Tom Kerridge To Host New BBC Two Series

Tom Kerridge has been announced as the host for a new series for BBC Two.

The Michelin-starred chef and TV presenter will front the 8x60' series 'The Finest In The Deli: Yorkshire's Choice' (w/t) which will see up-and-coming amateur food producers across Britain promote and sell their wares in a real shop in the Yorkshire Dales.

They will have the opportunity to showcase their produce to real customers, as well as two expert judges, as they try to convince them that their product is the best and deserves a permanent space on the shelves.

The judges, food writer and restaurateur Nisha Katona and artisan expert Alison Swan Parente, will assess if the creations have what it takes to sustain a profitable business. However, making sales and appealing to the taste buds of the local community will be just as important.

At the end of the series, the final episode will see the shop filled with the seven winning products from the seven different categories. The judges will then ask the locals to help decide which producer and product is the best overall.

Tom Kerridge said: "The huge rise in interest around artisan food products in this country has been phenomenal over the past few years. This has led to a great many more amateur food lovers having a go at making goods themselves with some outstanding results. I cannot wait to see the range of artisan products on the shop shelf and seeing if they are well received by the local community."

David Brindley, Head of Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment, added: "We're thrilled to be heading up to Yorkshire to see what the country's most innovative food producers have to offer the local community. In Tom, Nisha and Alison, we're very excited to have brought together the perfect trio of expertise to guide, judge, console and celebrate with them in equal measure."

Tim Harcourt, Creative Director, Studio Lambert, commented: "It's not just hipsters, farmers and retiring townies that are taking part in the explosion of artisan food production, we are meeting passionate people from all walks of life who are catering to our limitless desire for new tastes and flavours."

Expected to air in 2018, The Finest In The Deli: Yorkshire's Choice (w/t), was commissioned by Patrick Holland, Controller of BBC Two and David Brindley, Head of Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment. The Commissioning Editor is Catherine Catton. The series is being produced by Studio Lambert where Tom Garland and Tim Harcourt are Executive Producers, Gary Broadhurst is Series Editor and Zoe Page is the Series Producer.

Image: BBC Media Centre.

www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre

(JP)