''Ready... Set... Cook!'' is a cooking

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

that debuted on the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

in the United States on October 2, 1995. The show's format was based upon the British series ''

Ready Steady Cook ''Ready Steady Cook'' is a BBC daytime TV cooking game show. It debuted on 24 October 1994 and the last original edition was broadcast on 2 February 2010. The programme was hosted by Fern Britton from 1994 until 2000 when celebrity chef Ainsley ...

'', and originally hosted by television personality

Robin Young use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , nationality = American , alma_mater = Ithaca College , occupation = Radio h ...

Hosts

Young hosted through September 27, 1996. The following Monday, she was replaced by another TV personality,

Sissy Biggers Martha "Sissy" Cargill Biggers (born Martha Lyons Cargill on July 3, 1957) is an American television personality and lifestyle expert. She has hosted the Food Network's '' Ready.. Set... Cook!'' and Lifetime's ''Biggers & Summers'' and ''Live f ...

. In 2000, Biggers was replaced by British ''Ready Steady Cook'' presenter

Ainsley Harriott Ainsley Denzil Dubriel Harriott (born 28 February 1957) is an English chef and television presenter. He is known for his BBC cooking game shows '' Can't Cook, Won't Cook'' and ''Ready Steady Cook''. Early life Harriott was born in Paddingt ...

Gameplay

Two well-known chefs (usually representing their restaurants) along with two members of the studio audience (one per chef) competed as teams to prepare the best meal. One was called "Red Tomatoes", the other "Green Peppers". The contestants were then each given $10.00 to spend on whatever they wanted for the chefs to prepare for a meal. The teams were given 20 minutes (later reduced to 18 minutes) to make a meal using the ingredients they had and the usual items found in a kitchen pantry. The host would meanwhile move back and forth between the teams to ask questions about the meals being produced. When time ran out, each team explained the dish they had prepared, after which the audience would vote by holding cards (one per audience member, a tomato on one side and a green pepper on the other) to show which team's meal they liked best.Salkin, Allen. ''From Scratch: The Uncensored History of the Food Network'', New York: Penguin, 153-154. The team with the higher number of votes won the game, with both contestants winning kitchen appliances and/or cookware.

References

External links

* 1990s American cooking television series 2000s American cooking television series 1990s American game shows 2000s American game shows Food Network original programming Cooking competitions in the United States American television series based on British television series 1995 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub