BBC Studios Distribution has licensed "The Great Bake Off" format to Algeria. The deal marks the 40th territory license for the feel-good competition format from Love Productions. "We are delighted and proud that our beloved "Great Bake Off" format has now reached its 40th territory," Rupert Frisby, Director of Legal and Commercial Affairs, Love Productions said.
Produced by NoFilter for satellite TV channel Echourouk TV, "The Great Bake Off" will go to air on 28th January 2023. The eight-part Algerian series will be presented by Mehdi Yadess and judged by Chef Mehdi Hadj Mebarek and La Louza. Producer Fouede Zabaiou colaborated with a team of experts and talents from BBC Studios France. Since The Great Bake Off format was first adapted locally in 2012 for Belgium, the format has gone on to become an international phenomenon with 165 series recorded worldwide and over 1,900 episodes spanning countries such as Argentina, Australia, Germany, Japan, Kenya and Thailand. 2,000 bakers have entered the tent globally. In 2023 new series of the format will be launching in Morocco (Series 3 with 2M) and South Africa (Series 4 for BBC Lifestyle) which is returning after a five-year hiatus. Further launches for 2023 will be announced in due course.
“The Great Bake Off has always been built on warmth and friendly competition from the first season that Love Productions made in the UK," André Renaud, Senior Vice President for Global Format Sales at BBC Studios Distribution said. "It’s a pleasure to know that this milestone 40th version will also be the second version in North Africa, and I am excited to see another set of bakers make their way into the iconic tent to share their baking journeys with audiences in Algeria very soon.”
"The Great Bake Off" showcases amateur bakers as they compete to be crowned the nation’s best amateur baker. Each week the bakers tackle a different baking skill, which become progressively more difficult as the competition unfolds. The competition has been hosted in various locations globally, including a German castle, by the sea in Israel and Belgium and in a shed in Australia! Now for the first time the tent is set in a UNESCO World Heritage site downtown Algiers. Mercotte, from the French version of the series Le Meilleur Patissier, will serve as a guest judge for the first episode.
Testing challenges around the world have included ‘Simon Says’ where contestants had to keep up with real time instructions from a top chef working at his expert pace (Denmark), using balloons to model chocolate decorations (Brazil), through to glow in the dark cakes (Italy) and recreating the chocolate & raspberry cake from the opening titles (France). “Cooking and especially pastry cooking has an important place in Algeria," Fouede Zabaiou, CEO at NoFilter said. "Adapting the format for this territory was a natural choice. Nothing was left to chance. From the challenges of Chef Mehdi Hadj Mebarek to the technical tests of La Louza, the Algerian culture has been put forward for the pleasure of our bakers who will have the chance to discover the iconic tent installed in the fabulous Jardin d'Essai. We are proud to be the 40th adaptation of this great format and believe that the Algerian version will be a great addition to the legacy of this show. We wish us the same success as the other territories”