Granada America to Produce New Cooking Series for NBC

LONDON, March 18: Granada
America is working on The Chopping
Block, an original culinary competition series for NBC
that is hosted by British Michelin-starred chef Marco Pierre White.

The
new series will see eight couples of novice chefs and restaurateurs compete for
the chance to open their own Manhattan restaurant. The couples are split into
two teams of four couples each—to two empty restaurant spaces,
side-by-side, in the middle of Manhattan. There, they are afforded less than a
week to accomplish a multitude of tasks, including a design and makeover of the
space, planning a menu and generating buzz-worthy publicity to ensure a crowd.
Both establishments will open simultaneously and will be competing for the same
customers each night.

A
panel of judges will be assigned to observe the two teams on opening night. The
next morning, White will return with the reviews, with the worst-performing
restaurant’s operators to plead their case, as one couple will be eliminated.

Subsequent episodes will
test the remaining contestants on their restaurant and culinary skills, such as
concocting a signature dish, preparing freshly-killed game and handling a
wedding reception, among others. One couple per week will be asked to turn in
their aprons and go home. The finale will see one couple end up with the
opportunity to open a chic Manhattan restaurant.

White previously starred
in the third season of another culinary competition series, Hell’s Kitchen, produced by ITV Productions. The Chopping
Block is produced by Granada
America. David Barbour and Julian Cress are the executive producers of the
series.

“America
loves to eat and cooking shows are all the rage, but this show takes it to a
whole new level with the dynamic Marco Pierre White,” said Craig
Plestis, the executive VP of alternative programming, development and
specials at NBC Entertainment. “Everyone flirts with the idea of what it would
be like to own their own restaurant. Our series will expose all of the unseen
pitfalls, the behind-the-scenes madness and utter exhaustion that accompany the
passion, art and business of a new restaurant. In the end, one couple will be totally thrilled—but
their real challenge will have just begun.”

Dawn Airey, ITV’s managing
director of Global Content, added, “We are delighted to be partnering with NBC
on this dynamic new series. This is a perfect example of how a global content
business should work. We have married some outstanding U.K. talent, nurtured by
Natalka Znak of ITV Productions in [the] U.K. and our own network, with an
original format created by David Barbour and Julian Cress of our Los
Angeles-based office, Granada America, to create what I am sure will be a
globally successful format.”

Paul Buccieri, the
president and CEO of Granada America, added, ”[The] Chopping Block represents
the type of break-through television that will appeal to viewers across all
demographics and we look forward to a long-running and successful franchise

—By Irene Lew