Family Favourites

Nadiya Hussain and Zoe Ball on their fun cookery show for all ages – and why it’s NOT the new Bake Off

- Victoria Wilson

Most of us love to dine out at fancy restaurants from time to time. But nothing beats mum’s homemade shepherd’s pie or grandma’s sticky toffee pudding.

TV Times has come along to a converted barn in Shoreham village, Kent, to watch The Big Family Cooking Showdown filming. Presented by 2015 Bake Off champ Nadiya Hussain and Strictly: It Takes Two host Zoe Ball, the new 12-part series sees 16 very different families battle it out to be crowned the nation’s best family of cooks.

Each week, two families of three will compete in the studio kitchen to impress the judges, renowned chefs Rosemary Shrager and Giorgio Locatelli. The teams will also welcome Nadiya, Zoe, Giorgio and Rosemary into their own homes, where they’ll whip up dishes using their favourite heart-warming feasts.

Here, hosts Nadiya, 32, and Zoe, 46, reveal what tasty treats we can expect on the show…

The Big Family Cooking Showdown will be compared to The Great British Bake Off. Is that a concern?

Zoe: People have been asking, ‘Is this the new Bake Off?’. But, truly speaking, Bake Off is the new Bake Off now! Obviously, people will make the comparison because Nadiya won Bake Off. I love it when our contestants see Nadiya for the first time in our studio because we all share that moment when we all wept when she won.