David Farnor | On 14, Aug 2018

BBC One’s cookery competition for home cooks, Britain’s Best Home Cook, has been recommissioned for a second season.

The queen of home cookery, Mary Berry, will return with top chef Dan Doherty and produce expert, Chris Bavin, to judge more of the nation’s best home cooks. Claudia Winkleman will also return as presenter as the contestants create dishes celebrating modern British home cooking in all its variety.

Commissioned by Charlotte Moore, Director BBC Content and David Brindley, Head of Commissioning, Popular Factual and Factual Entertainment, the eight-part series will see the cooks showcase recipes that have been passed down through generations and that they share with family and friends every day.

Charlotte Moore says: “It’s a delicious recipe: one Mary Berry, add two judges, ten contestants and then Claudia Winkleman. And it’s exciting to be growing a new cooking show on BBC One; the search for Britain’s Best Home Cook continues.”

“The blend works surprisingly well – we get the suspense of seeing each one race to come up with a recipe (Episode 1: ideal burgers), from the cool-headed Tobi to the scientifically-minded Pippa. In a nice touch, the winner gets to pick a key ingredient for the second challenge, before the bottom chefs from the week try to outdo each other to survive until next episode. With the rest of the gang cheering on from the sidelines, the result whips up the cooking show formula with a nice balance of group flavours, while queen judge Mary Berry is in her element,” we wrote in our review of the first season.

David Brindley says: “This competition truly celebrated what home cooks are creating daily, up and down the country. What we saw in the last series were incredibly passionate cooks who’s influences from their experiences and cultural backgrounds were the basis for a range of recipes that wowed our judges. We’re delighted to be bringing another series back to BBC One.”

The contestants will compete to follow in the footsteps of Oncology Research Biobank Technician, Pippa Middlehurst, who won the competition with a winning menu of Massaman curry with jasmine rice, grilled prawns and a Thai herb salad, followed by a Mary Berry inspired Mango and Raspberry cake. Her dishes were inspired by her grandmother and grandfather who introduced her to Asian cuisine at an early age.

“What made this series so endearing was that the food being made was from the heart,” comments Andrew Palmer, Chief Creative Officer of producers KEO Films.

“Our contestants demonstrated cooking that we haven’t seen in other cookery shows and we are looking forward to seeing what our next home cooks will create.”

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