Mumbai: Celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s food and lifestyle channel FoodFood is set to go live on Prasar Bharati’s free-to-air DTH service DD Free Dish from 1 April.
With this development, FoodFood becomes the only speciality channel to be made available on the largest DTH platform of the country reaching over 40 million households, said the statement. After consolidating its position in the primary and focus markets in India, FoodFood has become a popular choice of channel across International destinations and geographies, the statement added.
“FoodFood has always been at the forefront of breaking barriers in the industry as the first 24×7 food lifestyle programming and now again being the first to reach rural audiences,” stated Sanjeev Kapoor. “I firmly believe that food is a universal language that breaks all barriers of cultures, races, and borders. With FoodFood, I want to reach as many people as possible looking for relevant content on food to make taste buds tantalised and possibly their lives brighter.”
FoodFood is currently distributed through Tata Play and leading MSO’s across the country.
Mumbai: Lifestyle channel Zee Zest has acquired exclusive rights for the third season of “The Big Forkers.” The new season will be launching exclusively on ZeeZest.com starting 15 February.
The 15-part series features cousins and hosts Shashank Jayakumar (Shanky) and Sid Mewara aka ‘The Forkers’ who love food, travel and discovering new cultures. The duo will be seen discovering the ‘Urru,’ Bangalore and its culinary offerings right from the local fair, regional specialties, and international tables along with the fan-favourite, ‘the pub crawl.’
From local food legends to upcoming stars, and beer gardens to college favourite pub crawls, they uncover pub life in Bangalore and the drinking culture across town. A true food journey loaded with new-age Smash Burgers, various kinds of interpreted meat preparations, biryanis, Korean meals, traditional Uttara (Northern) Kannada vegetarian meal and some very candid conversations.
Sid is an investment banker and ex-chef and Shanky is a serial technology entrepreneur and consultant to The World Bank. Their journey started with a tipsy conversation with friends while travelling through Spain in 2019, following the food trail by the late chef Anthony Bourdain.
The cousins set up a YouTube channel in 2020 called ‘The Big Forkers’ that showcased their exploration of cuisines. After completing two successful seasons in Mumbai and Goa, they are back with another season.
“The earlier two seasons piqued our interest with the duo’s edgy take on food and its many stories around it,” said Zee Zest business head Amit Nair. “In ‘Big Forkers’ season three, there is enough for the Bangalore local, the steady traveller or someone on the couch chilling with a cold one to take away from this latest installment from the big boys. This series is the first among the many digital-first properties that we plan to launch on zeezest.com.”
“Bangalore was all new to me which made it a voyage of discovery,” said co-host Sid Mewara. “Through the research, we did on the ‘Urru’, we knew we wanted to cover some of the staples such as the tiffin rooms, the military hotels and the craft beer scene. Personally, I love how progressive the city is, an oasis of sorts and can’t wait to show the viewers what we have in store.”
“Bangalore, for me, has always been work-related,” said co-host Shashank Jayakumar. “But just delving deeper made me realize that the city has held on to its European connections from colonial times. What I like, though, is that a majority of the population has managed to still be true to its roots. You will still see them in afternoon drinking sessions with idli, chutney on the side, or with Chicken 65 as a starter and I love Bangalore for that.”
Mumbai: Zee Zest has announced a new show “Safari India” with actor Rannvijay Singha. The show premieres on 31 January on Zee Zest SD and HD channels along with ZeeZest.com.
The eight-part series explores some of India’s prominent National Parks to let viewers experience India’s rich biodiversity and the need to preserve the magnificent wildlife.
The seven National Parks captured through Safari India’s lens are the popular Jim Corbett National Park in Nainital, Kaziranga National Park in Assam, Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh, Ranthambore National Park in Rajasthan, Gir National Park in Gujarat, Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in Goa and Dubare Elephant Camp in Karnataka.
“Safari India was the most adventurous and thrilling experience I’ve had this year. It was a series of astonishing and larger-than-life experiences,” said host Rannvijay Singha. “I interacted with several forest rangers and learned about their efforts towards preserving our wildlife. I feel extremely honoured to be a part of the show and hope that with Zee Zest, we are able to yet again ‘Unlimit’ experiences for the viewers.”
“In our quest to enhance our viewer experience and keeping in mind the ‘Unlimit’ promise we are very excited to partner with Rannvijay on this unique show,” said Zee Zest business head Amit Nair. “While most wildlife shows are voice-over-driven, here we have tried to place the audience in the thick of the action, giving them the vicarious pleasure to explore the wild through the show and possibly inspire them to undertake their own journeys of adventure.”
