Channel 4 is launching new cookery show 'Beat The Chef'.
Gregg Wallace
The programme, hosted by Andi Oliver, will allow budding cooks to compete for a £10,000 prize pot in a series of kitchen challenges, and is said to be similar to the BBC's 'MasterChef' - which is fronted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode - but with a "twist".
A show insider told The Sun's Bizarre TV column: "Those 'Bake Off' fans who are waiting for the next series to start on Channel 4 will be served up 'Beat The Chef' in the new year.
"It's being billed as 'MasterChef' with a game show twist, where amateur cooks try to win challenges against the professionals for a jackpot prize.
"It's going to be really fast-paced, and with a lot of money and reputations on the line, that's definitely going to add to the drama of it.
"It's much like the original version of daytime classic 'Ready Steady Cook' hosted by Ainsley Harriott, so it's a formula which works and producers hope will be a slice of TV gold."
The four house chefs to beat include Michelin-starred Mark Sargeant, celebrity chef Clodagh McKenna, award-winning cook James Tanner and Frederick Forster.
James, who used to be a regular on 'Ready Steady Cook', is best known for co-owning the Tanners Restaurant in Plymouth and cooking on various television programmes.
The new series, which will be given a prime-time evening slot, is based on the hugely-popular 90s Japanese show 'Iron Chef', which aired for more than a decade.
In 'Iron Chef', Japanese contestants were challenged to a 25-minute cook against a star chef using different and unusual ingredients.
Host Andi - who is mother of presenter Miquita Oliver - used to co-present the Channel 4 show 'Baadasss TV' alongside Ice-T and also frequently appears on the BBC's annual coverage of Glastonbury Festival.
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