The Big Family Cooking Showdown
| The Big Family Cooking Showdown | |
|---|---|
| Genre |
Cooking Reality competition |
| Presented by |
Zoë Ball (2017) Nadiya Hussain (2017) Angellica Bell (2018) Tommy Banks (2018) |
| Judges |
Giorgio Locatelli (2017) Rosemary Shrager (2017) Angellica Bell (2018) Tommy Banks (2018) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 12 (as of 2 November 2017) |
| Production | |
| Production location(s) |
Cooking Showdown Kitchen: The Main Barn at The Quadrangle Trust, Shoreham, Kent (Series 1) Wales (Series 2) |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Voltage TV |
| Release | |
| Original network | BBC Two |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 15 August 2017 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
The Big Family Cooking Showdown, often referred to as simply Cooking Showdown or BFCS, is a BBC team cooking competition. The first series was hosted by Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain and Zoë Ball. Each week, two teams of three family members compete in three challenges, judged by Michelin star chef Giorgio Locatelli and cookery teacher Rosemary Shrager. The winners in each of eight heats will move on to a series of further competitions, until a winner is selected. The Big Family Cooking Showdown premiered on BBC Two on Tuesday, 15 August 2017, then moved to Thursday evenings on 31 August to avoid a scheduling conflict with The Great British Bake Off on Channel 4.The second series will begin soon, without Nadiya Hussain.[1]
On 9 May 2018, the BBC announced that the show would return for a second series of 14 episodes airing in a new slot of 7pm. Presenter and Celebrity MasterChef winner Angellica Bell will join Michelin star head chef Tommy Banks to co-host and judge the series.[2]
Format
Each team consists of three family members.
Each heat features two teams, while each semi-final and the final feature three teams.
Challenges
The Cooking Showdown kitchen is located in the main barn at the Quadrangle Trust, near Shoreham in Kent.
Heats
In each episode, two teams comprising three family members compete in three time-limited rounds. At the end of the three rounds, a winner is selected, who will move on to one of a series of semi-final rounds.
- Round 1: The £10 Challenge (1 hour and 15 minutes): In the £10 Challenge, the teams must prepare two courses for four on a budget.
- Round 2: Home Visits Challenge (1 hour and 30 minutes): Each team cooks and serves a main course and a dessert for the judges in their own home kitchen.
- Round 3: Impress the Neighbours Challenge (2 hours and 15 minutes): The teams return to the barn to create their finest starter and a main course, with no budget.[3]
Semi-finals
- What's in the Fridge? tests the families creativity as home cooks. The judges provide a limited range of ingredients. Each team has 1 hour to cook a main course for 4 people.
- For the Perfect Puddings challenge, each judge "carefully selects a firm family favourite" for the teams to make in 1 hour and 20 minutes.
- The Nation's Favourite With a Twist challenge asks families "for their unique take on a British classic." The teams have 2 hours for this challenge.[4]
All three challenges are staged in the Cooking Showdown barn.
Final
For the final, the teams face "one long, continuous challenge."
Each family is challenged to "prepare food for a big family get-together, including nibbles, main courses, and desserts."[5]
Results summary
| Episode | Family No. 1[6] | Family No. 2 | Winning family | Broadcast date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heats | ||||
| 1 | The Charles family | The Marks family | The Charles family | 15 August 2017 |
| 2 | The Dawes family | The Karim family | The Karim family | 22 August 2017 |
| 3 | The Hilliard family | The Pigott family | The Pigott family | 31 August 2017 |
| 4 | The Gangotra family | The Massaccesi family | The Gangotra family | 7 September 2017 |
| 5 | The Ayoubi family | The Herbert family | The Ayoubi family | 14 September 2017 |
| 6 | The Codougan family | The King family | The King family | 21 September 2017 |
| 7 | The Bellamore family | The Bellamy family | The Bellamore family | 28 September 2017 |
| 8 | The Boyes family | The Rignall family | The Boyes family | 5 October 2017 |
| Episode | Family No. 1 | Family No. 2 | Family No. 3 | Winning family | Broadcast date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semi-finals | |||||
| 9 | The Charles family | The Herbert family | The Karim family | The Charles family | 12 October 2017 |
| 10 | The Boyes family | The Gangotra family | The King family | The Gangotra family | 19 October 2017 |
| 11 | The Bellamore family | The Massaccesi family | The Pigott family | The Pigott family | 26 October 2017 |
| Final | |||||
| 12 | The Charles family | The Gangotra family | The Pigott family | The Gangotra family | 2 November 2017 |
Notes:
- In the first semi-final, the Herbert family competed following the withdrawal of the Ayoubi family.
