What is Gastronuts?

Here’s the press release that was sent out to everyone as the first series was about to be broadcast on CBBC

Making ice cream using liquid nitrogen with my friend Dr Andrea Sella

CBBC goes Gastronuts with food adventurer Stefan Gates

For years kids have been told not to play with their food – not any more! Gastronuts is the show that challenges children to open their minds and their mouths to a whole new world of culinary creativity. Each episode explores and introduces new foods, new methods of cooking and new ways of looking at what we eat and where we source our food. From cooking salmon in a dishwasher and uncovering exactly what goes into the average sausage to feasting on grilled snake and chocolate covered scorpions, this is a food show like none other.

Fresh from Cooking in the Danger Zone, this is Stefan Gates debut show for children.  And he’s passionate about getting kids excited about what they eat and why: “My mission is to make food fun, cool and exciting and to turn mealtimes into adventures. The big issue is that so many kids are scared of food, so their diets are limited and this causes serious nutritional problems. So it’s our responsibility to make food exhilarating, hilarious and amazing. In Gastronuts our kids often arrived with phobias or limited diets but when they break the rules about food and start having fun with it - like making ice cream with liquid nitrogen and eating sausages wrapped in gold - they entirely change their attitude and develop an amazing curiosity for all things edible.”

BBC Commissioning Editor, Anne Gilchrist said: “There is a lot of public debate about healthy eating and what our children consume. Gastronuts will encourage children to dabble in the science of food and nutrition, guided by intrepid expert Stefan Gates. It’s not a cookery show and it’s not about recipes but it will leave no scone unturned in the search for answers to the weird questions every child has about the food on their plates.”

Launching on Thursday 9th October, this 13-part series sets out to answer the sort of questions kids ask about food like “Can I cook without a cooker?”, “How can I create my fantasy food?”, “What would I eat if I lived in the wild?” and “What happens to the food we throw away?”.  In each episode, five children go on a culinary journey with the man who knows no food fear - host and food adventurer, Stefan Gates - at the helm. Like the proverbial mad professor, Stefan will lead his team of food facts finders in a series of special scientific tests and tastings which are best not attempted at home!

Paul Gilheany, Executive Producer for Objective Productions, explains: “Gastronuts is about igniting children’s interest in what they eat and where their food comes from. We push them to explore the most exotic and unusual ingredients and techniques from the culinary world and it’s been extraordinary how readily they’ve embraced the most challenging food you can imagine.”

So, if you’d like to know how to cook mashed potato with a steamroller, what woodlice taste like and whether you can scramble eggs in the tumble dryer – tune in!

Gastronuts is being made by Objective Productions and the Executive Producers are Alison Gregory for CBBC and Paul Gilheany for Objective Productions.

For more information:

Fiona Williams

020 8746 7778

fiona@justwilliamspr.co.uk