Great Chefs Partners with Janson to Reach New Audiences

Janson Media announced today that it has partnered with the iconic food and cooking brand, Great Chefs, for digital video platform distribution worldwide. Originally produced for distribution on PBS in 1981, the Great Chefs series have long been a staple of international culinary culture. The brand came into existence with a thirteen half-hour episode series titled Great Chefs of New Orleans. Later in 1983, the Great Chefs franchise expanded to include such series as The Great Chefs of San Francisco, The Great Chefs of Chicago and The Great Chefs of the West. Every single Great Chefs series is filmed on location, in the chefs kitchen, all across the world. In 1987, the Great Chefs franchise moved to a new cable company, the Discovery Channel, and continued to produce The Great Chefs of the East, The Great Chefs of the South, The Great Chefs of Hawaii, The Great Chefs of the Caribbean, The Great Chefs of Austria, The Great Chefs of France, Great Chefs of the Americas and finally, Great Chefs of the World.

Janson Media has released all of the Great Chefs series on Amazon Video’s global streaming platforms, including its SVOD, AVOD, and transactional platforms. Janson Media has also programmed the library on /food, the new online-only linear food and cooking channel on the live-streaming platform, Twitch.TV.

“Great Chefs is one of the most important cooking series in television history,” said Stephen Janson of Janson Media. “We are honored that the company has chosen Janson Media to re-introduce their library to new audiences via the many new digital platforms available to food and cooking enthusiasts across the globe.”

Unlike most cooking shows, the Great Chefs programs are produced exclusively in authentic kitchen settings rather than production studios. The concept was revolutionary when it began, and still sets the standard for quality cooking shows to come. At the same time, Great Chefs eliminates all of the reality show silliness that pervades more contemporary cooking shows. Episodes tend to be extremely straightforward — a world-renowned chef prepares three meals in their own kitchen, all the while sharing his or her tips, tricks, and techniques so the viewer can learn how to serve restaurant-quality food at home.

According to the Great Chefs mission statement, the practicality and quality of these programs have “raised the level of culinary education” and exposed "the next generation to the level of culinary professionals today." The series has been nominated by the James Beard Foundation for Best Culinary Video and Best Television Cooking Show and many awards and accolades from the International TV & Film Festival and Taste Awards.

Collectively, the Great Chefs series boasts some 700 episodes and over 3,000 dishes featuring legendary chefs such as Alain Passard, Bobby Flay, Susan Spicer, Daniel Boulud, Hubert Keller, Michael Lomonaco, Patrick O'Connell, Emeril Lagasse, Jacques Torres, Jean-Philippe Maury, Eric Ripert, Mark Miller, Raymond Blanc, Rick Tramonto, Takashi Yagihashi, and Ferran & Albert Adria of Spain's El Bulli and Enigma Restaurants.

"Great Chefs was the seminal cooking series on American and international television that started the food revolution, before any Food Networks,” said producer John Shoup. "We at Great Chefs are thrilled to partner with Janson Media to find new digital platform viewers for the brand.”

The Great Chefs series is produced by John Shoup and John Beyer, and begins production again this fall in 4K UHD with James Beard Award winning chefs Tory McPhail, Pat Gallagher, Ryan Prewitt and Ricky Cheramie in New Orleans. There are over seven hundred episodes in total.

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