chamber, the chefs also have the challenge of creating vegetarian alternatives to their dishes. And all this against the clock! Also joining the judging panel is Professor Tim Spector OBE from Kings College London. His symptom tracking app used by more than 4 million people has revealed vital information about Covid-19, including loss of taste and smell as a symptom. He's also a successful author whose books explore the science behind the food we eat.

The Christmas competition comes to a climax with desserts and petit fours. These last two rounds demand incredible technical skill; who will keep their cool?

Andi Oliver hosts as the top three chefs from the desert and petit fours rounds cook for the judges; expect mouth-watering Christmas treats. Singer Beverly Knight is a guest judge.

Great British Christmas Menu reaches its climax with a special festive feast for some of the heroes of this year’s pandemic.