Jake PopistEyebrows were raised, and eyes were peeled last year when The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) returned to our screens with a different panel of judges joining the only original judge Paul Hollywood, on a different TV channel but with the same eager-eyed bunch of contestants.
The show serves as one of the most popular cooking shows on our screens and fits into the growing trend of culinary TV that Britain is becoming obsessed with. GBBO is not the only television program that has made its way from our sofas to our sinks and had an influence on our kitchen designs and cooking habits.
GBBO
A live audience of 7.3 million people watched the first finale to have aired on Channel 4 since its move from the BBC with the figure rising to 7.7 million when combined with those watching an hour later on Channel 4+1. The popularity of the show has been maintained since its inception in 2010.
Celebrity MasterChef
The 12th series of the BBC One show presided over by John Torode and Gregg Wallace, scored an average of 4.4 million viewers, a peak of 4.6 million, and a 23% audience share when it aired from 8pm until 9pm on a Wednesday evening in August 2017. This is more than one million up from last year’s ratings, which opened with an average of 3.3 million viewers in June 2016.
The show is a celebrity spin-off of the original MasterChef series, which returned to our screens last month with a brand new bunch of amateur cooks looking to win the MasterChef title awarded by John and Gregg, which is celebrating its 14th series. The original proves to be just as popular as its celebrity installment, reaching over 4.2 million viewers on BBC One.
Saturday Kitchen
Saturday Kitchen has graced our screens for 12 years now. With the help of two celebrity chefs, James Martin delivered dishes each week for us to ogle at or attempt to recreate at home. The departure of James didn’t curb the viewers from returning to watch Saturday Kitchen in 2017, but the numbers did take an initial nosedive. Following James Martin’s departure, the producers of Saturday Kitchen appointed Matt Tebbutt as the new regular host, with average weekly ratings hitting around one million viewers.
Come Dine With Me
Established in 2005, Come Dine With Me is an old member of the cooking TV program list and has since been transported and digested by many foreign audiences: Come Dine With Me Australia, Canada, and Spain to name a few. With celebrity charity spin-offs in circulation as well as a couples spin-off, Brits can’t get enough of Come Dine With Me. It’s hard to estimate ratings for the popular show with many episodes circulating on repeat every week on Channel 4’s daytime TV schedule.
Nigella: At My Table
BBC Two brought Nigella back to our screens with a pre-Christmas cheer and tips to perfecting relaxed entertaining throughout the festive season. From an old-fashioned waffle grill to an expensive food processor and spice larder, Nigella’s choice of appliances and utensils fit the bill when thinking about our latest wants and needs for our kitchen. Making it onto Britain’s favorite Gogglebox too, viewers are obsessed with Nigella, and so are our favorite celebrities, including Freddie Flintoff and Jamie Redknapp. The series in 2017 averaged around 1.8 million viewers.
Britain’s Best Cook
Mary Berry joins Dan Doherty, Claudia Winkleman, and Chris Bavin to star in the BBC’s latest cookery program for 2018 where ten contestants battle it out for the acclaimed title of Britain’s Best Cook. Whilst the original air date is still yet to be announced, it is expected that the show will experience the same success as others in the cookery TV genre, especially with TV favorite Mary Berry.
Whether it be something as small as open shelving to display cookbooks of our glorified chefs, or an industrial-size fridge freezer, the cooking programs, and their stars have started to creep into modern kitchen designs.
Nigella’s bespoke spice larder is something not everyone will have space for, but the more general pantry larder certainly can be incorporated into your kitchen design. Store away dried ingredients and appliances so that your worktops are clear for a sleek aesthetic. Breakfast dressers are also a popular storage addition to a bespoke kitchen and brilliant for those looking for a more traditional look.
MasterChef’s industrial design is a trend that has been picked up not only by interior designers embracing exposed brick walls and glints of metal accessories but by kitchen designers whose clients opt for stainless steel American fridge-freezers and large extractor fans that act as center pieces to the room.
Adding a touch of luxury has also seen an upward trajectory. The growth in demand for hot water taps and the improvement of technology on such a small-time scale lends itself to the idea that the product could soon be accessible to the mass market. Another product that is moving into the kitchen is the wine chiller. This has become a common favorite for wine drinkers and those who want to design a kitchen that is perfect for hosting dinner parties and occasions. The wine chiller or a larger fridge-freezer serves as the perfect assistant to the host in an entertainer’s kitchen.
Bringing the outside in has also grown as a feature in our kitchens. Welcomed by those with green thumbs, herb gardens or general indoor plants in the kitchen add a fresh hint of spring into our homes and allow us to pinch and add whatever herb we need to create our favorite dishes.
Not forgetting the retro trend perhaps inspired by the 1950s and 60s style on GBBO. Our love for vintage and reclaimed trends has made its way into our kitchens.
Jake Popist
