WBD Access Reveals Food Network, Incubator Shows

Key Points

• Warner Bros. Discovery Access has picked three UK production companies to be part of its Food Network and Discovery+ Production Incubator.
• Each of the three will make a 30-minute episode – Project Must Entertainment, 7FIFTY and Double FTV.
• Projects chosen are titled Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen, Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen and Secrets of the Fire Kitchen.
• The episodes are part of the known Secrets of the… series.
• Keshia Sakarah will explore Caribbean cooking, recipes, heritage and family traditions.
• Chef Andrew Wong will make his award-winning Chinese restaurant and kitchen available.
• Shropshire’s self-taught chef and YouTube personality, Adam Purnell, will be putting his skills to the test at his own restaurant, Embers, with open-fire cooking.
• Karen Ross will also executive produce all three episodes, along with Warner Bros. Discovery.
• The chosen companies have gone from the development phase to the production phase.
• The programmes will be broadcast on Food Network and will be available on discovery+ from late October 2026.
• The project is designed to open up new opportunities for smaller and emerging production companies to enter Warner Bros. Discovery, WBD Access said.
• This programme is based on the concept of food being a reflection of identity, culture and community across the UK.

London (Britain Today News) August 13, 2026 — Warner Bros. Discovery Access has revealed the three UK production companies selected to make new episodes for the Food Network and discovery+ Production Incubator, with Project Must Entertainment, 7FIFTY and Double FTV chosen to produce the culinary specials. The episodes, which are being developed under the established Secrets of the… format, will explore Caribbean, Chinese and open-fire cooking through the personal stories of chefs, restaurants and communities. They are scheduled to air on Food Network and become available to stream on discovery+ from late October 2026.

What has WBD Access announced?

Warner Bros. Discovery Access has moved its UK Production Incubator from development into production, selecting three independent production companies to create one 30-minute episode each for Food Network and discovery+.

The initiative is being delivered in collaboration with Food Network and discovery+, two of Warner Bros. Discovery’s food and streaming brands. It is designed to identify production companies with fresh ideas and allow them to develop programming with access to WBD commissioners, executives and production specialists.

According to Jon Creamer of Televisual, the three selected companies are Project Must Entertainment, 7FIFTY and Double FTV. Each company will produce an episode of Secrets of the…, a format that has previously featured established culinary figures and taken audiences inside distinctive food businesses.

The announcement marks the next stage of a process that began with a competitive application round. After the applicants were assessed, selected companies attended a structured professional development week at Warner Bros. Discovery’s London offices.

During that week, the participants developed their ideas, refined their concepts and prepared pitches. They then presented their proposals to network and streaming executives, as well as discovery+ commissioners.

The three successful projects have now entered production. Warner Bros. Discovery teams will support the companies during the commissioning and production process, while Karen Ross will work with WBD as executive producer across all three episodes. Ross’s previous credits include MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, Roux Down the River and Secrets of the Curry Kitchen.

Why was the Production Incubator created?

The Production Incubator was launched to offer new opportunities to emerging and small-to-mid-tier UK production companies that had not previously produced content for Warner Bros. Discovery’s linear channels or discovery+.

The programme is intended to create a more accessible route into the broadcaster and streamer’s commissioning system. Rather than simply inviting companies to submit ideas, the initiative allows participants to understand how concepts are developed, presented and supported inside a major media organisation.

WBD Access described the programme as a way to connect new and emerging talent with Warner Bros. Discovery’s content and brands. The development process is focused on talent-led ideas that explore how food reflects identity, culture and community across the UK.

This approach places food at the centre of broader stories about people and belonging. The selected episodes will not only focus on recipes or restaurant techniques, but also on the history, family experiences and cultural traditions that shape the way food is prepared and shared.

Charlotte Reid, vice-president of commissioning for Warner Bros. Discovery UK & Ireland, said the incubator was created to provide “brilliant emerging and mid-tier production companies” with new routes into WBD’s linear and streaming network.

“We have been hugely excited by the response to the programme and the three special episodes are a fantastic demonstration of the creativity, ambition and distinctive storytelling we hoped to uncover for Food Network,”

Reid said, as reported by Jon Creamer of Televisual.

Which companies have been selected?

Project Must Entertainment, 7FIFTY and Double FTV are the three production companies selected for the first group of episodes.

Project Must Entertainment will produce Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen. The episode will feature chef and food writer Keshia Sakarah, who will explore Caribbean cuisine and the stories attached to some of the region’s best-known dishes.

7FIFTY will produce Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen, with support from Rock Oyster Media. The episode will focus on chef Andrew Wong and his award-winning restaurant, examining the relationship between traditional Chinese techniques and contemporary cooking in Britain.

