Saturday Kitchen

Saturday Kitchen
Genre	Cookery
Directed by	Geraldine Dowd Toby Baker John Adams
Presented by	Current: Matt Tebbutt Former: Antony Worrall Thompson James Martin Gregg Wallace
Starring	Helen McGinn Olly Smith
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No.of episodes	888, including various specials (up to and including 31 August 2024)
Production
Executive producers	Julie Shaw Amanda Ross
Producer	James Bedwell
Running time	90 minutes
Production companies	Cactus TV (2006–) Prospect Pictures(2002–06)
Original release
Network	BBC One(2006–) BBC Two(2002–05)
Release	26 January 2002(2002-01-26)– present
Related
Celebration Kitchen Go Veggie and Vegan with Matt Tebbutt James Martin's Saturday Morning

Saturday Kitchenis a "weekend food show" typically broadcast on Saturday mornings between 10:00 and 11:30 onBBC One.

It is predominantly hosted byMatt Tebbuttand features drinks experts Helen McGinn andOlly Smith.Each show, they are joined by two, three, or four chefs and a celebrity guest or two.

History

2002–2003

After a pilot hosted byAinsley Harriotton 14 April 2001,the show was launched on 26 January 2002 and was originally broadcast as aBBCproduction for theOpen Universityunder an educational remit. It was hosted byGregg Wallace,then a relatively unknown presenter. He was joined by a celebrity chef each week in a pre-recorded format and with a low budget, using archived content from the likes ofKeith FloydandRick Steinto fill the show. After the first series, the second series was broadcast live.

2003–2006

After the success of the first two series, the programme was relaunched with established celebrity chefAntony Worrall Thompsonas the host, initially guest hosting from May before taking over on 13 September. The format was tweaked, moving away from the educational remit and simple meals to more aspirational food with an increase in chefs, a number of whom hadMichelinstars, and celebrity guests. The BBC archive was retained for the revamped format, with Worrall Thompson and the guest chefs preparing dishes, with the clips used to allow clean-up and "resetting" of the studio kitchen.

During the summer of 2004, the programme temporarily moved toBBC Oneand aired as Saturday Brunch, live from Worrall Thompson's home.Subsequently, in January 2006, the show moved fromBBC Twoto BBC One on a three-month trial that became permanent, a decision which drew controversy after the moving of children's programming from its regular slot on the channel for the first time since the 1970s.

2006–2016

James Martin

After Worrall Thompson left the network to presentSaturday Cooks!in June 2006,James Martintook over as host from 24 June. During Martin's tenure, the audience increased from 1.2 million to around 2.5 million, peaking at 2.7 million on 9 January 2010.

On 8 September 2012, the first episode was broadcast from a new studio set, which saw a new design and the addition of mains gas and running water.

On 23 February 2016, Martin announced that he would be leaving the show to concentrate on other commitments, and "to have a lie in" on a Saturday.His last show was on 26 March 2016.

Among those to cover in Martin's absence wereMatt TebbuttandJohn Torode.

Presenters, experts, chefs, and guests

Niklas EkstedtandSabrina Ghayour

Matt Tebbuttis the predominant presenter, withAngela HartnettandAnna Haughamong those to have deputised for Tebbutt.

Drinks experts

Each week, a drinks expert pairs various drinks to go with the studio dishes. Helen McGinn andOlly Smithare the predominant experts.

Featured chefs

Among the featured chefs in 2023, were:Paul Ainsworth,Ravinder Bhogal,Niklas Ekstedt,Sabrina Ghayour,Ravneet Gill,andNathan Outlaw.

Celebrity guests

In 2023, theSaturday Kitchenteam were joined by a variety of celebrity guests, including:Michael Ball,Gary Barlow,James Blunt,Stacey Dooley,Anton Du Beke,Lenny Henry,Beverley Knight,Nish Kumar,Oti Mabuse,andSue Perkins.

Features

Each show typically includes a host chef and two guest chefs, each cooking in the studio. They are joined by a celebrity guest, usually on to promote a forthcoming or current project.

Each guest chef's dish is paired with a drink chosen by an expert.

In between each studio dish, excerpts are shown from the BBC Archives. The footage almost always includesRick SteinandKeith Floyd,but have also featuredNigella Lawson,The Hairy Bikers,andNigel Slaterin the past.

Before the introduction of the Heaven and Hell feature, the programme previously featured Worrall Thompson and guest chefs pitching a dish to be cooked, which the public voted on and a running total of wins were recorded by usingfridge magnets.

