Cooking with the Stars

Cooking with the Stars is a British celebrity cooking reality show in which eight famous people are paired with professional chef mentors and try to learn how to cook restaurant-quality dishes. The project has a ‘cooking battle’ format, with participants competing in a series of challenges and blind tastings in an effort to stay in the competition. In this article, we will discuss the history of the show, the hosts, the judges, and the winners.

Basic information about the show

Celebrity cooking shows feature famous personalities: actors, comedians, athletes, and television presenters. They cook alongside professional chefs and compete for the title of best among the stars in the kitchen. Each season consists of several episodes where participants learn to cook, compete in ‘culinary battles’ and go through intense challenges, including blind judging of dishes.

History of the show

Celebrity chefs TV show airs on ITV1, ITVX, STV and STV Player. The project is produced by South Shore Productions with financial support from the British chain M&S Food (Marks & Spencer). The first episode aired in 2021.

Eight celebrities were paired with professional chefs who became their mentors and judges. Since then, the show has returned to screens every year with new participants and culinary professionals, demonstrating how the stars improve their cooking skills.

Format

Each season of the cooking show has a specific format: eight celebrities learn to cook under the guidance of professional chefs. Pairs are formed, consisting of a celebrity and a chef, who compete in culinary battles, preparing different dishes and receiving scores.

Participants can use the ‘Golden Frying Pan’ — a special bell that allows the mentor to intervene for 2 minutes. The losing pairs must prepare a separate dish without the help of mentors in the ‘Cook-Off’ stage, where their dishes are evaluated by blind testing (the chefs do not know who prepared what). The winner of the cooking TV show is the participant who has demonstrated the greatest success and the best results by the end of the season.

Head chefs

The show Cook with the Stars features professional chefs who act not only as mentors but also as judges. True masters of the culinary arts have taken part in the project.

Many of these chefs are renowned professionals with experience in Michelin-starred restaurants or frequent appearances on cooking programmes outside of the show. Jack Stein, for example, is a well-known chef and the son of the famous Rick Stein (known for his own cooking programmes and restaurants). In one season, Nisha Katona was among the professional mentors, and her protégé Harry Judd won the show.

Hosts

The hosts of Cooking with Stars are Emma Willis and comedian Tom Allen. They accompany viewers and participants through all the challenges, comment on what is happening, set the tone for the atmosphere and help transition from one part of the competition to another. This pair has been working together since the first season and continues to be the faces of the show to this day.

Emma Willis has also worked on Big Brother and other programmes.

Participants

Among the participants of Celebrity Cook, there were many interesting personalities who deserve special attention. These are the people who left the strongest impression on viewers.

Winners of all seasons

The Celebrity Chefs TV show was won by famous personalities who managed to convince the audience and judges that they really do have culinary talent.

Recipes

Here are some recipes for popular dishes from the show Cooking with the Stars (UK) with a list of ingredients and cooking instructions:

Pan-Roast Pork Chops with Crackling and Sausage Bonbons

Roast Chicken with Sage-Stuffed Ballotine and Sweetcorn Purée

Ingredients:

• Chicken – 1
• Salt, pepper – to taste
• Sage – 6–8 leaves
• Butter – 50 g
• Corn – 200 g

Preparation:

1. Make a filling with sage and butter and stuff the chicken with it.
2. Bake for 40–45 minutes at 180 degrees.
3. Boil the sweetcorn and mash it, then season.
4. Serve the chicken with the corn purée and Madeira sauce.

Layered Vegan Crepe Cake with Mascarpone and Plum Compote

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