Five Commissions New Cooking Show

LONDON: The Cineflix cooking series Family Food Fight with Flora, starring chefs Jean Christophe Novelli and Matt Tebbutt, has been commissioned by Five for a launch in May.

The 6×30-minute series will be ad-funded by Unilever brand Flora, through a deal brokered by Mindshare. The show watches the two chefs pitted against each other with rival families competing to see who can make the healthiest, and tastiest, family meals. The series is shot on location in a specially redesigned London restaurant. Friends and families of the competitors will dine together, alongside other members of the public, and will vote for their favorite meal, which will be served anonymously as for who prepared which.

Five’s head of entertainment, Donna Taberer, said: “Jean Christophe and Matt are ideal sparring partners for this fast-paced food challenge. They are both passionate about good food and their expertise will show viewers how to create their own fabulous meals at home.”

Joe Houlihan, Cineflix’s executive VP of programming, commented: “Cineflix is delighted to be working with such great partners as Five, Mindshare and Unilever. This is a big, exciting series with lots of drama, great cooking and real take-out for ordinary families about how they can give their own mealtimes a healthy makeover. The Flora campaign gives our branded entertainment division a fantastic opportunity to create content that works across multiple platforms, with an exciting TV concept at its center.”

Kate Mitchell, Flora’s brand manager, said: "Our aim is to motivate 11 million people in the U.K. and Ireland to take the Flora Heart Age test by 2020. As such we are very excited to be working with Five to fund the upcoming series. The chefs will be helping to recreate favorite, family recipes, making simple changes to promote a healthier lifestyle. It’s a great way to get expert advice from top chefs on how to cook quick, healthy meals in an affordable way."

Simon Willis, the head of programming for Mindshare, added: “This is part of Mindshare’s continuing strategy to put brands at the heart of TV entertainment. The Family Food Fight with Flora TV show is the center piece of a multiplatform content-driven campaign."