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Celebrity chef Rosemary Shrager and former Great British Bake Off winner John Whaite are hosting a culinary challenge on TV every weekday for the next month.
In the new 20-part series ‘Chopping Block’, the pair will run a residential cookery school at 3-4pm on ITV from Monday April 11 to Friday April 15.
Each week, four couples will face daily challenges. They will cook – and live – together, and each day the best couple will win a prize, with the most improved taking the £1,000 prize at the end of the week. The rest will end up on the ‘chopping block’.
In episode 1, which airs on Monday, April 11, the couples will be judged on their basic kitchen abilities. Episode 2 on Tuesday is Italian day. The cooks will compete in three foodie rounds, one of which is making a Tuscan sausage casserole.
Episode 3 on Wednesday is baking day with a twist – and at the end of the day, one couple will be evicted. Once again the cooks will compete in three foodie rounds, one of which is making Rosemary’s very own Cornish-inspired pie.
Episode 4 on Thursday sees the three remaining couples put to the test as the competition steps up at Rosemary and John’s school. The cooks will use their knife skills to learn how to joint chicken in a quest to serve up a French favourite.
Episode 5 on Friday is the final day and one couple will walk away with the £1,000 cash prize. Today is all about Asian-inspired dishes but with a twist. With no recipes or demos to help them, it’s down to the couples to create their own dishes.
Rosemary said the series is “a lot of fun, but it’s mostly informative and there is also a lot of confidence-building. They’re learning to cook – they really want to do well. It starts off taking the mickey, by the middle of the week they take it terribly seriously and then by the end of the week it’s all about winning! It’s a competition, but a competition with information and learning as you go along.”
John Whaite added: “The series is funny, light hearted, very informative, and entertaining. The contestants certainly improved over the course of a week. It goes to show that anyone can learn to cook if they put their mind to it.”
