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Jack Bond, head chef and co-owner of Michelin-starred and three AA rosette The Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter, near Keswick, Cumbria, is set to appear on the 2026 season of the BBC’s Great British Menu.
He features as one of four chefs representing the Northwest of England in the heats, which begin on 24 February at 7pm on BBC Two and iPlayer. The chefs will compete for a place in finals week, with three episodes airing each week. The series, which runs for a period of nine weeks, covers each of the eight heats, followed by finals week, before culminating in the banquet.
34-year-old, Jack Bond, from Cumbria, is competing in his second year of Great British Menu, having won the Northwest heat in 2025, but sadly narrowly missed out on a place at the banquet in finals week. Alongside the other northwest competitors, he will battle it out for a place in finals week.
This year’s theme is Movies. With a specific focus on British movies and movie makers, the chefs competing must cook dishes that pay tribute to their region, or film makers and actors from their area.
In the finale, the winning chefs will cook a banquet for Britain’s movie industry. The banquet will be held at St George’s Hall in Liverpool, which is well-known as the film location for Gotham City Hall in Batman.
The programme format itself largely remains the same, with Andi Oliver returning to present the series, with a judging line-up of: Michelin-starred, GBM double banquet winner, Tom Kerridge; 2019 winner and Scotland’s Lorna McNee, of Michelin-starred restaurant Cail Bruich, a former champion of champions on Great British Menu, returning alongside new addition to the judging panel, comedian Phil Wang, who replaces Ed Gamble.
Great British Menu has now been on our screens for over 20 years, with the first season having been screened in 2006. Over the years, the show has been a springboard for some of the nation’s most successful chefs to take their careers to the next level, and those aiming to join their ranks from the Northwest region this year are:
- Jack Bond – The Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter, Cumbria
- Daniel Heffy – NORD, Liverpool
- Paul Leonard – Forest Side, Grasmere, Cumbria
- Exose Grant – Exose at Home, Manchester
Jack Bond, head chef and co-owner of The Cottage in the Wood, Whinlatter, said: ‘’I was really chuffed to make it through to finals week in 2025 as winner of the Northwest heat. I’m hoping to make it through again this year, though I’m sure it won’t be easy, especially being up against three other seriously talented chefs from the region. As you can imagine, I was pretty disappointed not to make it through to the banquet, but this year’s a fresh start with a theme that gives us all plenty of options to showcase our creativity, so we’ll just have to see where we end up at the end of the week.’’
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