Series one and two were presented by
Jennie Bond, the former BBC Royal correspondent, whereby each week, two chefs from a region of the UK create a menu. In series three and four, both narrated by Bond but with no presenter, three chefs from a region of the UK create a menu; only the two with the best scores went through to the Friday judging. In series five and six, the fifth narrated by Bond while the sixth is narrated by
Wendy Lloyd, three chefs from a region of the UK create a menu, with in kitchen judging undertaken by a past contestant chef; only the two with the best scores go through to the Friday judging. In each series, the Friday show is when chefs present all courses of their menu to a judging panel, tasted and judged by
Matthew Fort,
Prue Leith, and
Oliver Peyton. One chef each week goes through to the final, where the judges taste the dishes again and award them marks out of ten. In series one and two, the three dishes that have scored the highest for each course of the finals are then shortlisted for public vote via
televoting. In series three and four, the shortlisting rule was dropped, so all dishes scored by the judges are then sent to the public vote. Judges' scores represent one half of the overall score, and public vote represents the other half.
The Guardian critic Karina Mantavia in May 2007 criticised the public vote system as incompatible to food that viewers could see onscreen but not taste in-person. Starting from series five, a fourth judge, usually either a veteran chef or a guest related to a brief, is introduced, replacing public vote. Since series eight, the fourth judge addition extends to regional heats. Up until series six, the finalists can replace only one course dish of their own menus with a newer one. They can adjust or tweak other dishes but cannot completely change them. On 28 October 2016, it was confirmed that Prue Leith was leaving the show and would be replaced by
Andi Oliver for series 12 in 2017. On 1 October 2019,
Susan Calman was announced as the new presenter for series 15. Filming took place in
Stratford-upon-Avon and was completed in November 2019. The show was broadcast in spring 2020. For Christmas 2020 special series and thereafter, Andi Oliver stepped down as a judge and has replaced Calman as the presenter. On 7 February 2021, it was announced that
Rachel Khoo would be joining as a new judge when the series returns in spring 2021. On 8 November 2024,
Lorna McNee was announced as a new judge when the series returns in January 2025; replacing Nisha Katona who left after series 19 ended. On 11 December 2025, it was announced comedian
Phil Wang will be joining the judging panel taking over from
Ed Gamble who decided to step down at the end of series 20. ==Series overview==