Great British Menu 2022: Everything you need to know, which chefs are competing, who are the national finalists, when is the banquet and more
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Larkin Cen, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Nathan Davies, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Mark Threadgill, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Tom Phillips, Wales heat
Chef owner of Woky Ko Larkin Cen is one of four chefs representing Wales on Great British Menu 2022
Series 17 of the competition starts on February 1st 2022 on BBC Two at 8pm and will air at the same time every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for eight weeks. The Welsh heat will take place on Tuesday 15th, Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th February 2022.
Larkin is competing against Tom Phillips, Mark Threadgill and Nathan Davies. This is Larkin's first appearance on the show. Before making it to the judges' chamber, the chefs' food is to be judged by veteran chef Angela Hartnett, who competed in the first series of the programme in 2006, then again in 2008 and 2010.
As per the programme's new format which starts each heat with four chefs (as opposed to three, which was the case until series 15), Mark was eliminated after the fish course. Larkin was the next to go, leaving Tom and Nathan to face judges Tom Kerridge, Nisha Katona and Ed Gamble, as well as guest judge Steffan Rhodri on Thursday, 17th February 2022.
Neck-in-neck until the end, it was Nathan who won over the judges and made it through to represent Wales at the national finals.
Biography
Despite having been raised by restaurant owners, former HR and employment solicitor Larkin Cen only took the leap and changed careers after being a finalist on MasterChef in 2013. Shortly after the competition, Larkin opened a restaurant, Hokkei, with fellow finalist Dale Williams, but the duo struggled to make the restaurant commercially viable, so it closed after two years.
Larkin then took on a job as a chef consultant at Celtic Manor, helping to devise a high-end Asian restaurant concept there, after which he moved to Britsol and opened Woky Ko. The restaurant group now has four branches, on Queen's Road, St Nicholas Market and two in Whapping Wharf, and the chef has a separate development kitchen to create new dishes.
Having grown up frequenting his parents' Chinese takeaway in Cardiff, Larkin's traditional Cantonese influences run deep in his food, but he is hoping to showcase his proficiency with a wider range of Asian flavours and techniques in the competition.
His dishes on Great British Menu this year will pay tribute to Welsh children's programme Fireman Sam and Dr Who.
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
Support Us
CONTRIBUTE
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Larkin Cen, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022: Everything you need to know, which chefs are competing, who are the national finalists, when is the banquet and more
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Nathan Davies, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Mark Threadgill, Wales heat
Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Tom Phillips, Wales heat