Double FTV will produce Secrets of the Fire Kitchen. The episode will follow self-taught chef and YouTube star Adam Purnell at his restaurant Embers in Shropshire, where food is cooked outdoors using flame, smoke and charcoal.

The three companies were selected after pitching their ideas to Warner Bros. Discovery executives, network representatives and discovery+ commissioners. Their projects were chosen because they offered different perspectives on the UK’s food culture while remaining connected to the wider Secrets of the… format.

Reid said each project brings “a fresh perspective” to the format and celebrates “the people, places and personal stories shaping the UK’s food culture today”.

What is Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen about?

Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen, produced by Project Must Entertainment, will place Keshia Sakarah at the centre of a journey through Caribbean cooking.

Sakarah is described as an award-winning chef and food writer. In the episode, she will uncover the traditions behind some of the most-loved recipes associated with Caribbean communities.

The programme will examine a cuisine shaped by history, movement and family knowledge. Its central idea is that many recipes are not formally written down, but passed from one generation to the next through memory, practice and shared experience.

The episode will feature dishes including salt fish fritters, curry duck and spiced bun. These recipes will be used to explore the stories and traditions of the families and communities who continue to prepare them.

The programme will also consider the growing visibility of Caribbean flavours in Britain. Sakarah will investigate why Caribbean food is increasingly present on restaurant menus and in home kitchens across the country.

The episode is therefore expected to combine practical cooking with cultural storytelling. Its focus will extend beyond the preparation of individual dishes to the personal histories and inherited knowledge behind them.

As described in the production announcement, Sakarah will open what is presented as a “treasure chest of culinary knowledge”, using food to connect family memories, cultural traditions and contemporary British life.

What will Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen explore?

Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen, produced by 7FIFTY and supported by Rock Oyster Media, will provide behind-the-scenes access to chef Andrew Wong’s restaurant and culinary operation.

The episode will present Wong’s kitchen as a meeting point between centuries-old Chinese techniques and modern creativity. It will examine the organisation and skill required to produce large quantities of high-quality food while maintaining precision and consistency.

One of the featured areas will be the production of dim sum. Viewers will be shown the work involved in creating hundreds of delicate dishes during service, offering insight into a part of restaurant life that is usually hidden from the public.

The programme will also feature staff meals shared between services. This element will provide a more personal view of the restaurant, contrasting the demands of a high-profile kitchen with the everyday food enjoyed by its team.

Wong’s restaurant is described in the announcement as the first Chinese restaurant outside Asia to receive two Michelin stars. The episode will use that achievement as a starting point for exploring his culinary journey and the wider evolution of Chinese food in Britain.

The programme will include step-by-step recipes inspired by Wong’s celebrated fine-dining dishes. These recipes will be reworked for home cooks, allowing audiences to engage with the techniques and flavours introduced in the episode.

The production will also explore how Chinese cuisine continues to evolve in modern Britain. It will present the food as both connected to established traditions and shaped by changing tastes, experiences and communities.

What makes Secrets of the Fire Kitchen different?

Secrets of the Fire Kitchen, produced by Double FTV, will focus on Adam Purnell and his restaurant Embers in the Shropshire woods.

Purnell is described as a self-taught chef and YouTube star. His restaurant is built around outdoor cooking, with dishes prepared over flame, smoke and charcoal rather than through a conventional indoor kitchen setup.

The episode will show how open-fire cooking can influence flavour, technique and presentation. It will also examine the practical demands of operating a restaurant where the elements and equipment are central to the cooking process.

Among the featured dishes will be Purnell’s sell-out Sunday roasts, which are reportedly booked months in advance. The programme will also include a medley of shellfish inspired by his father’s family from Virginia Beach.

Another dish highlighted in the production announcement is a wood-fired baked Alaska. The dessert will demonstrate how fire can be used in unexpected ways, extending beyond roasting meat or vegetables.

Purnell will explain how viewers can bring elements of a fire kitchen into their own homes. The episode will focus on open-fire equipment and techniques while showing how cooking outdoors can become a form of performance.

The programme’s emphasis will be on craft, natural elements and the theatrical quality of flame-based cooking. It will present Embers as a restaurant where the cooking method is central to the identity of the food and the experience of dining there.

How does the programme support emerging talent?

The Production Incubator is intended to support both companies and the individuals working within them.

The participating businesses gained access to Warner Bros. Discovery executives, commissioners and production leaders during the development week. They were also able to learn more about the teams involved in commissioning, producing and promoting content for the broadcaster’s linear and streaming platforms.

This structure allowed the production companies to strengthen their concepts before pitching them. It also allowed them to understand the creative and professional expectations involved in developing programming for Food Network and Discovery+.

Jennifer Sobol, director of Inclusion Pipeline Programmes at Warner Bros. Discovery Access, said the initiative had progressed from development into production, with three episodes reflecting this.

