Exclusive: Heston Blumenthal reveals new show for Channel 4

Heston Blumenthal is making a new show for UK free-to-air broadcaster Channel 4 provisionally called Feed the Five Thousand, the celebrity chef tells TBI.

The show will see Heston bring forgotten eating traditions back to life and embarking on a series of challenges to build epic-sized portions of the favourite foods featured.

The 6x1hr series, plus Christmas special, will be produced by UK indie Betty TV and Blumenthal’s own production company, Snail Porridge Productions.

The series will start shooting at end-April.

“This show is like Heston’s Feasts on steroids,” Blumenthal said. “We’ll be talking about eating rituals that have died. For example, one episode will be about ice cream and we will look at the origins of the ice-cream van and at some iconic brands. There will also be an attempt to make the biggest Cornetto-type ice cream in the world.”

The huge foods created will then be served up to various communities. Blumenthal says: “Unlike ‘Feasts’ where we fed celebrities, this is about communities and the food will be eaten by the people from a village, for example, or a particular group such as the Women’s Institute.”

Blumenthal was speaking to TBI at MIPTV in Cannes where he is promoting his cooking show How to Cook Like Heston. The 6x30mins series, which is produced by Renegade Pictures and aired on Channel 4 in the UK, is distributed by DRG and was launched internationally this week.