The rebooted version of Ready Steady Cook will be one of the most sustainable food shows on television and will minimise food waste and plastic use and champion recycling, the BBC has said.
The show, which will return in the new year hosted by Rylan Clark-Neal, was presented from 2000 until 2010 by Ainsley Harriott, who replaced Fern Britton, and made history as the longest-running cookery show on British TV screens.
The show previously featured red tomato and green peppers plastic bags, which will now be a thing of the past and be replaced with reusable jute totes.
The show has also pledged to present ingredients on screen in a responsible way by avoiding single-use plastic and instead using glass jars and bottles over plastic alternatives.
It will use separate colour-coded waste bins both on set and backstage, which will be collected by a local recycling firm for anaerobic digestion, where waste is broken down to produce biogas and biofertiliser, and will donate unused fruit and vegetables and non-perishable items to a local food bank.
The show will also source ingredients from local suppliers as much as possible, favouring Fair Trade items over others, and focus on seasonal products to avoid excessive food miles.
Clark-Neal said: “One of the biggest sustainability issues we face is from food and packaging waste, so Ready Steady Cook is being brought bang up to date to play its part in tackling this.
“It’s going to be goodbye plastic bags and hello jute totes when we hit screens in the New Year. I can’t wait to get stuck in!”
Each episode will see two contestants paired up with a chef, going head-to-head in the newly designed Ready Steady Cook kitchen.
Contestants on the cookery show will face new challenges – eating healthily, cooking on a budget and managing food waste – while racing against the clock.
A casting vote on the show’s winner will be left to the audience who will decide on the best dishes using the familiar red tomato and green pepper voting cards.
The new line-up of chefs includes Mike Reid, Romy Gill, Akis Petretzikis, Ellis Barrie and Anna Haugh.
Ready Steady Cook first appeared on TV screens in 1994.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
