ITC Foods launches cookery show with ITC Hotels Chefs on Star TV Network and Hotstar

ITC’s Food Division has launched a 12-episode cookery show ‘5 Star Kitchen ITC Chef’s Special’ on Star TV Network and Hotstar. The first episode went on air on May 23, on 33 channels of Star and in seven different languages — Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bangla and Malayalam.

From the royal kitchens of Rajasthan, the dessert capital of Kolkata to the soothing flavours of Oriental cuisine, each episode will spell the magic of rich traditional and contemporary food landscape in India using some of the ingredients from the food portfolio of ITC Foods such as Aashirvaad, YiPPee!, Sunfeast, B Natural.

Each episode will feature a guest chef who will share the screen with ITC Hotels’ Chef and journalist-turned-anchor Dheeraj Juneja who gives an interesting spin to the conversation as he interacts with the chefs about food preferences and influence of Indian culture across cuisines. 

The promo:

From the delectable traditional fare like Rajasthani Bafla Bati, Konkani Dodak Dosa, Bengali Chanar Payesh, Potoler Dorma to unconventional creations like Aashirvaad Multi Millet Pizza, YiPPee Tricolor pasta masala with summer amaranth and King oyster mushroom, Mad Angles Nacho with Salsa and Mango Dip, B-natural Aam papad and gur kulfi candy or a Dark Fantasy Shake to satiate a sweet craving, the 12 ITC Hotel Chefs are all set to showcase the rich culinary heritage of our country.

As per the latest BARC data, India has witnessed a surge in television viewership by 24% when compared to pre-Covid period despite unavailability of fresh content. Further, restrictions in movement, consumer doubts about quality of food hygiene paired with an innate desire to learn cooking witnessed overall recipe related searches grow by 20% on YouTube as per Google Trends data. This insight gave both the companies an opportunity to co-create fresh content for consumers, which was relevant and meaningful in the present times.

Talking about the initiative, ITC Hotels Spokesperson said, “The concept of this show is aligned with the Responsible Luxury ethos of presenting the culture and tradition of a destination through easy culinary interpretations by our renowned chefs. Food Is a Universal language that each of us across the globe relates to. This knowledge sharing is our humble effort to reach out to those who are staying at home and seek different recipes they can cook to bring some joy in the lives of their near and dear ones”

Elaborating on the initiative, the ITC Foods spokesperson, said, “In the current times when people are spending more time than ever on television and seeking newer content every day, we thought it relevant for us to turntables and participate in creating fresh and relevant content for them. Individuals across the world are pivoting from dine-ins to home-made food and while they make that transition, they are either exploring the chef within, looking to try a new dish or a cuisine or learn a new preparation style. When we decided to create this platform 5 Star Kitchen ITC Chef’s Special, it was to reach every Indian kitchen, share the knowledge and expertise of our chefs and help the audience amp up their dinner table with some time— honoured and contemporary creations.”

“Star Plus has always been a front runner when it comes to entertaining the audience with its definitive content choices. While the channel has ensured to enthral its viewers with a wide array of programmes, slated across all age groups, we are excited about bringing in a new and one-of-its-kind cooking show from ITC Hotels, '5StarKitchen ITC Chef’s Special’. We are sure our viewers will be able to turn their kitchens around into a 5 Star kitchen after watching the show,” said a spokesperson from Star India Network.