From a media release:
This fall, Tuesdays get hot in the kitchen as W Network launches a new food programming block with the premiere of two new original series, Pressure Cooker, a primetime culinary competition show, and Million Dollar Critic, a critique of North America’s most enticing and interesting restaurants. The two series premiere back-to-back on Tuesday, October 7, with Pressure Cooker airing at 9 p.m. ET and Million Dollar Critic airing at 10 p.m. ET on W Network.
Pressure Cooker (10×60) illustrates the real-life pressures of cooking at home when time is tight and ingredients are scarce, pitting skilled home cooks against the clock – and each other. Million Dollar Critic (6×60) takes U.K. based restaurant critic Giles Coren to cities across North America to review up-and-coming or authentic food establishments to determine which will receive his million-dollar review.
“Everyone loves food, from cooking in to dining out, and W Network’s two new series give our audiences the best of both worlds,” said John MacDonald, Vice President, Head of Women’s and Family Television, Corus Entertainment. “The series are connected by foodie extraordinaire, Giles Coren, known in the U.K. for his outspoken opinions and spot-on reviews of restaurants and chefs. We are excited to introduce Canadian audiences to this food superstar.”
Pressure Cooker features Giles Coren (The F-Word, Million Dollar Critic), as the tasting expert alongside host Anne-Marie Withenshaw; an award-winning entertainment and live event TV personality. Each episode features four competitors vying for one of the largest weekly grand prizes in Canadian television – one year’s worth of fresh groceries from Walmart SuperCentres. Each week two celebrity guest chefs who will serve as coaches for the competitors as they show how creative you can be with the same ingredients. Guest chefs include: Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes, Iron Chef America), Hugh Acheson (Top Chef), Rocco DiSpirito (Top Chef), Stefano Faita (In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita), Alex Guarnaschelli (Chopped, Iron Chef America), Rodney Bowers (chef and owner, Hey Meatball!), Graham Elliot (Masterchef judge), Nadia Giosia (Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen), Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Iron Chef America), Eric Greenspan (The Next Iron Chef) and DJ BBQ (YouTube star on Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube).
On Pressure Cooker, home cooks are faced with the eternal dilemma – what do you cook when you have only a few random ingredients in the kitchen and not a lot of time to prepare them? In each episode, guest celebrity chefs are paired with skilled home cooks in a culinary contest combining great cooking and mischievous game show mechanics with a twist – home cooks must select their ingredients from a specially designed conveyor belt that kicks in at timed intervals, and whatever they choose, they must use. Pressure Cooker is produced by Bristow Global Media, in association with W Network and is based on an original concept created by Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Productions.
Lead broadcast and grocery sponsor Walmart Canada provides food staples in the Great Value branded pantry as well as the fresh food on the Pressure Cooker conveyor belt. Canadians can find fresh and accessible meal ideas from Pressure Cooker at Walmart.ca/recipes to use in their own kitchens. ESKA Natural Spring Water has also signed on as the official water supplier for the season.
Million Dollar Critic also stars Giles Coren, the bitingly funny and controversial restaurant critic of one of the U.K.’s best-selling newspapers, The Times. His good opinion can bring as much as a million dollars of profit to those restaurants graced with his words of approval. He cannot be bought. He cannot be invited. If your place is good, then you hope he shows up. And if it is bad, then you better hope he doesn’t. And now he’s coming to North America. Giles doesn’t care about reputations. He isn’t interested in fancy or flashy or famous. He is simply looking for a place that offers him a drink when he sits down, that serves him a dish filled with love, and doesn’t play the music so loudly that he can’t have a proper conversation with his dinner companion. He’ll take everything the restaurants throw at him and throw it right back. And so, with his trusty researcher by his side helping him navigate this strange and tasty new world, Giles traverses cities and towns across Canada and the U.S., discovering the newest, freshest, and most authentic dining experiences. In each town, Giles visits five restaurants and grants one a million dollar review that could change the owner’s life forever. His reviews will also appear on Huffingtonpost.com and Wnetwork.com. Million Dollar Critic is produced by Temple Street Production and BBC America, in association with W Network, and will be distributed by BBC Worldwide.
