Imagine a Benetton advert where everyone is wearing a chef’s hat – this is the scene I walk into on set of the F Word trailer. There are Chinese chefs and Indian chefs, French chefs, Rasta chefs and chefs with Mexican ‘taches. None of them are Gordon.

Apparently, Gordon has a reputation for being a bit late, but once he’s on set, he’s brilliant. “I worked with Gordon on a day when there was an awful story about him in the press,” says Phil, director of the trailer. “Off set he was on the phone, fuming, then he’d come on-set, say ‘What do you need me to do?’ and just nail it.”

In this series of the F Word, Gordon is on the hunt for the UK’s best independent restaurant. The trailer will show him being fed forkfuls of food by contesting chefs – which explains the cluster of ethnically diverse cooks. Amazingly, the entire range of world cuisine is being cooked up by three home economists working in a cramped corner of the set on what looks like a couple of Bunsen burners but is actually a competent, if compact, kitchen.

Chief home ec-type lady, Beth, is busy lining up spoons, forks and skewers ready to shove into Gordon’s mouth.

“Are you worried someone will stab him in the face with a fork full of curry?” I ask her

“We’ve sanded down the sticks on the kebabs so we don’t poke him,” she assures me.

By the time Gordon arrives and is taken through the script, the once-hot food has been sitting for a while. Congealed risotto? Rather him than me.

“How are those slipping down?” I ask him after the first cut.

“It’s all cold – f**king disgusting,” he moans, “cold quiche, cold goujon and ice cold raw f**king chips.”

True to form, Gordon is a real sport, swallowing 10 mouthfuls of unidentifiable food, before resorting to the spit bucket. I count at least 30 servings after that, there could have been more; what is certain is the grimace on Gordon’s face is the real deal.

“What the f**k was that?” he cries as a spoonful of frogspawn-like pitahaya is popped into his mouth by one of the chef extras.

When feeding time is over, I ask Gordon if any of the independent restaurants he’s visited so far have impressed him. “There’s a Spanish place in South London,” he muses. “And a Chinese place in Edinburgh, where they make these extraordinary dumplings.”

What about the celebrity guests – are they back this year?

“Jordan’s coming in. God help us. Kelly Brook was in looking great – especially when she was getting food out of the back of the oven.”

When the anecdotes turn to Max Beesley and a deer penis, I take my leave.

“It was about 16 inches long!” Gordon calls.

Worth tuning in for.

Watch the trailer and more from the F Word

Come Dine With Me
Cult show Come Dine With Me is back for a brand new series starting in September as more competitive amateur cooks attempt to outdo each other in the kitchen.

The Big Food Fight
But they’re not the only ones feeling the competitive heat: The Big Food Fight, launching in September, is a brand new food quiz with a generous seasoning of both the culinary and the comedic, hosted by comedienne Sue Perkins. Each week resident captain and gastronomic guru, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, is forced to defend his cooking credentials as he’s challenged by a different guest captain – a famous food personality – to establish who knows the most about all things edible.

River Cottage
Hugh’s swapping his quiz cards for the farmyard as he returns with a new series of River Cottage. Revelling in all that is coming good in the garden, Hugh will be drawing warmth from his chillies, comfort from his pumpkins and pleasure from his potatoes. He’ll also be keeping us up to speed with the triumphs of his Landshare scheme.

The F Word
It’s time to get sweary as Gordon Ramsay returns for a new series of the F Word. And this time Gordon’s on the hunt for The F Word’s Best Local Restaurant. With the help of nominations from the great British public, Gordon will be looking for the highest quality food at affordable prices, celebrating the very best of Britain’s independent local restaurants. Restaurateurs will be challenged to cook with Gordon in The F Word restaurant for 50 paying diners, and he’ll whittle them down until there are just two finalists battling it out in the series finale.

River Cottage Food Heroes
Gordon’s not the only one celebrating great British grub. Hugh will be blowing Britain’s trumpet in his brand new show, River Cottage Food Heroes. Whether it’s producing honey on a Hackney roof top, or creating a vineyard on a tenement block, there are examples of extraordinary culinary ingenuity all across the nation – and Hugh’s gonna find them.

