Pete Evans, Manu Feildel to Host My Kitchen Rules on TVNZ

SYDNEY/AUCKLAND: Television New Zealand (TVNZ) has commissioned Seven to produce a new season of My Kitchen Rules NZ, hosted by celebrity chefs Pete Evans and Manu Feildel.

My Kitchen Rules NZ will be produced by Seven Productions New Zealand and will return to TVNZ 2 next year. Evans and Feildel, hosts of the Australian version of the show, are on board.

My Kitchen Rules is created, developed and produced by Seven Productions and has been a hit in Oz for the past five years. Seven previously inked deals to create and produce the format for FOX in the U.S. and Channel 4 in the U.K. There are also local versions of the show in Serbia, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, Canada, Norway and Lithuania. The Australian version of My Kitchen Rules is seen in more than 150 territories around the world.

Tim Worner, the CEO and managing director of Seven West Media, said: “We are very excited with this latest development for My Kitchen Rules. We are also delighted about our expanding presence in international markets. We are making significant progress with Seven Productions along with our two joint-venture businesses—7 Wonder and 7 Beyond—and our strategic investment in Slim Film + Television in securing significant commissions. There is an increasing international demand for our ideas, and our owned and created content and concepts.”

Therese Hegarty, Seven’s director of content distribution and rights, added, “We are now creating more content than at any time in our history. We are expanding our presence in international content production with the formation of new international production companies. The success of these new businesses in garnering key commissions over the past 12 months, and the expanding presence of Seven Productions underline a key part of our strategy for today and in the future: the expansion of our leadership in the production of content.”

Evans commented: “I love New Zealand—there are so many beautiful places to visit, and so much local produce and flavors to cook with. I look forward to seeing what the Kiwis can cook up for Manu and me!”

Manu added: “I’ll be looking for some great Kiwi flavors and seeing what this country’s home cooks have to offer. I haven’t spent a lot of time in New Zealand personally, so it’ll be great to get around the country and meet some incredible people and try their food.”

TVNZ’s general manager of commissioning, production and acquisitions, Andrew Shaw, said: “We are teaming up with format owners and producers Seven Productions to turn up the heat on MKR NZ and serve to 2 viewers in 2017.

“We could not be happier to have legends Pete Evans and Manu Feildel joining the series to travel our country and dish up the drama to a bunch of new Kiwi home cooks,” he added.

The format is licensed through Endemol Shine.