Nisha says: “There is a food entrepreneur lurking in many of us. We all have beloved recipes that we would like to see shared across the nation. The series will educate, surprise and inspire us all and I am thrilled to be a part of this celebration of simple British artisan brilliance.”
The new eight part series The Finest In The Deli: Yorkshire’s Choice will give these passionate kitchen table producers an opportunity to showcase their produce to real customers as well as two expert judges as they attempt to convince them that their product is the best and deserves a permanent space on our shelves.
TV chefs to cook for guests at Liverpool Food and Drink Festival
The judges – food writer and restaurateur Nisha Katona and artisan expert Alison Swan Parente, will be assessing whether their creations have what it takes to sustain a profitable business. But crucially, it’s not just the judges the producers have to impress – the local community will be just as important if their product is to be awarded the coveted best in shop title.
At the end of the series, in the eighth and final show, the shop will be filled with the seven winning products from the seven different categories. The judges will ask the locals to help them one last time to decide which producer and product is the best overall.
Tom Kerridge says: “The huge rise in interest around artisan food products in this country has been phenomenal over the past few years. This has led to a great many more amateur food lovers having a go at making goods themselves with some outstanding results. I cannot wait to see the range of artisan products on the shop shelf and seeing if they are well received by the local community!”
Alison Swan Parente, founder of The School of Artisan Food, adds: “Being able to make food from scratch is a useful skill. It helps keeps us in touch with our roots and our environment and it most definitely saves us money and gives us something to be proud of. I am thrilled to be a part of this programme where entrepreneurship and artisan food skills are valued and encouraged.”
Nisha is a British born Indian cook, entrepreneur and author. She is the founder of Mowgli Street Food restaurants which specialises in authentic, healthy Indian home cooking. Her first cookery book Pimp My Rice was published in 2015 and was followed in 2017 by The Spice Tree.
Nisha has also shared her passion for Indian food in a series of YouTube videos. Prior to opening her restaurants Nisha was a practicing barrister. She has appeared on several television programmes including Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch and ITV’s Secret Chef along with a regular slot on Lorraine.
David Brindley, Head of Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment says: “We’re thrilled to be heading up to Yorkshire to see what the country’s most innovative food producers have to offer the local community. In Tom, Nisha and Alison, we’re very excited to have brought together the perfect trio of expertise to guide, judge, console and celebrate with them in equal measure.”
The Finest In The Deli: Yorkshire’s Choice will air in 2018.