Gordon Ramsay dishes up future food stars

Thursdays. It’s an awkward time of the week – we’re over the hump but not yet at the weekend, so very much still in work mode.

With that in mind, what do TV schedulers offer up to keep us entertained and engaged? In the case of BBC One, business-related shows.

The current run of Dragons’ Den is ongoing, while last week saw the end of the 16th series of The Apprentice, in which Lord Sugar handed over £250,000 to the winning candidate as an investment in their idea.

Both shows are well-established, hugely popular with viewers and feature entrepreneurs presenting cash to those who can prove they’re innovative and resourceful. Now the Beeb is launching a new series along similar lines, combining it with another successful genre – the cookery show.

Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars was actually announced way back in January 2020 by Kate Phillips, controller of BBC Entertainment.

“It’s key for me to keep growing the entertainment story at the BBC as a much loved, talked about, shared experience,” claimed Phillips at the time. “Our programming is big and bold across all channels, and we continue to keep the greats great and grow the new greats.”

She’s hoping that Ramsay’s series will be one of the latter. He hasn’t traditionally been a BBC face; the likes of Boiling Point and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares have appeared on Channel 4, while his escapades with Gino D’Acampo and Fred Sirieix have been broadcast by ITV.

He did, of course, pop up on Strictly Come Dancing (often with tears in his eyes) while his daughter Tilly was competing on the show last year, but now he’s taking centre stage on the Beeb himself as he tries to find the best and brightest food and drink entrepreneur in the country.

The industry itself has undergone amazing changes in recent years thanks to the introduction of subscription boxes, food apps and high-tech delivery services, so coming up with a genuinely new and groundbreaking idea may be difficult. But Ramsay has unearthed a dozen candidates who have the potential to make their mark – now all he has to do is put them through a series of challenges, whittling them down until just one remains.

“The future of our food industry has never been more exciting,” he says. “I can’t wait to unearth some of Britain’s most entrepreneurial talent.

“I’ve spent the last 21 years at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay nurturing, supporting and mentoring some of Great Britain’s greatest chefs and that’s truly why I think investing in the next generation of talented individuals is so important.”

Among those vying for the £150,000 up for grabs are Londoner Valentina, who has developed a range of vegan cake mixes, bottled Indian sauce-creator Amit from Worcestershire, Yorkshire lass Jen, who has launched a selection of bottled cocktails, ex-Navy chef Jamie from Macclesfield, who is mad about mussels, and Welshman Asher, whose mum inspired him to create homemade jams, chutneys and marmalades with a twist.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you