Put your feet up and get comfy, next season is all about staying in.

Hungry for more? Check out all the Channel 4 food shows

Landshare scheme“>Get growing with Hugh’s Landshare scheme

In this brand new Channel 4 series, restauranteur and entrepreneur Vito Cataffo sets out on an epic quest, staking his personal fortune and his hard won reputation on a deep-set personal belief: that British food is the best in the world.

Vito launches a culinary crusade to Italy, the country of his birth. The series follows Vito as he finds a failing Italian restaurant, rescues and renovates it, and then sets about transforming it into a shrine to British food.

From managing the building project to navigating the murky world of Italian bureaucracy; from training-up local chefs and waiting staff to his exacting standards, to capturing the hearts and stomachs of the Italian public with Great British grub, Vito is facing the most daunting crusade of his life.

Starts 13th August, 8:30pm on Channel 4

More on Dolce Vito – Dream Restaurant

Vote in the 4Food poll: Which is better – Italian or British food?

My adventure started on a rare quiet night at work when I entered a competition – which culminated in me running Sainsbury’s. Originally, my winning idea was that as a company we should live up to our slogan and make it easier for customers to try something new. To do this, I suggested we designate a location within our stores, so that customers could find out which products are new for them to try. From this, I was told I had potential and that they wanted to see whether I had what it took to be a store manager in a short space of time.

On reflection, the whole experience taught me a lot of things, that at the time I never knew I had learnt. I now know how to manage my time more effectively – and I also learnt that your actions will define who you are.

However, during the three weeks that I spent running Sainsbury’s, I often felt stressed and at times overwhelmed due to how much was being asked of me. In hindsight, if I could have changed one thing about the experience, I would have realised how big an opportunity it actually was.

I was being asked to learn a year’s worth of teaching in less than three weeks and I think I failed to understand how difficult that would be. I think if I had realised this, then I would have fared a lot better in the challenges set.

Don’t get me wrong; there were a lot of great moments along the way and my favourite was interviewing a member of staff for the role of team leader. It was great asking questions and giving an excited young employee the opportunity they had desired for more than two years. When my three weeks were over, the one question I asked myself to validate the experience was, ‘If you could do this all again, would you?’. The answer has always been ‘Yes’.

I’m Running Sainsbury’s, Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4

Read more about Joseph’s story

It’s not every day you’re presented with an opportunity to read letters addressed to the Chief Executive of one of the UK’s largest retail chains. As part of my challenge, I was able to do just that: read Justin King’s post to see what customers were writing to him about.

What struck me most was the fact that people were contacting him about issues and concerns that could so easily be resolved in-store. Of course, there were some serious complaints, but so many letters addressed small frustrations or simple comments.

I realised I had been presented with a huge opportunity to listen to what customers had to say about the stores they shopped in – and to help resolve them as quickly as possible. I decided to trail a customer surgery, and took it to a new store where I could test my idea in a new territory, with both customers and colleagues I didn’t know.

On the first day I didn’t feel very confident; I didn’t know what to expect, what customers would say, if anyone would even talk to me – but the opinions, comments, complaints, compliments and the odd medical concern came flooding in.

Although it was a surgery, I had to explain on three occasions that I was not, in fact, a doctor. In the small amount of time I was there, more than 250 customers took the opportunity to tell me exactly how they felt – the good, the bad and the absurd!

I’m Running Sainsbury’s, Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4

Read more about Niall’s story

I started with Sainsbury’s on the 11th of October, I had three days of customer serving, and then I went in to meet the store manager and we had a long chat, and he thought, ‘OK good, she’s got a sales background’.

I grabbed that short trolley and that was the start of it. We were running a store promotion on Champagne in the busy period in the run up to Christmas so I loaded it with Champagne, went round saying to people, ‘Have you seen this fantastic offer we’ve got? – and we sold 20 cases that day. I think that made people think, ‘Maybe we have got an idea here’.

