This Fall, W Network Launches All-New Food Block with Pressure Cooker and Million Dollar Critic Featuring World-Renowned Outspoken Restaurant Critic, Giles Coren

• Pressure Cooker, featuring Giles Coren as tasting expert and host Anne-Marie Withenshaw, challenges home cooks to race against the clock for a grand prize of one year's worth of groceries
• Giles Coren, the Million Dollar Critic, reviews food hotspots across North America, and meets with Mayor Rob Ford in the first episode to discuss Toronto's Best Hot Dog
• W Network's food block premieres with Pressure Cooker and Million Dollar Critic back-to-back on Tuesday, October 7 at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET/PT

TORONTO, September 2, 2014 /CNW/ - This fall, Tuesday's get hot in the kitchen as W Network launches a new food programming block with the premiere of two new original series, Pressure Cooker, a primetime culinary competition show, and Million Dollar Critic, a critique of North America's most enticing and interesting restaurants. The two series premiere back-to-back on Tuesday, October 7, with Pressure Cooker airing at 9 p.m. ET and Million Dollar Critic airing at 10 p.m. ET on W Network.

Pressure Cooker (10x60) illustrates the real-life pressures of cooking at home when time is tight and ingredients are scarce, pitting skilled home cooks against the clock – and each other. Million Dollar Critic (6x60) takes U.K. based restaurant critic Giles Coren to cities across North America to review up-and-coming or authentic food establishments to determine which will receive his million-dollar review. To view a sneak peek of Pressure Cooker click here. To view a sneak peek of Million Dollar Critic click here.

Million Dollar Critic and Pressure Cooker are part of a new food programming block on W Network
To download hi-res photos, click here.

"Everyone loves food, from cooking in to dining out, and W Network's two new series give our audiences the best of both worlds," said John MacDonald, Vice President, Head of Women's and Family Television, Corus Entertainment. "The series are connected by foodie extraordinaire, Giles Coren, known in the U.K. for his outspoken opinions and spot-on reviews of restaurants and chefs. We are excited to introduce Canadian audiences to this food superstar."

Pressure Cooker features Giles Coren (The F-Word, Million Dollar Critic), as the tasting expert alongside host Anne-Marie Withenshaw; an award-winning entertainment and live event TV personality. Each episode features four competitors vying for one of the largest weekly grand prizes in Canadian television - one year's worth of fresh groceries from Walmart SuperCentres. Each week two celebrity guest chefs who will serve as coaches for the competitors as they show how creative you can be with the same ingredients. Guest chefs include: Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes, Iron Chef America), Hugh Acheson (Top Chef), Rocco DiSpirito (Top Chef), Stefano Faita (In The Kitchen With Stefano Faita), Alex Guarnaschelli (Chopped, Iron Chef America), Rodney Bowers (chef and owner, Hey Meatball!), Graham Elliot (Masterchef judge), Nadia Giosia (Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen), Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Iron Chef America), Eric Greenspan (The Next Iron Chef) and DJ BBQ (YouTube star on Jamie Oliver's Food Tube).
 
On Pressure Cooker, home cooks are faced with the eternal dilemma – what do you cook when you have only a few random ingredients in the kitchen and not a lot of time to prepare them? In each episode, guest celebrity chefs are paired with skilled home cooks in a culinary contest combining great cooking and mischievous game show mechanics with a twist – home cooks must select their ingredients from a specially designed conveyor belt that kicks in at timed intervals, and whatever they choose, they must use. Pressure Cooker is produced by Bristow Global Media, in association with W Network and is based on an original concept created by Jamie Oliver's Fresh One Productions.

Lead broadcast and grocery sponsor Walmart Canada provides food staples in the Great Value branded pantry as well as the fresh food on the Pressure Cooker conveyor belt. Canadians can find fresh and accessible meal ideas from Pressure Cooker at Walmart.ca/recipes to use in their own kitchens. ESKA Natural Spring Water has also signed on as the official water supplier for the season.

