Jamie Oliver's cooking show axed after just one series after 'stress' confession

03 May 2023 , 09:38
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Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver's cooking show axed after just one series after 'stress' confession

Jamie Oliver 's new show The Great Cookbook Challenge has been axed after just one instalment by Channel 4 bosses.

The cooking show saw 18 chefs battle it out to win a book publishing deal in order to release their own cookbooks and follow in the successful footsteps of Jamie, 47, who is worth an estimated £240million thanks to his cooking shows and recipe books.

Although the ratings for The Great Cookbook Challenge were relatively successful, Channel 4 bosses have decided not to renew the programme for another series, axing it after just one season.

However, Channel 4 bosses are reportedly eager to work with celebrity chef Jamie on a number of other shows having realised that The Great Cookbook Challenge was not a programme they were willing to invest in any longer.

Jamie Oliver's cooking show axed after just one series after 'stress' confession dqxikeidqkikdinvThe Great Cookbook Challenge will not be returning for a second series

"Bosses have decided to leave Great Cookbook Challenge at one series," a source told The Sun.

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"They're proud of the show and will be continuing to work with Jamie on other shows currently in the pipeline."

The show's premise saw 18 chefs pitch their book concepts and signature dishes in the hopes of securing the book publishing deal.

After their pitches, where they had to explain their concepts to a panel of judges, including best-selling author Jamie, the competition then saw the hopefuls cook their creations.

Jamie Oliver's cooking show axed after just one series after 'stress' confessionJamie previously admitted that he was hesitant about these kind of cooking shows (Steve Ryan)

In the end, it was Dominique Woolf who won the first - and now only - series of the show with an array of delicious Asian-inspired recipes.

Dominique's book was released last summer after she won the show.

Jamie - who has made his fortune with cookbooks, cooking shows, cookware and restaurants launched the show in January 2022 but said at the time that he was very hesitant to take part due to the fact that he has little interest in cooking shows such as MasterChef and The Great British Bake Off.

Admitting that he knows lots of people love to view cooking competition shows, Jamie says he finds them 'uneasy' and 'stressful'.

"I know everyone else loves them, but they just make me a bit uneasy, a bit nervous, and it's a bit stressful, and it's not my cup of tea," he told BBC News.

Jamie Oliver's cooking show axed after just one series after 'stress' confessionJamie said he finds cooking shows makes him feel 'uneasy' (Shared Content Unit)

"I'm not judging the shows per se, I know people love them, but it's never really been my bag. So when I was asked to do one myself, my first response wasn't particularly polite.

"But because it's through the lens of publishing and the written word, strangely that did honestly change everything, and as I started to get into it, I was only wanting to do it if the show was more soulful and unexpected and aspirational."

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Jamie has sold 47 million copies of his 26 cookbooks and has also scooped a Bafta, an Emmy and been awarded an MBE since he was spotted as a sous-chef at The River Cafe in 1997.

He was given his own BBC series, The Naked Chef, and the rest is history.

The Mirror have reached out to a Channel 4 spokesperson and Jamie Oliver's representatives for further comment on this story.

Susan Knox

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