TWO of south Cumbria's finest chefs will feature in BBC's Great British Christmas Menu starting next week.
Barrow-born Tom Barnes, the group executive chef at Rogan & Co, who got to the finals of the regular edition of the show earlier this year, will be taking part alongside Simon Rogan, owner of Umbel Restaurant Group.
Over the years, Great British Menu has honoured many heroes, from D-Day veterans and servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan to NHS staff.
So, it's only fitting that the seven-part special Great British Christmas Menu centres around serving up a festive feast to some of the UK's keyworkers, who have played a huge part in keeping the country going over an incredibly difficult year.
Previous winners from the series will be joined by veteran judges, including Tom Aikens, Tommy Banks and, in this first episode, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, to compete to create one of the six courses, beginning with Christmas-themed canapes and starters.
In a tweak to the usual recipe, Andi Oliver is taking on the role of presenter, while her place in the judges' chamber is taken by comedian Kerry Godliman.
Host Andi Oliver discussed the show ahead of it airing, she said: "The Christmas special is a hoot! The brief is to say thank you to our key workers, who have literally been the backbone of this country throughout the last year.
"People have lost their lives, people are risking their lives on a daily basis, just to keep us safe, and being able to do something that, in some small way, shows the gratitude we all feel for them is huge for us. And the chefs really rose to the occasion."
"It's so joyful, the whole thing. We've got veterans back in the kitchen as well; we've got Tommy Banks, Tom Aikens, amongst some others as well - some surprise ones who I'll keep up my sleeves. We've got some Great British Menu favourites. Some of the stars from the last couple of years are cooking with veterans who were judging them before, so that's hilarious fun. Some of the veterans are like, 'Oh my god, I forgot how hard it is in this kitchen!'The Great British Christmas Menu starts on BBC Two on Tuesday, December 1.
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