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The Great British Menu 2010 hits our TV screens in a few weeks and as ever we are keen to find out which chefs are taking part.

There have been rumours flying around for a few months as to the format this year and with the help of Caterer's forum, Table Talk we can start to reveal the line-up.

Competing chefs are first judged by a former winner, with one chef getting knocked out. The remaining two have the chance to cook for the judges, Oliver Peyton, Prue Leith and Matthew Fort.

The participating chefs have been allocated a National Trust House, and have to source their ingredients from the surrounding area.

So here it is: The Great British Menu 2010 line-up so far...

London region

• Tom Kerridge, The Hand & Flowers, Marlow
• Anthony Demetre, Arbutus, London
• Tristan Welch, Lauceston Place, London

Judge: Jason Atherton, Maze, London

Central region

• Daniel Clifford, Midsummer House, Cambridge
• Will Holland, La Becasse, Shropshire
• Richard Bramble, Morston Hall, Norfolk

Judge: Glynn Purnell, Purnell's, Birmingham

NE region

• Kenny Atkinson, Rockliffe Hall, Darlington
• Lee Bennett, Le Pont de la Tour, London
• Tim Bilton, Butchers Arms Hepworth, Yorkshire

Judge: Nigel Haworth, Northcote, Lancashire

Scotland 

• Alan Murchison, Paris House, Woburn
• Tony Singh, Oloroso, Edinburgh
• Michael Smith, The Three Chimneys, Isle of Skye

Judge: Jeremy Lee

Wales

• James Sommerin, The Crown at Whitebrook, Monmouthshire 
• Aled Williams, Plas Bodegroes, Gwynedd
• Richard Davies, Bybrook Restaurant, Manor House Hotel, Wiltshire

Judge: Stephen Terry, The Hardwick, Abergavenny

NW Region

• Aiden Byrne, The Church Green, Lymm
• Lisa Allen, Northcote, Lancashire
• Johnnie Mountain, Mosaica Restaurant at the Factory, London

Judge: Marcus Wareing, Marcus Wareing at the Berkeley, London 

SW region

• Nathan Outlaw, Nathan Outlaw Seafood and Grill at St Enodoc Hotel in Rock
• Chef 2: TBC
• Chef 3: TBC

Northern Ireland

Sorry, once again, no info on this as yet!

In an interview in today's Metro, the great man of the Oxfordshire restaurant doesn't hold back with his thoughts on the two high-profile chefs.

Apparently when he was training Pierre White at Le Manoir, the volatile chef was "a nightmare," says Blanc. "Marco had to prove he was the best all the time. He always had to set up some sort of competition in the kitchen, which is not good because it makes people feel a bit scared."

As for Gordon, Raymondo is asked what he thought of the time the chef dressed up in disguise and pretended to be one of Blanc's fans at a book signing.

The response: "I find that very sad. He has a number of businesses and I know how tough that is. So to come and play the clown at one of my signings...what's the point? What is the bloody point? I didn't get it".

And: "He is the only one to get it. What is he trying to do and say? I just laugh. My God, has that guy got nothing else to do? He must be very well organised in his business if he has time to do stuff like that."

Later on Raymond does say: "I just want to add that Marco is a good friend of mine. And if he made a few mistakes on the way, well, don't we all?"

So one of them gets off a bit more lightly, at least.

Blanc's The Restaurant winners to launch Marlow pub >>

Marco criticised for belittling waiters on 'Hell's Kitchen' >>

It seems to Kitchen Rat that Hell's Kitchen this year is much more about celebrity squabbling than the cooking.

Last year we were impressed by the creative menu tackled by the celebrities but when dining there last night the meal left the Rat feeling uninspired although the individual elements were well executed.

It was Danielle's turn on the pass as our check was called and she either had a magic wand or a great deal of prep had been done in advance as our starters - asparagus and Hollandaise, potted shrimps, and two paté de foie gras - arrived almost before we ordered them.

The main courses followed swiftly and while the Rat's generous portion of lamb was nicely caramelised on the outside and pink on the inside, both it and the companions' veal came with just a large dollop of mash as an accompaniment - no greens in sight. Oh to have saved some of the asparagus from the first course.

KR was also shocked to find lamb sprinkled with cockles. One has heard of surf 'n' turf but that's taking it a bit far.  

Marco Pierre White returns to our screens next Monday for the latest instalment of ITV1's Hell's Kitchen.

The participants were revealed today and, as per usual, it is a mixed bunch.

The full line-up: TV presenter Anthea Turner and her husband Grant Bovey; model Danielle Bux (better known as Gary Lineker's fiance); singer Ms Dynamite; actor and comedian Adrian Edmondson; former Liverpool goalie Bruce Grobbelaar; Jody Latham from Shameless and former Dynasty actress Linda Evans.

A few Kitchen Rat predictions: Anthea will be the first to cry, Ms Dynamite will be the first to have a shouting match with MPW, the cameras will take a shine to Bux and Jody will be the best chef (well, one hopes so - he's launching his own restaurant soon).

The food cooked by top chefs encourages unhealthy eating, according to an independent report from a group of senior dieticians.

