Great British Menu viewers hail the return of BBC show and ‘national treasure’ host Andi Oliver but some are unconvinced by repetitive theme

Great British Menu returned for its 19th series on Tuesday night.

Host Andi Oliver was back for her fourth year as host and viewers praised the seasoned presenter as a ‘national treasure’ as they tweeted along to the show.

While there was plenty of praise for the presenting, other fans were left unimpressed with this year’s theme – the 2024 Summer Olympics. 

The first episdoe saw chefs representing the North East compete for the chance to prepare a banquet for Team GB athletes ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris.

Adam Degg, head chef at Horto Restaurant; Scott John-Hodgson, head chef at Michelin-starred Solstice in Newcastle; Cal Byerley, whose Newcastle eatery Pine has a Michelin star and Samira Effa, head chef at EightyEight in North Yorkshire went head to head cooking canapés, starters and fish dishes inspired by the Olympics.

There was a switch-up in the judging panel though as instead of presenting their dishes to Ed Gamble, Tom Kerridge and Nisha Katona, previous winner Aktar Islam took the reigns for the first heat with the original trio back for the final heat of the week.

Viewers were left disappointed when Andi and Aktar announced the theme with one fan tweeting:

‘I’m already over making the dishes look like medals or torches, knew we’d get some but really hoping we get some more originality, especially as someone who has been watching this show for years and saw the series themed around the 2012 Olympics.

Another agreed, admitting: ‘It’s 35 mins into the first episode and I’m already bored of this theme.’

As the competition progressed, viewers noted the themes of some dishes did not match up to the Olympic theme.

‘Not impressed with the links to brief so far. I mean an egg and spoon race and a fry up to represent the Olympics?! #GreatBritishMenu,’ tweeted one.

‘That classic olympic sport on super saturday…egg and spoon race,’ said another.

‘Is there gonna be a lot of gold leaf this series?’ quipped one other. 

There was a switch-up in the judging panel though as instead of presenting their dishes to Ed Gamble, Tom Kerridge and Nisha Katona (pictured) previous winner Aktar Islam took the reigns

Viewers praised the seasoned presenter as a ‘national treasure’ as they tweeted along to the show

The first episdoe saw chefs representing the North East compete for a place in the final: Adam Degg, Scott John-Hodgson, Samira Effa and Cal Byerley

While there was plenty of praise for the presenting, other fans were left unimpressed with this year’s theme – the 2024 Summer Olympics

Viewers were left disappointed when Andi and Aktar announced the theme with one fan tweeting: ‘I’m already over making the dishes look like medals or torches’

Fans were full of praise for the show though, praising Andi’s presenting and banter with the contestants.  

‘Love the #GreatBritishMenu and glad that #AndiOliver is hosting again. Tough judging so far from @aktaislam’ tweeted one while another hailed Andi ‘as a national treasure.’

‘Is there a better time of year than two months with #AndiOliver on our screens three nights a week?’ asked one loyal viewer.

The Great British Menu continues on BBC Two on Wednesday at 8pm