Chef Ainsley Harriott is embarking on a brand new cooking challenge for Ainsley’s National Trust Cook Off.
The show will see some of Britain’s most recognisable professional chefs competing head-to-head, as they conjure up mouth-watering dishes using ingredients from the country’s most idyllic National Trust kitchen gardens.
Ainsley Harriott:
“I love a new challenge and Ainsley’s National Trust Cook Off is just that – a fun cooking competition featuring some of the country’s top chefs, all set in the stunningly beautiful surroundings of amazing National Trust estates. The gorgeous scenery, the very freshest ingredients and some fantastic new recipes will be coming together to show off our countryside at its beautiful best.”
Hosted by Ainsley Harriott (Ready Steady Cook, Good Morning with Anne and Nick) and made by Plimsoll Productions, the ten-part alfresco cooking series will begin filming at Blickling Estate in Aylsham, Norfolk, from Monday 14th August 2023. Set against stunning scenery, filming will also take place at Tyntesfield in Wraxall, North Somerset and Wimpole Estate in Arrington, Cambridgeshire.
In each hour-long episode, host Ainsley will be joined by two different celebrity chefs in his outdoor kitchen. Each chef will be challenged with cooking a dish inspired by their beautiful garden surroundings and including ingredients plucked straight from the grounds.
Volunteers and gardeners at each National Trust estate will judge the first two savoury dishes, picking the one they most enjoyed, and then it’s down to Ainsley to reveal the dessert ingredients, with both chefs tasked with pitching an inspired new recipe. Ainsley will then pick a favourite who will have the honour of making the final dish.
Lara Akeju, Commissioning Editor for ITV Entertainment:
“Ainsley is a national treasure and joining him and his top chef friends in some of Britain’s most inspiring gardens will be a treat for our food-lovers who will discover loads of new ways to cook seasonally and locally grown ingredients.”