Nigella Lawson, Rick Stein, Jean-Christophe Novelli and John Burton-Race are all noted for using large amounts of cream and butter in their cookbooks, thus promoting saturated fat intake way beyond the recommended daily allowance.

The findings come from The Fat Panel, a collection of dieticians including Sian Porter, a member of the British Dietetic Association. She said: "these recipes are fine for a special occasion, but if you cook regularly from them there is a high chance you will be taking in a lot of fat".

"Nigella, Jean-Christophe Novelli and Rick Stein use the highest levels of saturated fat. If you look at Nigella's egg and bacon pie, it uses butter which is fine for indulgence but not as a habit."

Phil Vickery was also mentioned in the report for using too much saturated fat, but Jamie Oliver and Delia Smith were given a healthy rating by the panel.

 Industry must improve gluten-free offering >>

Rick Stein takes over lease on local Cornish pub >>

He's just completed his first installment of Big Chef programmes, but senor Blumenthal was back on our screens last night for more with his new series looking at chowing down throughout the ages.

Blumenthal is targeting those epochs when large meals went hand in hand with culinary invention. And to kick off he turned to the Victorians.

"It was extraordinary", said The Guardian's TV critic Sam Leith of 'Heston's Victorian Feast'. "Heston lacks telly charisma...lines were delivered with the uncertain enthusiasm of a born lab-tech - but what he does with grub is gripping."

The three-star chef served wacky food to Radio 5 presenter Richard Bacon, former Scud star Rageh Omaar, Dawn Porter, Kathy Lette, Jemma Redgrave and Toby Young.

And what dishes: cow's head soup reduced to a stock cube wrapped in gold foil shaped as a watch, which was then dissolved in water. There was also an Alice in Wonderland-inspired layered liquid infusion with toffee, hot-buttered toast, custard, cherry tart and turkey flavours. And he finished with a six-foot edible garden, complete with olive soil and potato rocks.

According to Serena Davies, TV critic for The Telegraph, "it's great. If food can seem this amazing even when you can't taste it, heaven knows how divine the experience of actually eating it must be".

However, Times television critic Andrew Billen thought the whole thing "utterly pointless". Heston now "flaps around wondering where on television his future lies", he added.

Heston Blumenthal puts on a brave face >>

Heston Blumenthal hopes to reopen Fat Duck this week >>

Heston Blumenthal gets green light to reopen Fat Duck >>

Michelin-starred chef John Burton Race's ex-wife Kim has been declared bankrupt by London's high court for money owed on their old family home.

The order is for an undisclosed amount due for renovation work done to the former couple's Grade-II listed Victorian Rectory in Ashprington, Devon.

Kim, who has two children by John and four by her previous marriage, had offered to pay off the debt to Crownhill Renovations at £50 a week but this was rejected. She reportedly won a £3.6 million settlement when they divorced almost two years ago.

Kim was also responsible for shutting their Michelin-starred restaurant, The New Angel in Dartmouth down while he was on the reality TV show I'm a Celebrity Get me Outta Here.  

John Burton Race left Kim and their children  in 2007 for his mistress Suzi Ward, with whom he'd had a lovechild. He also has two other children from his first marriage to Christine. 

Cyrus Todiwala was among the speakers at a Caterer round table debate on Scores on the Doors sponsored by P&G Professional and Fairy Expert - and you can read about it in the magazine this week.

The chef proprietor of London's Cafe Spice Namaste Indian restaurant was vociferous in his condemnation of the new programme proposed by the Food Standards Agency for highlighting cleanliness in the UK's hospitality outlets.

"How do you tell people what these stars mean?" asked Todiwala. "I went to a restaurant on Brick Lane once and a rat came into the kitchen. The chef's attitude was: 'It's not my rat, it came from next door.' It's the kitchens that feed the bulk of this country at 3am that we should worry about."

Nick Bish, chief executive of the Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers, criticised the six-tier nature of the scheme, with more stars awarded the cleaner a property is deemed to be. "If I get on a plane, I expect it to be safe. I don't want to see some score suggesting how likely it is to crash."

James Arnold, UK business leader (sales and marketing) for P&G Professional added: "Only a tiny percentage will have interest in what the stars mean. If this is to educate the industry about what they should be doing in an ideal world then fine, but the public just want a red flag or a green flag, not three stars or five stars - they won't understand what they mean."

FSA defends Scores on the Doors decision >>

Six-tier Scores on the Doors plan labelled ridiculous >>

Gordon Ramsay is back on TV screens with Kitchen Nightmares tomorrow, but it's a version of the programme with a difference.

For a start, the programme runs over two hours, a bonus for those of you that like seeing people being told off. The top chef looks at two restaurants in that time, a struggling venue in Sheffield and one in Devon.

All seems to be proceeding as normal, when after a few disagreements, the proprietors of each venue take his advice on board. However, then the economic downturn kicks in and both restaurants owners and Gordon have to engage in a significant rethink during filming.

Watch Channel 4 tomorrow at 9pm to see how Gordon is taking on the credit crunch. And you can catch Gordon too in a new book out in March and filming for more Nightmares in LA - he's on a real publicity blitz in the New Year.

Ramsay Nightmare restaurant Love's Fish closes >>

Gordon Ramsay Kitchen Nightmares restaurant badly damaged >>