Ready, Steady, Cook
| Ready Steady Cook | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Cooking show |
| Presented by |
Fern Britton (1994–2000) Ainsley Harriott (2000–2010) |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 21 (Original series) 9 (Celebrity series) |
| No. of episodes | 1735 (Original series) 102 (Celebrity series) 22 (specials) 1859 (total) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes (1994–2000) 45 minutes (2000–2010) |
| Production company(s) | Bazal Productions |
| Distributor | Endemol UK |
| Release | |
| Original network |
BBC Two (Original series) BBC One (Celebrity series) |
| Picture format |
4:3 (1994–2000) 16:9 (2001–2010) |
| Original release |
Original series: 24 October 1994 – 2 February 2010 Celebrity series: 11 July 1997 – 3 January 2003 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows |
MasterChef (1990–2001, 2005–present) |
Ready Steady Cook was a BBC daytime TV cooking programme; it debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott became the new host. In August 2000, when Harriott took over, the duration of the programme was extended from 30 to 45 minutes.
The programme was originally recorded in the small (and now closed) Fountain TV studios in New Malden; it then moved to the Capital Studios in Wandsworth. After Capital Studios closed down in mid-2008, recording was moved to Studio TC2 in the BBC Television Centre, London.
In the CBBC show Horrible Histories, during Series 1 and 2, a parody of the show called Ready Steady Feast was one of the sketches. It featured different historical characters bringing in aids from their historical era.
Two members of the public provided two celebrity chefs with a bag of ingredients they had bought, usually to a set budget of £5. The two teams were designated "red tomato" and "green pepper" (referred to as "red kitchen" and "green kitchen" after the August 2007 revamp, though the tomato and pepper motifs still featured on the guests' aprons and in the show's logo). Occasionally, the permitted budget was increased: a so-called Bistro Bag allowed for ingredients of up to £7.50, while the Gourmet Bag could have a value of up to £10. On some occasions, they used a £3.50 Budget Bag. Also on a few shows, a Lucky Dip Bag was used, which contained ten items. The chef closed his or her eyes and picked out half of the items at the beginning. At the halfway mark, the chef randomly picked a sixth item, which might have helped or hindered the chef. The chefs had no prior knowledge of the ingredients they had to prepare. Another format was used on occasion in which both kitchens were given the same ingredients, and the toss of a red and green die determined who had first pick.
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