“the breadth of culinary creativity across the UK”.

“By supporting emerging and mid-tier production companies and helping bring these concepts to life, WBD Access continues to champion new voices, broaden access to industry opportunity and create space for more inclusive storytelling across our content and brands,”

Sobol said, according to Televisual’s Jon Creamer.

The programme could provide the selected companies with experience of working directly with a major broadcaster and streaming service. It also gives them completed commissions that may strengthen their future development and production portfolios.

What role will Karen Ross play?

Karen Ross will executive produce all three episodes in cooperation with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Her credits include several established food and factual titles, including MasterChef, MasterChef: The Professionals, Roux Down the River and Secrets of the Curry Kitchen.

Ross’s involvement is intended to provide editorial and production experience across the three projects. The episodes have different subjects and visual approaches, but each must work within the tone and expectations of the Secrets of the… format.

Her role will include working closely with the selected production companies and WBD teams as the projects move through production.

The involvement of an experienced executive producer also underlines the incubator’s dual purpose. The programme is designed to create opportunities for new and mid-tier companies while ensuring the commissioned episodes receive experienced production support.

What did Ravneet Gill say about the projects?

Ravneet Gill, a chef, restaurant owner, author and judge for the WBD Access Production Incubator, said she enjoyed taking part in the judging process.

“It was a real pleasure to be part of the judging process for this brilliant programme and to see so many fresh, thoughtful ideas come through that explore the UK’s culinary scene.”

Gill said, as reported by Jon Creamer of Televisual.

Gill added that the selected episodes showed “real creativity and heart”. She said she was looking forward to seeing the teams bring their stories to Food Network and Discovery+.

Her comments point to the criteria used to distinguish the successful ideas. Alongside culinary expertise, the selected projects offer a clear human dimension, with each episode linked to personal experience, cultural heritage or a distinctive approach to food.

The Caribbean episode is built around family traditions and inherited recipes. The Chinese episode connects fine dining with technique, staff culture and the changing character of Chinese food in Britain. The fire kitchen episode focuses on a chef’s personal method and the physical theatre of outdoor cooking.

When will the episodes be released?

The three episodes are expected to air on Food Network and become available to stream on discovery+ from late October 2026.

Warner Bros. Discovery has not, in the information released, provided exact broadcast dates, times or episode running orders. The projects remain identified by working titles, meaning the final names or scheduling details could change before transmission.

The planned release across both Food Network and discovery+ gives the episodes access to television audiences as well as viewers using the streaming service.

Each production will run for 30 minutes. Together, the three episodes will form a small collection within the wider Secrets of the… brand, offering three different accounts of food culture in the UK.
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Why could the episodes matter to UK food television?

The three projects reflect the increasingly broad range of stories that can be told through food programming.

Food television has traditionally combined recipes, restaurant access and chef-led demonstrations. These episodes are also being positioned as stories about identity, migration, family, community and personal history.

Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen will examine how recipes carry memories and traditions across generations. Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen will look at the connection between heritage and contemporary fine dining. Secrets of the Fire Kitchen will explore a cooking method rooted in the landscape, physical skill and performance.

Charlotte Reid said the episodes celebrate

“the people, places and personal stories shaping the UK’s food culture today”.

That description indicates that the productions will treat British food culture as diverse and continually evolving rather than as a single tradition.

The incubator also offers a practical example of how commissioning programmes can widen access to established broadcasters. By combining structured development, pitching and production support, WBD Access has created a pathway for companies that had not previously delivered programming for WBD’s linear channels or discovery+.

The three productions will now be assessed by audiences when they arrive in late October. Their performance could also influence the future development of the Production Incubator and similar initiatives aimed at supporting independent production companies.

What happens next for the selected productions?

Project Must Entertainment, 7FIFTY and Double FTV have moved into production with support from Warner Bros. Discovery teams.

The next stage will involve completing filming, post-production and delivery for the Food Network and discovery+ platforms. Karen Ross will continue to executive produce the three episodes, while the participating companies develop their individual approaches to the Secrets of the… format.

The final programmes will need to balance the requirements of a recognisable food brand with the distinctive voices that secured their selection. That means retaining the format’s focus on access, food and storytelling while allowing each production to reflect its own culinary subject.

For viewers, the result will be three separate journeys: through Caribbean recipes and family history with Keshia Sakarah; through Andrew Wong’s award-winning Chinese kitchen; and through Adam Purnell’s open-fire restaurant in Shropshire.

Food Network and Discovery+ are expected to release the episodes from late October 2026. Until the final transmission information is confirmed, the three working titles remain Secrets of the Caribbean Kitchen, Secrets of the Chinese Kitchen and Secrets of the Fire Kitchen.