Great British Menu 2022 chefs: Mark Threadgill, Wales heat

Head chef at portmeirion hotel Mark Threadgill 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.

Mark is competing against Tom Phillips, Nathan Davies and Larkin Cen. This is Mark'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

Born in Gwynedd in North West Wales, Mark always dreamt of being a chef. When he was 14, he wrote in a school report that he wanted to become the head chef at Portmeirion Hotel, and twelve years later his dream became a reality. 

To earn his stripes and become worthy of manning the two AA Rosette hotel restaurant, Mark worked at Restaurant Pierre Reboul in Aix-en-Provence in the South of France, then at Michelin-starred Plas Bodegroes, followed by a stint at Claude Bosi's two Michelin-starred restaurant, Hibiscus. 

Mark's food on Great British Menu will pay tribute to his much-beloved home produce, as well as to the hit BBC programme, Gavin and Stacey.