Paul and Nick’s Big Food Trip returns for second series
Date Posted: September 5, 2013
Celebrity chefs Paul Rankin and Nick Nairn have returned for a new series of the maritime cooking adventure, Paul and Nick’s Big Food Trip. Mondays at 8pm on UTV.
The eight-part series, sees Paul and Nick sail into ports along the Ulster and Scottish coastlines to face the culinary challenge of creating, preparing and serving delicious three course meals along the route. The best friends use their combined knowledge of food to source the best local produce at each destination and develop new tasty recipes.
Paul Rankin said: “What a pleasure it was to go on a food trip with my best buddy Nick- sailing, sharing and discovering our homelands. I even get the opportunity to visit my hometown of Ballywalter in County Down, where we use wood pigeon and Portavogie fish to create an impressive home-grown menu. The food, the scenery, the ‘craic’ – it’s all spectacular. And Nick, well he’s just Nick…a grumpy Scotsman!”
Nick Nairn said: “Every dish we make has a real Ulster-Scots link, which is especially true for the mutton added to the menu during our trip to Tarbert in the first programme and scotch eggs made in Campbeltown. This is the type of food viewers of the Big Food Trip will be familiar with.”
Michael Wilson, Managing Director, UTV Television said: “The first series proved hugely popular with our viewers, attracting audiences in excess of 150,000 per programme, outperforming the ITV network average. When it comes to local programmes, we are always keen to give our viewers what they want and I’m sure the new series will deliver another fantastic culinary experience for local viewers.”
David Cumming, Executive Producer, Waddell Media said: “I was thrilled to work with Paul and Nick again on this series as their passion for food and genuine chemistry makes it a fantastic experience to be a part of. This year the programme will be simulcast with STV, meaning viewers from Northern Ireland and Scotland will be able to watch Paul and Nick’s journey at the same time. I would like to thank UTV and STV for their positive support and enthusiasm for the show.”
The series has received funding from Northern Ireland Screen’s Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund. Chief Executive, Richard Williams said: “With Paul and Nick’s Big Food Trip grabbing such a great audience for the first series, the Ulster-Scots Broadcast Fund was keen to back it a second time. This culinary series offers the opportunity to focus on the close links between Scotland and Northern Ireland in a fun and gentle way that appeals to a very wide audience.”
