Food Poker
Encyclopedia
Food Poker is a BBC
tea-time television programme which fuses traditional culinary skills with poker
. It is presented by Matt Allwright
and each episode features four chefs.
Once two chefs have been selected by the panel they have 20 minutes to cook their dishes, however they only have 15 minutes during the Sweet Cook-off. This time is very intense and competitive banter between chefs is commonplace. Once the chefs have cooked their dishes they are presented to the seven gourmets who then vote again for their preferred dish (no poker chips are used for this vote). Only the savoury and sweet cook-offs use this format. The showcase cook-off, which automatically features the two winners from the previous two cook-offs, has a different format.
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BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
tea-time television programme which fuses traditional culinary skills with poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
. It is presented by Matt Allwright
Matt Allwright
Matthew Allwright is a British television presenter and journalist who specialises in consumer affairs. He is best known for presenting shows such as Watchdog and Rogue Traders and for being The One Show's consumer advice reporter...
and each episode features four chefs.
Format
The show involves chefs being dealt two food cards and can use up to three ingredients from five more 'shared ingredient' cards. The chefs then decide in secret what dish they will prepare and then choose either to 'pitch' their idea or 'fold', if they don't believe they can cook anything with the available ingredients. Those who pitch their ideas must do so to the Food Poker Panel, which consists of seven food experts. The panel then vote, using poker chips, for the two dishes they wish to see prepared. There are three rounds, the savoury cook-off, the sweet cook-off and the final showcase cook-off.Once two chefs have been selected by the panel they have 20 minutes to cook their dishes, however they only have 15 minutes during the Sweet Cook-off. This time is very intense and competitive banter between chefs is commonplace. Once the chefs have cooked their dishes they are presented to the seven gourmets who then vote again for their preferred dish (no poker chips are used for this vote). Only the savoury and sweet cook-offs use this format. The showcase cook-off, which automatically features the two winners from the previous two cook-offs, has a different format.
The Showcase Cook-off
In this round the finalists are presented with a single card, which all can see: this ingredient must be the central feature of their dishes. They then have a choice from an array of other ingredient cards from a large selection; once a card has been selected it is not available to the other chef. Therefore chefs can both take the ingredients they need and/or steal ingredients which they think will be most valuable to their opponents. They then have 20 minutes to prepare their dishes. The two cooked dishes are then presented to the two losing chefs who then vote for their favourite and ultimately the winner, in the event of a tie the winner is decided by presenter, Matt AllwrightMatt Allwright
Matthew Allwright is a British television presenter and journalist who specialises in consumer affairs. He is best known for presenting shows such as Watchdog and Rogue Traders and for being The One Show's consumer advice reporter...
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Regular Contributing Chefs
- Martin BlunosMartin BlunosMartin Lauris Blunos is a British TV chef. Blunos earned two Michelin Guide stars for each of his two restaurants.-Early life:...
- Gennaro ContaldoGennaro ContaldoGennaro Contaldo, co-owned and was executive chef of the now-closed Passione restaurant, in Charlotte Street, London, UK. Contaldo grew up in the small village of Minori on the Amalfi Coast, developing his love for food from days he spent hunting with his father and grandfather, and collecting...
- Maria Elia
- Lawrence Keogh
- Allegra McEvedy
- Jun Tanaka
- Atul KochharAtul KochharAtul Kochhar is an Indian-born British chef. Born in Jamshedpur in northern India, Kochhar was trained and worked at the Oberoi Hotel in New Delhi.-Biography:In 1994, he was appointed head chef at the Tamarind restaurant, in Mayfair, London...