BBC Worldwide has acquired format rights and the finished Canadian version of Pressure Cooker, a cooking competition series and the first fruit from the creative partnership between Bristow Global Media (BGM) and Fresh One Productions, for international distribution.

In the 10 x 60-minute series, which bowed on Oct. 7 on Corus Entertainment’s W Network, celebrity chefs are paired with home cooks in a competition that only allows them to use random ingredients delivered via a specially designed conveyor belt that moves at various intervals throughout the show.

The series is the first to be announced from the strategic creative partnership between Toronto-based BGM and U.K.-based Fresh One Productions, which sees the two companies working together to co-develop new formats tailored for a Canadian audience, but also suitable for international adaptations. BGM retains North American distribution rights for Pressure Cooker.

BGM and Fresh One are also currently developing a kids’ version of the Pressure Cooker series for Corus Entertainment’s YTV, Bristow says.

“What we know about these kind of culinary competition shows is that children really like them,” Bristow said.

A pilot and a demo for the kids’ version were shot while Pressure Cooker was in production. The kids’ version of the show has not yet been greenlit to series.

– from Realscreen, with files from Julianna Cummins