PROFESSIONAL chef Tom Spenceley is to appear in one of the country’s top programmes.

The former York College and Tadcaster Grammar School pupil, 31, will take on the UK’s top pro chefs in ‘The Great British Menu’ that will be screened on BBC Two and iPlayer.

The competition sees four chefs, from each region, battle it out over three nights to move into the next round, and then have a chance of making the final challenge at the end – The Banquet.

Tom, who was brought up in Tadcaster where his mother and father Georgina and David still live, explained: “I’ll be representing my region, the North East. The organisers set a brief for the year and you have to use your invention and innovation, as well as invention and innovation that comes from your region.

“The competition [which has already started on BBC Two] is screened three consecutive nights every week and I’m due to be battling against the other chefs from April 22, added Tom, who lives in London with his social worker girlfriend Emily.

“The target is The Banquet. After the regional finals, the veteran judges will choose who will take part in the end-of-series finale.”

Proud Yorkshireman Tom is competing for the first time and up for the challenge. He has an impressive pedigree, having worked for Sat Bains at Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham during the time when it received its second star.

And was head chef at Typing Room under Lee Westcott where he held four AA rosettes in London. Tom then went to work for James Knappett at Kitchen Table, at Bubbledogs, in London and, in 2018, became his head chef.

Kitchen Table offers diners an immersive experience and a daily changing menu of twenty courses – their modern British cuisine was awarded its second Michelin star in 2019.

And his ambitions?

“I’ve worked in this Michelin Star environment for 10 years and I’d love to own my own restaurant,” he added.

“That’s something I really want to push for,” said Tom, who said that his favourite chef is world-famous Gordon Ramsay, who was “one of the most inspiring chefs when I was at college”.

Andi Oliver reprises her role of presenter for a second series.

Andi, who was a judge on Great British Menu for four series, left her seat at the judging table to present the show’s festive special in December 2020 and will continue to guide audiences through the heat of the kitchen in this series.

Joining long-standing judges Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton OBE is new judge Rachel Khoo, a multi-talented chef, who founded a loyal fanbase through the BBC series Little Paris Kitchen.

Rachel brings an arsenal of culinary credentials to Great British Menu judging table - from her early experience as a pastry chef in Paris to more recent work as an international food creative.