Fremantle acquires Israeli hit cooking show "The Next Restaurant"

Fremantle have acquired the global distribution rights after investing in Reshet 13's new prime time format, "The Next Restaurant," which sees the global creator, producer and distributor launch into in the ever-popular realm of food-based reality competition shows.

Originally created by Ami Glam and Yuval Cohen for leading Israeli TV Reshet 13, "The Next Restaurant", recently launched in January to record debuting ratings, where it became their highest original programme launch for three years. Ami Glam and Yuval Cohen, said "'The Next Restaurant' is a ground-breaking format in cooking shows, which for the first time ever, allows viewers to be a real part of the experience and judging the show. We are sure that this format can successfully travel internationally and are very happy with our wonderful partner Fremantle to invest in and distribute the show."

"The Next Restaurant" is a new original reality food show that creates, for the first time, a link between a reality show and reality itself. Viewers at home can finally put away their delivery services, their craving for what’s on screen and become food-judges themselves.

Rob Clark, Director of Global Entertainment at Fremantle, said “'The Next Restaurant' is a brand-new format which really excites me, it’s in the food space, but at its heart is structured like a talent show with a reality arch. What’s also tickling my taste buds and exciting my palate is that this series has a unique production model and consequently has a unique broadcast model with all the right ingredients to keep it fresh, one of constant discovery, of new talent and of new stories. These stories are driven by passion and are deep seated, and real – and this is what separates itself from other shows in this genre”.

In "The Next Restaurant", every week begins with an audition-episode: four contestants sharing a passion of setting up his or her own restaurant, where they present their vision to the judges. Their vision is detailed down to every element: the concept, what the menu holds, what music plays, what kind of service they provide, to the overall look and feel of the restaurant. They present these elements while serving two dishes from the menu in a small studio-built prototype of their restaurant – where they aim to convince the judges to give them the opportunity to open [Tel Aviv's] Next Restaurant. Each audition-episode ends with a winning restaurant, which opens to the public the following night for an entire week.

"The Next Restaurant" is an ambitious production, which opens 10 new restaurants one after the other. The show created a fascinating new culinary discourse on ethnic food, tradition and progress, prejudices, and personal battles.