Million Dollar Critic also stars Giles Coren, the bitingly funny and controversial restaurant critic of one of the U.K.'s best-selling newspapers, The Times. His good opinion can bring as much as a million dollars of profit to those restaurants graced with his words of approval. He cannot be bought. He cannot be invited. If your place is good, then you hope he shows up. And if it is bad, then you better hope he doesn't. And now he's coming to North America. Giles doesn't care about reputations. He isn't interested in fancy or flashy or famous. He is simply looking for a place that offers him a drink when he sits down, that serves him a dish filled with love, and doesn't play the music so loudly that he can't have a proper conversation with his dinner companion. He'll take everything the restaurants throw at him and throw it right back. And so, with his trusty researcher by his side helping him navigate this strange and tasty new world, Giles traverses cities and towns across Canada and the U.S., discovering the newest, freshest, and most authentic dining experiences. In each town, Giles visits five restaurants and grants one a million dollar review that could change the owner's life forever. His reviews will also appear on Huffingtonpost.com and Wnetwork.com. Million Dollar Critic is produced by Temple Street Production and BBC America, in association with W Network, and will be distributed by BBC Worldwide.

In episode one of Million Dollar Critic, premiering Tuesday, October 7 at 10 p.m. ET/PT, restaurant critic and man of the world Giles Coren admits he knows very little about Toronto and its rapidly growing food scene, so he makes it the first stop on the Million Dollar Critic discovery tour of North America. Giles kicks off his visit to Toronto in the Yorkville neighbourhood, with an inaugural Canadian dinner at one of the last bastions of 1990s culinary hype, Opus. Next, it's an urban culture shock as Giles lunches at hugely popular Indo-Pakistani buffet, Mr. Butt's King Place. Later, the rural-boys-turned hipsters of Small Town Food Co. fancy their chances with Giles and special guest, Robin Doolittle, journalist, author and vegetarian. The grass roots discovery of Toronto continues at the famous Kensington Market Mexican food stall turned resto, Agave y Aguacate. Later, in need of an infusion of energy, Giles heads to The Atlantic for his farewell dinner. Will he be surprised at the skill and attitudes of Toronto chefs? Will an encounter with controversial mayor, Rob Ford put Giles off his food (and the city) for good? Which restaurant will win Giles' million dollar review?

For more information on these series, please visit wnetwork.com.

Social Media Links:
@w_network
@PressureCookrCA  
#PressureCooker
#MillionDollarCritic

About W Network
W Network is the leading destination for Canadian women offering a range of compelling entertainment ranging from original programming to lifestyle series, blockbuster movies and popular dramas. Award-winning WNetwork.com offers an appealing second-screen experience with in depth show information featuring articles, videos, photo galleries, recipes and resource guides. With its extensive research capabilities and consumer insights, W Network is recognized as a leading expert in marketing to women. W Network is owned by Canadian-based media and entertainment company Corus Entertainment. For more information, visit WNetwork.com and corusent.com.

About Bristow Global Media Inc. (BGM)
Bristow Global Media Inc. (BGM) is a Toronto based content creation company, specializing in creating multiplatform content across all genres including scripted, lifestyle, reality, documentary and sports. The company was launched in 2013 by leading broadcast executive and producer Julie Bristow, whose 20 year career at the CBC included the creation of award winning entertainment divisions, the launch of national digital media platforms and the stewardship of iconic sports brands. BGM is partnered with media companies GroupM Entertainment and Jamie Oliver's Fresh One Productions in the UK for content development. BGM holds Canadian format rights to factual series Hidden Talent owned by American Express and Silver River Productions and Miss Country Girl from Media Factory as well as North American rights to Letters To The President from Daniel Bertin and Small World IFT. In addition, BGM has recently acquired Canadian format rights for factual series' Mob Wives from Electus International and You, Me and My Ex created by Buzz Productions and distributed by Armoza Formats.

About Temple Street Productions
Temple Street Productions is a leading producer of television, film and digital media content based in Toronto and Los Angeles. A selection of Temple Street's past and present projects include ORPHAN BLACK (BBC America, Space), BEING ERICA (CBC, SOAPnet), THE NEXT STEP (Family Channel), WINGIN' IT (Family Channel), COOK'D (YTV), OVER THE RAINBOW (CBC), RECIPE TO RICHES (CBC), COVER ME CANADA (CBC), BILLABLE HOURS (Global, Showcase), CANADA'S NEXT TOP MODEL (CTV), HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARIA? (CBC), QUEER AS FOLK (Showtime, Showcase), and DARCY'S WILD LIFE (NBC, Discovery Kids, Family Channel).

Corus PR on Twitter @CorusPR
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SOURCE: Corus Entertainment Inc.

Danielle Sefton, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6094, [email protected]; Cristina Mancini, Corus Entertainment, 416.479.6334, [email protected]; Brittany Tan, Pressure Cooker Unit Publicist, Deb McCain Communications, 647.349.2899, [email protected]; Daniela Ponce, Million Dollar Critic Unit Publicist, GAT PR, 647.239.3034, [email protected]