‘Britain’s Best Dish’ is back

ITV1’s nationwide cooking competition to find the UK’s most mouth-watering dish is targeting the North West in its search for Britain’s Best Dish.

Last year saw Jonathon Davies from Leeds scoop the £10,000 first prize with a sumptuous dish of Seared Masala Spring Lamb. Amateur chefs from Norfolk and Hampshire have also triumphed in previous contests – so could 2011 be the year when someone from the North West steps up to the plate?

The show’s producers are hoping to attract lots of local culinary talent to compete for the £10,000 cash prize.

“There’s a fantastic tradition of wonderful home cooking in the North West so we’re expecting to find some really talented cooks when we visit next January for the auditions” said series producer Rory Dalziel.

“Whether it’s a Lancashire hot pot, Scouse stew or a Manchester tart, we’re confident of a very high standard, as well as a few exciting surprises.”

The idea of the series – to be screened on ITV1 next Spring – is to find the tastiest starter, main course and dessert cooked in the UK, with one of those courses going on to win the overall title of Britain’s Best Dish 2011, plus the £10,000 first prize.

The production team will be coming to Manchester in January when they will invite short-listed applicants to come along and pitch their signature dish. The amateur cooks with the most potential will then be invited to London to take part in a live studio “cook off.”

“We are looking for delicious homemade dishes cooked by people who have a real passion about food, as well as the strong belief that they can produce Britain’s Best Dish” said Mr Dalziel. “There’ll be no cooking involved at this stage but we want everyone to bring either a sample of their dish, a photo of it or something else that will make it stand out.”

The auditions are on Saturday 22 January 2011 and anyone who would like to be considered for the auditions should contact bestdish@itv.com or call 09011 22 33 11.


Calls cost 25p from a BT landline. Calls from other networks may be higher and from mobiles will be considerably more. Applications for the North West will not be considered after 12.00 on Friday 21 January 2011 but any calls made after this time will still be charged until the lines close on Friday 4 February 2011 at 17.00. You must be 14 or over to participate. Terms and Conditions at itv.com/terms