One of Nottingham's top chefs will be attempting to recreate a fast food favourite - the KFC Zinger Burger - on the television show Snackmasters.
Alex Bond, the chef patron at Michelin-starred Alchemilla, in Derby Road, will go head-to-head with Tom Aikens in the Channel 4 series tonight (April 6), the culinary contest where some of the country's best chefs battle it out to replicate the nation's most popular snacks.
Alex and Aikens, the youngest chef in the UK to receive two Michelin stars, have seven days to capture the essence of the secret recipe.
In the first episode of series three the duo open the iconic Snackmasters' hamper to find KFC’s top-selling Zinger Burger, complete with the Colonel’s famous original recipe chicken and Supercharger mayonnaise.
Alex, who will also be starring in the BBC Two competition Great British Menu later this month, said: "I'm so excited to be involved in Channel 4's Snackmasters this year.
"Creating the ultimate Zinger Burger was a lot trickier than I thought it would be, there were many hours in the kitchen and a lot of Zinger Burgers eaten for research purposes naturally.
"It was a pleasure to 'burger battle' with a Michelin Titan like Tom Aikens. I'm looking forward to seeing it on screen."
Their efforts will be judged by a panel of experts.
“I have not sampled a KFC probably in like 20 years,” Aikens said. “I just wouldn’t buy anything like that; it doesn’t interest me.”
The show, presented by First Dates' host Fred Sirieix, has previously seen culinary giants take on reproducing KitKat, Domino's pizza, Quality Street and Quavers.
Sirieix told RadioTimes.com why he had kicked off the new series with the "really spicy challenge” of a KFC Zinger Burger.
"That’s hard enough because they have to get the texture of the chicken just right and somehow create that zingy flavour and crispy batter… but they also had to replicate the fiery Supercharger Mayo. That’s real hot stuff.
“Then just as they think they may have nailed it – I get naughty – and throw in the Secret Recipe Chicken in a bucket. There are 11 secret herbs and spices in the Colonel’s Original Recipe – no one has ever previously come close to cracking it, but you can never underestimate a Michelin-starred chef.”
Later in the episode, comedian and Snackmasters' co-host Jayde Adams goes behind the scenes at one of KFC’s factories, where she learns how the Zinger spices are made.
See Snackmasters on Tuesday April 6, on Channel 4 at 9.20pm.
