This series features the North West of England’s top culinary talent, which includes proud Liverpudlian Dave battling it out against contests Caroline Martins, Sao Paulo Project, Manchester, Sam Lomas, Glebe House, Devon and Stevie Lamb, The Orangery, Darlington.
Dave has ran some of Liverpool’s and the North West’s flagship restaurants including Alma de Cuba, The Noble House with its modern American menu, Australasia (Manchester) and became executive head chef at The London Carriage Works and Hope Street Hotel, where he earnt two AA rosettes and held them for four years.
In 2019 Dave took a different direction and was selected as the last ever apprentice of a world-famous Chinese chef Master Wu, spending time in China exploring traditional Chinese cookery.
He is now the executive chef of Liverpool’s Lu Ban, a high-end Chinese restaurant inspired by the region of Tianjin. Dave’s eclectic menu celebrates his personal love for his home city’s broadcasting legends.
We spoke to Dave about being back on the big screen representing Liverpool:
“It’s was a real honour to be invited last time around last year, and to get the opportunity to go back on there is just amazing, it’s one of them things as a chef you want to tick off a list the ‘Great British Menu’.
“Last time around came at a real difficult time for hospitality, we were in and out of lockdowns it was really difficult, and everything was up the wall. This year feels a lot calmer and I feel a bit more prepared this time around.”
Speaking about what he has learned from the previous series, Dave continued:
“It’s just knowing what’s going to happen next, it’s that experience that I will take from last year into this year’s competition knowing how it works, knowing just how stressful it is, just being able to deal with it better.
“There is a lot that you don’t see on the show, hours and hours of stressful prep, things going wrong, it is mental, so more mentally prepared for it this year.”
So, what can we expect this time around from Dave Critchley’s magnificent culinary skills?
“Last year came a bit early in my Chinese food career, so this year I have tried to push the boundaries and go far more Chinese influence dishes, even though am still only two years into my Chinese food journey.
“I am hoping to put more Chinese food on the map and bring more authentic Chinese flavours to the table and really showcase what we do at Lu Ban and where my journey has taken me.”
Series 17 of the competition starts on February 1st 2022 on BBC Two at 8pm and will air at the same time every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for eight weeks.
The North West heat will take place on February 8th, 9th and 10th. Dave is facing chefs Caroline Martins, Sam Lomasand Stevie Lamb. This is Dave’s second appearance on the show, having taken part for the first time in 2021.
With eight regions before a climactic finals week, which culimates in the epic banquet, the series will last nine weeks in total.
The new series celebrates 100 Years of Great British Broadcasting, as the BBC marks the centenary of it taking to the radio waves.
The Great British Menu 2022 can watched on BBC Iplayer.