I’m very conscious of the customers that we have in store, and I talk to them in a way that I feel is appropriate. I’m also very conscious of the ‘mission shop’ that they’re on; I don’t look at the individual to start with, I’ll look at the shopping that they’re doing. If I see somebody rushing through the store, obviously looking just to grab a bottle of water and a sandwich for lunch, it’s not the time to go and sell them hot cross buns. I look at what they’re doing, I look at what they’re carrying, I look at where they’re going, and just the whole body language, really.

[Sainsbury's] do take a decision to take it forward; and there’s going to be a much bigger trial. The trial only lasted two weeks, and, as you saw with Becky, she got a little overwrought at the thought of it failing. I had a wobble as well at one point – and I’m not usually prone to those. But there’s such a lot resting on it, and you’ve worked so hard, the pressure you’re under… We’ve all done it because we passionately believe in our particular ideas.

I’m Running Sainsbury’s, Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4

Read more about Barbara’s story

It was a good experience but it was very nerve-wracking to start with, going into Holborn [Sainsbury's head office]. I was the outsider walking into the unknown. Everything was so exciting, when I got a desk I was like, ‘I got a desk! Oh my god!’.

I didn’t want to come across as some sad little girl who does nothing and cries over work. It was a big opportunity for me to do this and the whole putting my idea into a store was a big challenge. Obviously it didn’t turn out as well as I hoped it would with the sales. But the overall thing that happened is that Sainsbury’s got a view of how it would work and I got experiences at Holborn that money can’t pay for.

As soon as it finished and as soon as I first saw it I was like ‘Oh god!’, but now I’ve watched it again I don’t think I’d look back and change it. The whole thing of me getting miserable and crying; it’s who I am. Everything that happened in the week happened for a reason, and it was out of my control. I couldn’t have pushed it any harder. If people don’t want it, they don’t want it.

The majority of people were saying it’s just fantastic, putting it all in one place, but the recipes weren’t to everyone’s liking, which is understandable.

The low point was when the sales didn’t reach what they needed to be. I can’t force people to buy things but it was a hard because it was the first idea I’ve ever had – like an inventor. It’s my only idea I’ve put out there, and it didn’t do it, and I saw it as a failure.

But there were definitely more highs than lows; it was the excitement of actually going into Holborn, cooking meals for customers and seeing my bag come to life. It was a whole new experience; it was a proper high the whole time.

I’m Running Sainsbury’s, Tuesdays at 9pm on Channel 4

Read more about Becky’s story

Try Becky’s sausage and apple cobbler recipe for yourself

News just in – Come Dine With Me are looking for new keen amateur chefs to take part in our hugely popular Channel 4 daytime show. As fans will know, in each episode, we visit a different town or city in the UK. Over the course of a week each contestant takes it in turn to host a dinner party for the others – with the brilliant Dave Lamb commenting on their every move. At the end of the week the best host wins a £1,000 cash prize.

Where do I sign?
If you live in any of these areas – Glasgow, Swansea, Rotherham, Basingstoke, Halifax, Northampton, North Manchester, Taunton, Shropshire, South Glamorgan, Shropshire, Brighton, Edinburgh or York – then get in touch.

Click here for more info on how to take part

Sainsbury’s is Britain’s oldest supermarket chain. Once a single family-run shop, the company now cashes £30,000 a minute in 800 stores across the UK. Although Sainsbury’s is a retail giant, the onset of credit crunch Britain has seen customers become more selective about where they do their shopping and how much they spend – the company is facing one of the most competitive climates in living memory.

Chief Executive, Justin King, has come up with a plan. He believes that somewhere on the shop floor, among the shelf stackers, cleaners, trolley pushers and checkout workers, may lie the next big idea that will give the supermarket the edge.

So he’s decided to allow four shop floor workers the opportunity to try and roll their ideas out across the business, or take up a position of power where they can endeavour to make a difference to the business. Cameras will be following every challenge, obstacle and success along the way.

Will they be able to handle the responsibilities and stresses of taking a new product or concept to the top? Will their ideas actually work?

And has Justin hit on an innovative new concept, or is he just unleashing chaos on his own company?

