Enthusiastic newcomer, Will Lockwood, is Head Chef at Michelin star restaurant Roots in York.

Will started his career at the Black Swan at Oldstead (1*) in 2014, where he worked as a demi chef de partie. He has remained with Tommy Banks and his team ever since, climbing the ranks at The Black Swan, where he was named head chef in 2017. He moved to Black Swan’s sister restaurant Roots in 2021, where he has been running the kitchen ever since.

Will’s culinary style is creative, modern and produce led, using food predominantly grown on the Bank’s family farm, supplemented by local suppliers and ancestral techniques to help preserve it.

Will’s menus draws inspiration from classic British animation The Clangers.

Nick has worked with mentor Tom Kerridge for over 10 years – he was part of the brigade when The Hand and Flowers won a second Michelin star in 2011, and was the Head Chef that launched The Coach (1*) in Marlow which won a star in 2017. In 2018 he moved to Tom Kerridge’s first London restaurant as Head Chef at Kerridge’s Bar and Grill where he has ambitions to get a Michelin star.

Prior to being with Tom Kerridge, Nick worked with Daniel Clifford at Midsummer House (2*). He is classically trained, and prides himself on making sure every dish is packed with flavour, showcasing the best regional and seasonal produce.

His menu for the competition is creative celebrating iconic animation Wallace and Gromit, and artist Stanley Donwood.

Sustainability is at the heart of Mark’s approach to food. Born and bred in Gwynedd, he prioritises using Welsh homegrown produce to showcase his heritage. Mark has built up personal connections with suppliers across the North of Wales to help elevate his food to that next level.

Mark is proud to have worked under the tutelage of Pierre Reboul at Restaurant Pierre Reboul, Chris Chown at PlasBodegroes and at Hibiscus for Claude Bosi. He has been head chef at Hotel Portmeirion since 2012. During his time at the restaurant they gained two AA rosettes, title of ‘The best hotel restaurant UK,' and were featured in the Michelin, Hardens and Good Food Guide. He describes his cooking style as modern Welsh based in the French classics, with influences from Japan.

His menu is a nod to Welsh fantasy animation, both classic - The Tales of Mabinogion, and modern - Ben and Holly’s Little Kingdom.

Having learnt her craft in the UK, Manchester-born Danielle went on to work in some of the world’s top restaurants. She worked at L'Enclume (3*) in Cartmel in the pastry section for two years, before moving on to work at Maaemo (3*) in Oslo.

In 2020 Danielle opened Osma in Prestwich, a Scandinavian inspired, relaxed eatery. She changes her menu weekly as she doesn’t like repetition, and loves a new challenge. Danielle’s food is healthy and tasty, taking heavy influence from her time in Oslo and travelling the world. Creativity is at the forefront of everything she creates.

Danielle hopes to make her family and friends proud with dishes inspired by British animations, Bob the Builder and The Wombles.

It's Adam's third time taking part in Great British Menu and this time he’s determined to get to the banquet.

Across all of his restaurants and bars - including Frog by Adam Handling, and Eve Bar in Covent Garden - sustainable British luxury is the ethos to Adam's approach to food. He even cooked for the G7 Summit leaders when they were at the Carbis Bay Resort in Cornwall in 2021.

Adam started at The Gleneagles Hotel at the age of sixteen, and during his early career he won several major awards including Scottish Chef of the Year, and the British Culinary Federation’s Chef of the Year. In 2016, The Adam Handling Restaurant Group was born and Adam went on to open The Loch & The Tyne in the countryside of Old Windsor - which was included in the Estrella Damm Top 50 Gastropub Awards 2022 - then Ugly Butterfly on the beautiful Cornish coast at Carbis Bay. Adam was named Restaurateur of the Year in British GQ Food and Drink awards in 2020, and Frog by Adam Handling, his flagship restaurant, was awarded a Michelin star in 2022. Now he’s hoping to add a victory at GBM to the list.

This year Adam looks to ‘Wind in the Willows’, written by Edinburgh-born Kenneth Grahame, for his menu inspiration.

For Indian born Avinash Shashidhara, food was always an important part of his upbringing. Having been raised around markets and his dad’s farm, Avi was bitten by the cooking bug from a young age. After leaving India to perfect his cooking in the UK, Avi worked his way through restaurants including Claude Bosi’s two-Michelin-starred Hibiscus, and spent a decade working at The River Café. In 2020 he decided to take the plunge and open Pahli Hill Bandra Bhai in Fitzrovia. Here he serves Indian dishes inspired by traditional recipes, and has a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

Avi describes his cooking as regional, seasonal, produce-led dishes which blend ultra-traditional family recipes with high quality British and European ingredients. He wants to change the perception of Indian curry houses being about cheap cuts, greasy food and extreme spice.

His competition menu sees him look to The Gruffalo and Fantastic Mr. Fox animations for inspiration.

Gemma is hoping three is the magic number, as she returns for her third consecutive year in the GBM kitchen. Having impressed with her dessert last year, she is more determined than ever to represent Northern Ireland at the Banquet.

Gemma followed in the footsteps of her mother, who worked as a chef in a local Belfast restaurant and helped mould her love of cooking. She worked full time at a variety of great establishments, working her way through kitchens, including commis chef to sous chef of a two-rosette kitchen. She worked at the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast (5* hotel) where she rose to head pastry chef, before moving to luxury hotel The Old Inn, Crawfordsburn (4* hotel) where she worked all the sections, eventually becoming sous chef.

Gemma opened her own restaurant, A Peculiar Tea, serving themed dinners and afternoon teas in Belfast. She hopes it celebrates everything that is playful and fun, and a temporary escape from ‘the real world.’ To make sure her dishes are memorable, she often engages all five of the senses, and will send dishes out with music and aromas of things that relate to the plating.

Gemma’s menu celebrates animations by Northern Irish Tomm Moore ‘Songs of the Sea’ and ‘Wolfwalkers’.

Proud Brummie Tom may be a newcomer to the Great British Menu kitchen, but he’s no stranger to winning, having received an Acorn award in 2018 - which celebrates the top 30 under 30 within the hospitality industry.

Tom began his career at New Hall Hotel in Walmley, and worked as a sous chef with Michael Wignall at The Latymer (2*) before landing a job as Development chef at Restaurant Sat Baines (2*). His first head chef role was at Michelin-starred Adam's Restaurant in Birmingham. He stayed there for two and a half years, during which time he retained the restaurant's three AA Rosettes and Michelin star. Finally in 2021, he was able to open his own restaurant, Upstairs by Tom Shepherd, and received his own Michelin star just a few months later.

Tom describes his food style as a seasonal, modern interpretation of classic combinations, where the emphasis is on creating big flavour. He’s determined to hit the brief, and can’t wait to embrace the theatre of each dish.

For his Birmingham inspired menu, Tom will be playing homage to British created video game Pac-man 3, and Raymond Briggs' graphic novel 'Fungus the Bogeyman.'