Gordon Ramsay's F Word returns to Channel 4 this autumn with an exciting new mission: the nationwide search for The F Word's Best Local Restaurant
The new series will celebrate the very best of Britain’s independent local restaurants with the help of nominations from thousands of restaurant goers across the country.
18 fantastic restaurants in 9 different categories (Italian, Indian, French, Chinese, Spanish, Thai, The Americas, British, Rest of the World) have made it into the series. Each week, the top two will face the challenge of cooking with Gordon in the F Word restaurant for 50 paying diners. The best restaurants will compete for a place in the grand final, with the winning restaurant being crowned The F Word's Best Local Restaurant 2010.
In 'Janet’s Mixed Grill', culinary cruise missile Janet Street-Porter attempts to rear not one but three different meats to be cooked and served in The F Word restaurant in the series finale, as well as providing vegetables from her organic garden.
The much-loved recipe challenge will also make a return as each week Gordon challenges a celebrity to match him in the kitchen, preparing recipes of their choice that are then judged by a panel of blind tasters. And a new strand will see Gordon go on spectacular missions in search of the world's best ingredients.
Gordon Ramsay said: "For me this will be the most important series, because we're looking for Britain's Best Local Restaurant. It's about discovering talent that we, as a nation, didn't quite realise we had.
The last year has been a horrific time for the industry across the board. When you look how many restaurants have been closing in the past 18 months on the back of this recession, it's a great shame. So we're trying to discover the best local talent, and bring it into the F Word kitchen, where they'll go up against each other. This isn't about the top, fancy restaurants - these restaurants have to come in under £25 a head.
The biggest surprise has been the response from the public - we asked people to nominate on the Channel 4 website and had 10,000 nominations for 4,500 restaurants. The response has been phenomenal. It's incredibly positive. Narrowing them down and putting them up against each other has been a tough call, because the talents has been so overwhelming.
We've discovered some real hidden gems. We put a great F Word panel together to judge it. It consisted of one of the most articulate palates in the country - Jean Baptiste, who grew up in restaurants. Janet Street-Pensioner, as you know, in her 64th year, so she's been taking advantage of her free bus pass by going round and looking at these restaurants incognito. And I've spent the last month travelling round the country eating up to five meals a day, nipping in, having a course, nipping out. And listening to the customers."
The first programme sees two Italian restaurants go head to. Both face one of the biggest challenges of their lives as they prepare a three course meal under Gordon’s watchful eye – but who will be good enough to wow the F Word diners and go on to fight for the title of The F Word's Best Local Restaurant?
Curry is one of Britain's favourite dishes so the pressure really is on. Both Indian restaurants competing this week go head to head over curry and samosas, while Gordon battles it out with funny man Lenny Henry in a celebrity soup cook-off.
Out of nearly 2,000 nominations for your favourite French restaurants, the competition has been whittled down to the final two: The French Table and The Bouchon Bistrot. Both restaurants cook foie gras for starters - one of Gordon's favourites - whilst Gordon himself heads to France in search of the perfect croissant.
Chopsticks are drawn on the F Word as Gordon hunts for the best local Chinese restaurant. And it's a show first as the macho chef heads up an all woman kitchen. Jian Wang from Edinburgh-based Chop Chop is a doyen of the dumpling with over 60 different types on her restaurant menu - and she's up against Manchester twins, Lisa and Helen Tse, from Sweet Mandarin.
In the fifth episode, viewers can watch two top Thai restaurants battle it out in the famous F Word kitchen, where 50 diners will decide if they are going to pay for the three dishes each restaurant prepares.
Tuesdays, throughout November and December on Channel 4
Please note: All the F Word shows in this series have been fully booked, but please keep an eye on the F Word website for details of how to get a seat for the next series when it is announced. In the meantime, all the restaurants in the series would be delighted if you go and book a table with them.
Get the best F Word recipes from past shows
Browse all Gordon Ramsay's recipes
Catch up on past F Word series
Post your favourite local restaurants on the F Word map
Watch past series of The F Word and Kitchen Nightmares for FREE on your PC with 4oD
Watch episodes from The F Word again by downloading them from iTunes
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