Shopping baskets at the ready – show starts 9pm, 2nd June on Channel 4.

The final chapter in Willie’s quest begins with so many problems to juggle, mistakes to make right and ambitions to fulfill. Will Willie pull it all off? Will he reach his ultimate goal of bean to bar deliciousness?

With Willie still clearly frustrated that his fine quality beans were shipped to Japan, he had to find another source of equally superior beans to make the hundreds of thousands of bars required to stock the supermarket shelves.

Inspiration and guidance came when Willie visited a friend and small chocolate producer for help and guidance. Once back in Venezuela, we again see Willie smiling and relaxed surrounded by what started this quest cocoa trees, farmers and producers – and in return for his friend’s advice, Willie brings a set of professional chocolate moulds which are very expensive and hard to find in Vezenuela or other cocoa producing countries (as I found out last year when I visited Ecuador). There are thousands of acres of cocoa trees and tones upon tones of cocoa beans but little professional equipment for any budding chocolatier. A very thoughtful gift from Willie which will be treasured by his friend.

Willie decides to create two bars not three as originally planned, due to the cocoa bean issues, Rio Caraibe and Peruvian.

One of the best ways to see how your new products are accepted is to either take part in a huge product sampling session or to join another event where your product will be used as part of a menu – and Willie’s chocolate is being used by Rhubarb Caterers at the prestigious Cartier polo event. A very luxurious chocolate dessert is created and served to many hundreds of guests. We fail to see how it is received, however, and I would have liked to see more comments from the guests on the flavours and tastes of Willie’s chocolate.

The first recipe Willie chooses to make for us is a simple chocolate biscuit filled with his chocolate and to be enjoyed by his 10 taste testers. I can feel his frustrations as this is his final attempt in getting milk chocolate addicts to like dark chocolate.

One of the most important aspects of launching a new product is how it will look on shelf, how will it feel in hand and will it catch the eye? So Willie enroles a design team to create the ultimate packaging. And with Willie’s wrapping machine still broken and beyond repair, the design team come up with a chocolate bar box, where the foil hand wrapped bar will sit. The finished box is a combination of eccentric style, precious feel and of course, stylish.

This is all well and good, but now there’s the challenge of selling his chocolate to retail buyers to secure some orders. From experience, this is make or break time and one needs to impress with a clean and concise presentation and, of course, your product at its best.

Waitrose buyer, Mathew Jones, was impressed and clearly identified the different characteristics between the two bars. The result was equally impressive with some huge orders being placed. Willie is now really in business, with the problem of how to wrap and pack thousands of chocolate bars in time to deliver to Waitrose.

In the meantime we saw a very good friend of mine, Roger Pizey (Marco Pierre White’s executive pastry chef), create a chocolate soufflé with chocolate sauce to be tasted by Marco in Willie’s presence. Marco did indeed reel over the tastes and flavours giving Willie the approval I think he needed.

It’s a wrap
The heat is on and we see Willie at his most stressed and anxious as he has had to recruit temporary staff to hand wrap each and every bar. A brief demonstration to the fleet and a practice session to perfect the art (believe me, hand wrapping is an art and not always easy for everyone to master!). The result is, of course, not a good one for Willie.

The production begins and disaster hits as the first batch appears from the cooling tunnel tempered incorrectly. You’ve guessed it they have to start again while the problems are solved and Tania allocates jobs to the hired help. Once in full swing the bars get wrapped and packed ready to hit the high street.

So did his 10 chocoholics like his chocolate? Seven out of 10 in a blind tasting preferred Willie’s chocolate and the other three were and would never be dark chocolate lovers. Many were converted and are now hardened dark chocolate lovers, which thrills Willie.

With Willie’s bars now shown on shelf he has reached his ultimate goal, bean to bar. Is this the end? Not at all this is just the beginning.

It really has been a roller coaster of a ride for Willie but I stand strong in saying this: He is not alone in his quest. We and many other chocolatiers are doing the very same things, just in our own individual ways.

Catch up on the rest of Willie’s Chocolate Revolution

Try Willie’s recipes

Find all stockists of Willie’s chocolate here