The 10x60’ series, based on the US hit format, will see TV cook and bestselling author, Nigella Lawson and her fellow judges, American chef Anthony Bourdain and French chef Ludo Lefebvre, battle it out to find the The Taste's first British winner.
Each week, Nigella and her fellow mentors will face a collision of fiery cookery challenges, blind-taste eliminations and simmering egos as the contestants battle it out to please the palates of the professionals with just one spoonful of food. All tastings are blind so the pressure is on to make one small, but perfect, serving.
At the beginning of the series, twelve contestants will be selected and the mentors will form their teams of four. In each episode the teams will then face group and individual challenges before the final elimination, with the twist that as the taste test is blind a mentor could easily send home their own team member if their spoonful doesn’t deliver a taste sensation.
The Taste was commissioned by Channel 4 Head of Formats, Dominic Bird, and is set to air on Channel 4 in 2014. The series will be made by CPL Productions and executive produced by Murray Boland and Danielle Lux.
The Taste format was acquired from Red Arrow International. Originally commissioned by ABC, the popular U.S. version features famed foodies Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Ludo Lefebvre as the distinguished panel of judges on a quest to find America’s next super chef.
Dominic Bird said: “I’m thrilled that Nigella is returning to Channel 4 alongside Anthony and Ludo. The Taste promises to be a hugely exciting and compelling competition with stellar talent and exceptional cooking at its heart.”
Henrik Pabst, Senior Vice President Sales UK says: “Channel 4 is the home of top-notch cooking shows and ‘The Taste’ is the icing on the cake. It brings Nigella Lawson back to Channel 4, where audiences first fell in love with her.”
Channel 4 has also secured the rights to air the U.S. version of the show.