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The nation's top chefs compete for the chance to cook at an incredible four-course banquet

The best of British cuisine. Top chefs from across the UK put their hearts on a plate and showcase amazing culinary talent. Who will get to cook for a spectacular banquet?

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Great British Menu: Series 8

Lisa Hazlehurst

Nicola Moody

Great British Menu: Series 8: Episode 16: North East Starter

North East Starter

Episode 16

Episode 16: North East Starter

Series 8

BBC Two - Great British Menu, Series 8, North East Starter

The three North East chefs all want to top the leader board on day one with their starter.

Chefs compete to cook at a banquet to celebrate 25 years of Red Nose Day. The three North East chefs all want to top the leader board with their starter.

Great British Menu continues as 24 of the nation's finest chefs battle it out to cook gastronomic masterpieces that are also witty and fun. Their dishes have to put a smile on faces as Great British Menu celebrates 25 years of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day appeals.

Through the power of entertainment the charity has raised more than 800 million pounds, changing the lives of people in both Africa and the UK. So this year Britain's top chefs have been challenged to marry serious cooking with humour to celebrate the charity's achievements. The prize: to cook a dish at a special banquet at The Royal Albert Hall.

This time three returning contenders from the North East are reunited in a culinary rematch. Colin McGurran is determined to have a repeat performance having got to the banquet in 2012. He believes anything less than cooking at the Royal Albert Hall will be a failure. But he is up against two formidable opponents: Stephanie Moon and Charlie Lakin. They were both defeated by Colin last year and are more determined than ever to get further in the competition.

The chefs also raise cash in fundraising challenges and this time one of the chefs is joined by comedienne and presenter Kirsten O'Brien.

The three North East chefs will be judged by a veteran of the competition - Michelin star chef Jason Atherton. He will decide which chefs make it through to the judges on Friday.

The two highest scoring chefs will cook their entire menu again for the Great British Menu judges Prue Leith, Matthew Fort and Oliver Peyton. This week the judges will be joined by comedy great Tim Brooke-Taylor.

The three North East chefs all want to top the leader board on day one with their starter. How will Colin McGurran's tomato gazpacho and garden salad perform? He got his starter to the banquet before so he needs to produce another impressive curtain raiser. But Stephanie Moon thinks she has a chance with a witty chicken dish called 'Why Did the Chicken...'. But will it be Charlie Lakin who will take Jason Atherton's breath away with a controversial duck dish called 'Mind Your Step'?

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The nation's greatest chefs compete to cook at a special banquet for Comic Relief

The nation's finest chefs fight to cook at a special banquet at the Royal Albert Hall to celebrate 25 years of Comic Relief's Red Nose Day

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