Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live
Genre	Cooking show
Starring	Gordon Ramsay
Opening theme	"Pump It" by The Black Eyed Peas
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	2
No. of episodes	8
Production
Production location(s)	Stage 15, 3 Mills Studios
Running time	60 Mins
Release
Original network	Channel 4
Original release	24 October 2008 (2008-10-24) – 12 December 2008 (2008-12-12) 25 December 2011 (2011-12-25) 25 December 2012 (2012-12-25)

Gordon Ramsay: Cookalong Live was a fun British cooking show that starred the famous chef Gordon Ramsay. It started as a special one-time show, but people loved it so much that Channel 4 decided to make a whole series in 2008. There were even special Christmas episodes in 2011 and 2012!

How the Show Started

The very first episode of Cookalong Live was part of something called "The Big Food Fight" in January 2008. This event showed different cooking programs from Channel 4, featuring chefs like Jamie Oliver, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and Gordon Ramsay.

During the live show, Gordon Ramsay invited everyone watching at home to cook a three-course meal with him. They had to finish it in less than 60 minutes! You could find the list of ingredients and cooking steps on the show's website. This helped viewers get ready to cook along at home. Gordon often taught basic cooking skills, like how to chop an onion or prepare a chicken.

The show became very popular, so it was turned into a series with seven episodes. This new series started on October 24, 2008. Each week, Gordon Ramsay would prepare a different themed menu. These themes included a curry night and even a 1970s-style meal. He also had a challenge with a celebrity guest each week, where they cooked a dish chosen by the guest.

Episode Guide

Christmas Fun with Gordon

A special Cookalong Live episode for Christmas aired on December 25, 2011. In this show, Gordon Ramsay cooked a Christmas lunch right from his own home in Battersea. Some famous guests joined him, including David Hasselhoff, Russell Grant, Jermain Defoe, and Dynamo. Another Christmas special was shown the following year.

2011 Christmas Menu:

Starter

• Smoked salmon parcels with fennel and apple salad

Main course

• Roast turkey with herb butter
• Chestnut, pistachio, sage, sausage and apricot stuffing
• Apple and sherry gravy
• Spiced and honey glazed carrots and parsnips
• Brussels sprouts with bacon and chilli
• Perfect goose fat roast potatoes
• Bacon wrapped cocktail sausages

Dessert

• Christmas trifle

Cookalong Around the World

The idea of Cookalong Live became popular in other countries too!

• An American version of the show, also called Cookalong Live, aired as a one-hour special on the Fox network on December 15, 2009. Gordon Ramsay hosted this version too. Guests included Whoopi Goldberg, Cedric the Entertainer, Alyson Hannigan, and LeAnn Rimes. Home cooks even joined live using Skype! The three-course meal they cooked was the same as in episode 3 of the original British series.

• In September 2008, an Australian version was planned for the Nine Network, with Gordon Ramsay as the host. However, this show never actually happened.

• The companies Optomen and One Potato Two Potato allowed the Cookalong idea to be used for Swedish television. A show called Tina's Cookalong, starring Tina Nordström, started in September 2009. Gordon Ramsay even appeared as a guest on this show.

• A Spanish version called Cocina conmigo was announced to start on Nova on February 24, 2013. It was hosted by Rodrigo de la Calle.

• A Bulgarian version, hosted by Silvena Rowe, has been shown on bTV since September 2013.