Mumbai: Lifestyle channel Zee Zest has launched its digital offering called ZeeZest.com. The platform offers influencer marketing solutions to brands with a varied talent roster of influencers across categories.
ZeeZest.com will offer insights across categories – food, travel, health, culture, style and beauty and homes. The website will provide glocal content across core lifestyle genres that are informative, entertaining and will pivot content based on national and international pop-culture trends, said the channel in a statement. The website has led to three million+ users in its soft launch phase, it added.
The content will be spread across multi-formats such as shows, recipes, articles, original videos, web stories, multilingual and aims at generating curiosity and making aspirational lifestyle more accessible. Along with access to Zee Zest shows, the website will also host contests on an ongoing basis to engage with users.
The website will be populated by stories curated by in-house and contributing authors. The website will feature articles on Bollywood celebrities such as Farhan Akhtar, Vidya Balan, Aditi Rao Hydari, Dino Morea, Sonu Sood; and popular influencers such as Shenaz Treasury, Yohani, Tesher and Sejal Kumar.
“Over the last few years, we have seen a major growth in lifestyle content consumption with people wanting to express their individuality and seeking to live a higher quality life,” said Zee Zest business head Amit Nair. “ZeeZest.com is uniquely positioned to be that guide for the urban millennial and the youth to express themselves sharply whether its food/travel/homes and health. The strategy of having a strong TV+ digital presence helps to capture a sizable user base that spends on the diverse categories to always stay several notches ahead. The future sees multiple India Originals for TV, Digital first ideas and initiatives that will raise the bar for lifestyle content delivering immersive and engaging IPs with key focus on user and revenue growth.”
Zee Zest has 45 per cent viewership share in the lifestyle genre with original shows like “From Fit Fab Feast with Huma Qureshi,” “India’s 50 Best with Chef Ajay Chopra,” “Goan Gullies with Rocky and Mayur,” and “Grand Trunk Rasoi.”
“With the phenomenal success garnered by Zee Zest within a span of just one year, we are now thrilled to launch the website that will house original and quality content across lifestyle categories,” said Zee Zest chief cluster officer – West, North and premium Amit Shah. “Digital will play an important role in our overall strategy and we will be a unique brand that will have both linear, digital and social presence and thereby be an attractive option for advertisers. With the ambitious goal of being the top five publishers in lifestyle the path is clearly chalked out for the next 3-5 years of bringing together content, community and commerce.”
Mumbai: Lifestyle channel Zee Zest has added two international shows to its programming including “Secret of the Supercars” and “Ridiculous Rides”. The shows will air every weekend at 9 p.m.
“Secret of the Supercars” gives viewers a peek under the hoods of some of the world’s fastest and most powerful cars. Featuring Titch Cormack, Catie Munnings and Duncan Pittaway, the show will be aired from 28 August.
Filmed by American car enthusiast Steve Feldman, “Ridiculous Rides” will premiere on 29 August. The show brings alive the story of 11 dreamers who want to customise their own and delves into the minds of some of the most creative car-enthusiasts across the globe.
Mumbai: Tea or Coffee, ever wondered where your morning ‘cuppa’ came from? Or how MTR’s Rawa Idli took the country by storm in the early 1940s? To pique the curiosity, Zee Zest has announced its latest show called ‘Dude aur Deewani’, hosted by real-life couple Anurag Mallik and Priya Ganapathy.
In each of the 20 episodes, Anurag, who is a travel writer and tourism consultant, and Priya, a former journalist and anchor, will together uncover lesser-known facts about food through a variety of topics. They will share their experiences with viewers through humorous banter with exciting fun facts and trivia about fascinating food history from across the globe, said the channel in a statement.
“With digital platforms gaining strength during the pandemic, the medium is playing a pivotal role in shaping the entertainment industry and therefore important for us to invest in both linear and digital,” said Zee Zest business head, Amit Nair. “Furthermore, the love for food has always been a driving force for setting lifestyle trends. Dude aur Deewani is a show that brings to our viewers, culinary history through the eyes of food and culture enthusiasts, thereby making it relatable for all. It is a show that aims to connect the culinary dots in a fun and informative way.”
Viewers can catch Dude aur Deewani on Zee Zest’s YouTube channel, with a digital-first premiere on 29 July at 10 am. The show is also available for streaming on Zee Zest’s official website.