- At the beginning of the third semi-final, the Massaccesi family were revealed as the wildcard family.
Ratings
Official episode viewing figures are from BARB.[7]
| Episode no. | Airdate | 7-day viewers (millions) | 28-day viewers (millions) | BBC Two weekly ranking | BBC iPlayer requests |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 August 2017 | 2.15 | 2.25 | 5 | TBC |
| 2 | 22 August 2017 | 1.83 | 1.93 | 6 | TBC |
| 3 | 31 August 2017 | 1.56 | 1.64 | 10 | TBC |
| 4 | 7 September 2017 | 1.53 | 1.58 | 14 | TBC |
| 5 | 14 September 2017 | 1.46 | 1.55 | 12 | TBC |
| 6 | 21 September 2017 | 1.39 | 1.44 | 12 | TBC |
| 7 | 28 September 2017 | 1.55 | 1.58 | 16 | TBC |
| 8 | 5 October 2017 | 1.47 | 1.51 | 19 | TBC |
| 9 | 12 October 2017 | 1.37 | 1.40 | 27 | TBC |
| 10 | 19 October 2017 | 1.34 | 1.36 | 22 | TBC |
| 11 | 26 October 2017 | 1.32 | 1.36 | 22 | TBC |
| 12 | 2 November 2017 | 1.96 | 1.98 | 6 | TBC |
Reception
About the location, Sally Newall, writing for The Independent said, "Instead of the Bake Off tent, there's a barn conversion with a country-kitchen-meets-early-Noughties warehouse-conversion vibe. There is lots of wood, exposed brick, shiny copper lampshades and those letters with light bulbs that you tend to see at weddings.[8] Michael Hogan, writing for The Daily Telegraph described the kitchen as a "swish barn, kitted out in twee, shabby chic style to resemble something from a glossy interiors magazine."[9] Stuart Heritage of The Guardian called it "Bland, awkward and awful".[10]
Scheduling conflict
After Channel 4's announcement that they will broadcast The Great British Bake Off on Tuesdays opposite The Big Family Cooking Show, the BBC moved the show to Thursday to avoid a scheduling conflict. The BBC said, "Channel 4's decision to move Bake Off from its long-term traditional Wednesday slot will be a surprise to many viewers who may see this as a cynical move. We never intended for our new cookery show to clash with theirs. There is room for both and we don't, in this instance, see any public value in two public service broadcasters going head-to-head in this way."
References
- ↑ "BBC moves Family Cooking show after Bake Off's new slot". Digital Spy. 16 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ↑ "BBC Two recommissions The Big Family Cooking Showdown with new line-up Angellica Bell and Tommy Banks". BBC. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2018.
- ↑ "Cooking Showdown challenges".
- ↑ "Cooking Showdown semi-final challenges".
- ↑ "Cooking Showdown final challenge".
- ↑ "Series 1: Meet the participating families".
- ↑ "Weekly Top 30 Programmes". Broadcasters' Audience Research Board. Retrieved 25 July 2018.
- ↑ "Sally Newall's assessment of Cooking Showdown kitchen".
- ↑ "Michael Hogan's appraisal of Cooking Showdown kitchen".
- ↑ Heritage, Stuart (16 August 2017). "Bland, awkward and awful – the BBC's disastrous attempt to recreate Bake Off". the Guardian. Retrieved 31 May 2018.