Heaven or Hell

Each show concludes with the host and guest chefs cooking the celebrity guest a dish containing their favourite or least-favourite ingredient/s.

Which dish is cooked depends on an online vote for viewers at home to choose heaven or hell. Formerly, only the viewers who phoned in to the show were able to vote, along with the guest chefs.

Saturday Kitchen Best Bites

In-addition to the main episode shown on Saturday mornings, there is a compilation episode calledSaturday Kitchen Best Bites,which features clips from previous episodes and is hosted by the same presenter(s).

Controversies

Competition with ITV

In June 2006, it was revealed that hostAntony Worrall Thompsonwas to move toITVto host a similar cooking show in the same slot,Saturday Cooks!,though later rescheduled to noon. In addition to this move, the new show was to be made by theSaturday Kitchenproducer,Prospect Pictures.In light of the changes, the programme was revamped with new hostJames Martinand new producer Cactus TV.

Misleading viewers

In February 2007, the programme was accused of misleading viewers to phone in to an apparently live segment, which was found to have been pre-recorded a week earlier.

Dietary requirements

In July 2016,Matt Tebbutthosted an episode ofSaturday Kitchen.Tebbutt was discussing food commandments withfood criticandwriterJay Rayner,when Tebbutt said "I'd like people in restaurants to leave their dietary requirement at home. Unless, it's obviously life-threatening—that would be wrong! There are so many dietary requirements these days."

One social media user stated: "For your information, dietary requirements aren't fussiness.Coeliac?Allergies?Ignorance makes dining out impossible for many. "Another said:" I wish intolerant views were left at home, so disappointing. "

Other tweets read: "I love, loveSaturday Kitchen,but not everyone with a dietary requirement is trying to make life difficult for restaurants "and" thanks for making those of us with dietary requirements feel even worse about eating out. "

Tebbutt responded: "Apologies, was being flippant. I mean the'faddy'eaters amongst us, that's all. "

Presenter selections

In January 2017, viewers took to social media to express their displeasure atMichel Roux, Jr's selection as host for an episode ofSaturday Kitchen.AGuardianinvestigation published in November 2016,allegedthat Roux had not paid some staff the minimum wage. The article also alleged thatservice chargesadded to bills had been used for restaurant revenues.Some viewers stated that they could not watch while Roux hosted.

Roux has hosted several times since.

Spin-offs

The programme has produced a number of spin off series, includingCelebration Kitchen,Spring Kitchen,Christmas KitchenandSaturday Kitchen: Best Bites,a compilation programme currently airing on Sunday mornings on BBC Two, as well as theSaturday Kitchen Cookbook with James Martin,published byBBC Booksin July 2007.

Celebration Kitchen

An identical format, with a specific focus on foods associated with respective religious festivals, such as:Eid al-Fitr,Passover,andDiwali.

Christmas Kitchen

Christmas Kitchenwas a "show filled with guest chefs, celebrities, and treats from the BBC's festive food archives."

Series 1 (2013):
For each of the 10 shows,James Martinwas joined by fellow chefBrian Turner.Joining them were a variety of chefs, including:Theo Randall,Vivek Singh,andBryn Williams.

Series 2 (2014):
James Martin and Brian Turner returned for another series ofChristmas Kitchenin December 2014. Over the course of the 10 episodes, they were joined by:Jason Atherton,Monica Galetti,andNathan Outlaw,among other chefs.

Series 3 (2016):
At the presenting helm for the 10-part third series wereMatt TebbuttandAndi Oliver.This series featured appearances fromSabrina GhayourandOlia Hercules.For each show, the team were also joined by formerBake Offcontestants.

Spring Kitchen with Tom Kerridge

Spring Kitchenwas a weekday, daytime spin-off ofSaturday Kitchenpresented byTom Kerridge.The series aired for 14 episodes in April 2014.

For each show, Kerridge was joined by different chefs, including:Jason Atherton,Michael Caines,Daniel Clifford,Gennaro Contaldo,Lisa Goodwin-Allen,Angela Hartnett,Ching-He Huang,Tom Kitchin,Glynn Purnell,Theo Randall,andBryn Williams.

Kerridge was also joined by a diverse cross-section of celebrity guests, including:Amanda Abbington,Chris Addison,Amanda Byram,Nicki Chapman,Jenny Eclair,Chris Hollins,Alex Jones,Jo Joyner,Nick Knowles,Dominic Littlewood,Craig Revel Horwood,Gaby Roslin,Danny Wallace,andPaul Young.

External links

• Saturday KitchenatIMDb
• Saturday KitchenatBBC Online