Mumbai: Lifestyle channel Zee Zest is all set to bring the second season of ‘India’s 50 Best Dishes’ hosted by chef Ajay Chopra. The show will be aired every Monday and Tuesday at 2 pm from 26 July.
Unveiling the #DeshKaTastiestMenu, the show will focus on mouth-watering dishes across over 20 exciting categories like monsoon ka swaad, immunity boosters, work from home rasoi, nukkad ka khaana to bachchon ki farmaaish, and more. Additionally, this new season will have viewers virtually supporting chef Ajay by voting for their top choices of dishes through a unique gamification portal on the Zee Zest website. Votes will then be tallied to decide winners of the contest as they pick their favorites from across the country.
To help chef Chopra curate the best dishes, there are three groups, which map the food atlas of India—Kitchen Gurus, Masala Mantris and Desi Deewane and culinary professionals like Kunal Kapur, Tejasvi Chandela, Sabyasachi Gorai, Pankaj Bhadouria, Antoine Lewis, Jasleen Marwah, and more will bring in their learnings and expertise to these segments.
“I am elated to kick off the new season of India’s 50 Best Dishes after the resoundingly appreciative response from our audience,” chef Chopra said. “In a country where we find multiple cuisines and countless dishes in each state, I am looking forward to reviving the conversation on what are the most loved ones. In a bid to distinguish India’s consistently evolving culinary landscape with incomparable regional impressions, we are excited to continue our search to curate a unique set of 50 that will make for this season’s desh ka tastiest menu.”
KOLKATA: Pocket Aces’ lifestyle channel Gobble and Flipkart Furniture have launched their first home makeover series – Home Genie. After entertaining millions with its many food and travel series like Love Travel Repeat, You Got Chef’d and Bazaar Travels, Gobble’s latest venture into the home category attempts to create spaces which are a reflection of its residents’ personalities. Hosted by actor Shruti Seth, the quintessential genie with a keen sense of aesthetics, and award-winning interior designer Ali Baldiwala of Baldiwala Associates, the series released on Gobble’s YouTube channel on 25 February.
The series through its tagline ‘Don’t just dream, make it happen’, showcases the transformational journey of couples’ homes, catering to all kinds of home design aspirations and offers the most creative solutions, be it trendy, vintage, or even a modern chic look.
The first of the three-episode series features OTT favourite Abhishek Banerjee along with his wife Tina, who need a living room that offers ample seating for guests, but is minimalistic at the same time. Working with smart seating solutions and sleek furniture selected from Flipkart, Ali creates a space that strikes the right chord by curating the perfect look and feel to meet the couples’ home goals. The series also features TV's favourite couple, Mohit Sehgal and Sanaya Irani, who have personally selected the furniture pieces from Flipkart Furniture as their home office dream becomes a reality, with foldable, multi-utility pieces. The aesthetic designs make their tiny room a grand Insta-worthy, multi-functional home office.
To give back to the Gobble community, the series created a unique opportunity for fans to win a chance to feature on the show. Mumbai-based Florence Saldanha, a die-hard Gobble fan, and her husband Shailesh were chosen as the winners. The channel provided a complete makeover of their master bedroom which as per their wish was intimate, yet functional. While working with these couples, Baldiwala also shared useful tips for audiences to implement and transform their spaces into their dream homes.
Flipkart senior director (furniture, beauty, personal care, baby care) Kanchan Mishra said, “Transforming a house into a home is a very emotional and personal engagement and at Flipkart, we take pride in facilitating this journey for our customers and providing a hassle-free furniture buying experience through our home delivery and installation services. Our association with Gobble will enable lakhs of their viewers to witness home makeovers, get expert tips and hacks on transforming their personal or professional spaces. With Home Genie, we wish to familiarise the audience with the latest home décor trends and ideas to create spaces that resonate with their personalities.”
Pocket Aces VP Sales Vishwanath Shetty said, “Being at home for most of 2020 led to a need to have quality multipurpose spaces which are a reflection of residents’ personalities. Home Genie is a show that enables and inspires couples to bring about this change in their spaces, while also encouraging them to adopt a unique approach to the functionality of their homes. Flipkart Furniture, much like Gobble, offers something for everyone, and so the brand fits in perfectly with our ethos of relatability among our audiences. The resounding response to the contest is a testament of how audiences are seeking new sources of inspiration to make changes in their lives, which inspires us to push the creative boundaries with each property that we create.”
