‘Great British Menu’ Will Change The Way You Think Of British Cooking

Great British Menu is the kind of food show that begs to be binged. It’s light, it’s fun, it’s full of quirky British culinary stars, and 45 episodes are now available to stream on Netflix. The entire seventh season of Great British Menu snuck on the service recently and it’s a must-watch for foodies.

Great British Menu has been a long-running favorite in the United Kingdom and it’s structured like a low key mishmash of Top Chef, Iron Chef and Beat Bobby Flay. The best chefs in the country compete in a series of course-themed heats to impress the judges with not just their cooking, but their ingenuity. After figuring out who the best chefs are, the top 8 move on for another round of cook offs. The final prize? The chance to wow eaters at an auspicious banquet. (In Season 7, it’s a massive fete for Britain’s Olympians.)

Though the show’s description seems overwhelming, the action zips along. Each episode is under a half hour and the challenge of the day is easy enough to follow. One episode is a starter challenge, the next is the fish course, and so on..until there’s a final judging. The winners of these rounds head to the finals. Because of the multi-episode “heats,” you get a chance to get to know three competitors at a time, and you move on just when you might be getting tired of them. It’s an easy compromise between the slog of a full season of Top Chef and the “blink and you’ll miss ’em” pace of Beat Bobby Flay.

But the best part of Great British Menu is how it challenges stereotypes about British cuisine. The Brits might have wowed the world with their baking and beer, but they tend to get a bad rap in the foodie world. Great British Menu celebrates the many chefs who are challenging convention and pushing cuisine to its limits. You’ll see creative scientific techniques and inventive ingredients. (Quick note: The chefs on this season are very interested in molecular gastronomy which was honestly all the rage in culinary circles back when this was filmed in 2012. I haven’t seen the latest season of the show, but I’d imagine that many of today’s competitors would be leaning into the more rustic approach that’s popular now.)

Great British Menu is as civilized as The Great British Baking Show and as tense as Chopped. It puts chefs to the test and it will expose you to some truly outlandish culinary creations. It’s delectable, delightful, and a perfect pick for your next favorite binge.

Where to Stream Great British Menu