five cooks up a storm

Five has commissioned Cooking the Books, a major new 35-part cookery entertainment series.

Presented by Jeremy Edwards (Holby City, Hollyoaks and Celebrity Masterchef), each week-day 30 minute programme will be themed around best-selling cookery books, written by some of the UK’s top chefs. Guest chefs on each show will demonstrate their mouth-watering signature dishes in front of an intimate studio audience of food fanatics who will play a big part in every show. These include: Sophie Grigson, Ainsley Harriott, Simon Rimmer, John Burton Race, Bill Granger and Jean-Christophe Novelli.

Each episode also features a mystery celebrity. These well-known personalities will be filmed cooking incognito – attempting challenging recipes in their own kitchens. In the studio, once their identities have been revealed, their efforts will be judged by our studio audience and guest chef, who will then offer them an impromptu master-class.

Finally on Cooking the Books, the guest chef will be joined by another TV cook for a light-hearted challenge. Choosing mouth-watering recipes from their own back-catalogues both chefs will get just five minutes to respond to Jeremy’s special brief.

With consumers currently spending £66 million pounds a year on cookery books*, there is an insatiable appetite to learn from the best - Cooking The Books will bring the cream of the crop right into your home.

Jeremy Edwards said: “I’m incredibly excited to be working with some of the UK’s top chefs and seeing how it should be done. There’s nothing I love more than cooking up a feast, but I admit sometimes my efforts turn out to be a bit more John Cleese than Jean-Christophe Novelli. As someone who loves everything about food, I can't wait to get involved.”

Five’s Head of Features, Alex Menzies, said: “It’s great to see a cookery show back on Five after all this time. Cooking The Books is enormous fun and packed full of down to earth advice and exciting recipes to try. Most importantly we’ll really put Britain’s favourite cookbooks, and their authors, through their paces.”