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited’s first lifestyle channel – Zee Zest becomes most loved among viewers in the lifestyle genre, securing the top position in its first BARC reporting week itself. GTVT chart this week has shown that the channel has successfully established its set of audience by topping the list with 2421 GTVTs. Truly Unlimiting the content showcased, Zee Zest creates and brings across shows highlighting wide aspects of the Indian audience’s lifestyle.
Adding more Zest to this milestone achievement, is the fact that top five shows in the lifestyle genre are all from Zee Zest!
Zee Zest business head Amit Nair said, “The leadership position in the first week of ratings release is a huge thumbs up from the audience to the carefully crafted and curated shows that Zest has put together. It’s also a testament to the tremendous hard work put in by the internal teams to make this the shortest go to market product and win big. We look forward to bringing entertaining and unique formats of content and IP’s in the coming months and I am positive that we will continue to be the undisputed leader in the space.”
With reputed chefs, hosts and interesting concept based shows, Zee Zest has managed to make space in the audience’s lives. The channel has a 360-degree platform with a presence across TV, Web, Social Media, and Events, and has adopted the same to connect with the people maintaining two-way communication with the audience.
Stay home, stay safe, and let Zee Zest bring you the best of glocal content inspiring you to Unlimit Life.
MUMBAI: Lifestyle channel LF has launched a new show Dakshin Diaries which includes avenues that are familiar but when explored reveals a curated mix of culture, cuisine, travel, music, and faith. The show is hosted by chef Rakesh Raghunathan, starting 21 March, airing every Thursday and Friday at 8.30 pm.
The entire series revolves around the one thing that makes it relevant – the people. Be it the people making the temple ‘prasadam’ and adding their extra faith to it, the people rapping about current issues and trying to make a difference or even the housewives and grandmothers who, for centuries, have cooked with their own recipes with just a pinch of salt or just a hint of turmeric while making the best cooked dishes in the world. Dakshin Diaries, as the name suggests, is a record of experiences that revolve around garnering a sense of familiarity to the unknown. Each episode starts with a spiritual passage in a new city, a new temple and a new ‘Madapally’ (royal temple kitchen). Here the heritage of the city is explored whilst speaking about traditions that uphold the beliefs with which the locals live together.
Living Foodz business head Amit Nair said, “South has been a relatively less explored place for the rest of India. On films and Tv and whenever it finds a mention its mostly in cliches. What we have therefore tried to do thru this show is to un-streotype the south which also is our key communication peg. The people, culture and tastes combined with distinct traditions make it a unique part of the country and the show manages to capture south in all its glory. I’m very confident that combining great quality of human stories and the unique milieu, the show will be a success and will look forward to more seasons.”
Dakshin Diaries’ tagline rightly says ‘Dakshin dekho desh samjho!’ A conversation on the sports culture of Chennai at the Madras Cricket club – Chepauk with a senior journalist and active member of the club R Mohan reveals a time when India lost a match but the entire stadium did a standing ovation for the Pakistan team’s victory lap. From touching the ‘Golden Lizard’, searching for Saurashtrian weavers in Kanchipuram, trying to get tickets for a Rajnikanth movie, learning the recipe for the bestselling halwa by a North Indian in Kumbakonam, cooking from recipe books left by Serfoji the Maratha ruler, Dakshin Diaries has it all, and more.
Raghunathan said, “As someone who has looked at food culturally, historically and enjoyed the journey where I have travelled the length and breadth of the South of India, I have been able to meet interesting people, document recipes, culinary practices, cooking techniques and local legends. I am thrilled about the association with the LF channel, for they continue to set new standards in showcasing food the way it must be shown. I strongly believe that this show will give viewers a nuanced understanding of South India culturally, historically and gastronomically. I am already looking forward to season 2 of Dakshin Diaries.
Each episode then seamlessly transitions into speaking about musicians, art, culture and more. Chef Rakesh meets people from various walks of life each offering something exceptional. An auto-driver who has given a talk at TEDx and provides free Wi-Fi to all his customers since he realizes the importance it may have especially for his expat riders. A Mylapore Mystical Magical Food Walk with the budding generation to break certain stereotypes. Meeting Dabba Chetty the owner of a traditional medicinal store over a century old selling various herbs, ingredients and medicines some of which one may have never heard of. A visit to ‘SoFar’ which is an underground music concert community that welcomes music collaborations between the locals and expats and also where Chef Rakesh joins in for a session.
