New Day New Chef: Amazon Vegan Cooking Show Earns 8 Award Nominations, Including Best Green Series

Vegan cooking show, New Day New Chef, which debuted on streaming platform Amazon Prime in the U.S. and later premiered in England, Ireland, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, has been nominated in eight Taste Awards categories, including Best New Series and Best Reality Series.

Back in September, U.S.- based New Day New Chef, was made available to watch for viewers outside the U.S. on Amazon Prime after its initial success on both Amazon Prime and public television stations across the home country as plant-based home cooking becomes increasingly popular with consumers.

The show has been nominated for eight Taste Awards, one of the most prestigious awards given to the Lifestyle Entertainment Industry, and the highest award given to creators, producers, hosts, and directors of shows and cinema belonging to this category.

Hosted by Jane Velez-Mitchell, a New York Times bestselling author, former CNN television broadcaster, and founder of nonprofit animal welfare news network Jane Unchained, the show is produced by Emmy Award winning producer Eammon McCrystal.

During the first season, Velez-Mitchell shows viewers a number of easy 100% plant-based recipes such as egg-free deviled eggs, “muscle” scramble, a vegan tower burger, and chocolate hazelnut milk. In addition, the show invites some of the highest-profile plant-based figures such as NBA legend John Salley, Olympic medalist Dotsie Bausch, Downton Abbey star Lesley Nicol, and actress Emilie de Ravin. 

In May of last year, a special edition of the series, New Day New Chef Support and Feed, saw vegan actress and singer Maddie Baird, mother of famous singer-songwriters Billie Eilish and Finneas provide healthy plant-based meals to those struggling amid the pandemic and help out local vegan restaurants in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. 

The show and its Support + Feed edition have been nominated for Best Reality Series; Best Green or Organic Program, Series or Film; Best New Series; Best Health & Fitness Program, Film or Documentary; Best Filmed at Home Episodes or Film; and Best Series Pilot, with the latter two based on viewers’ choice.

In an interview with VegNews, McCrystal said: “We are delighted to be nominated. It’s our mission at New Day New Chef to bring vegan cooking to a mainstream audience, so to be nominated in the same category as well-established traditional food programs is a great honor, and it means we are on the right track. All this as we are about to embark on the filming of our new season gives us a great boost after a difficult 2020.”

At the moment, the crew is filming another 8-episode season with slight delays owing to the situation last year. In this season, viewers might see well-known chefs such as vegan restaurateur Matthew Kenney and wellness expert chef Leslie Durso on the show.

Though the show isn’t available to stream in Asia, there are plans in place to do so. It is also being translated into German and Japanese, and will debut in both markets with a possible third season.

We are delighted to be nominated. It’s our mission at New Day New Chef to bring vegan cooking to a mainstream audience, so to be nominated in the same category as well-established traditional food programs is a great honor, and it means we are on the right track. All this as we are about to embark on the filming of our new season gives us a great boost after a difficult 2020

Eammon McCrystal, producer of New Day New Chef

Due to the pandemic, people had to stay more indoors resulting in spending more time than usual on streaming platforms and hence, it is only natural that vegan cooking shows will be doing well right now. 

Apart from this, the crisis has drawn attention to the vulnerabilities in the meat supply chain, from virus outbreaks at slaughterhouses to supermarket shortages. In addition to this, scientific evidence to support the long-term health advantages of a plant-based diet has come to the limelight thus sparking an all-time high interest in plant-based eating and home cooking.

Recently, in February, animal activist, cookbook author, photographer, and co-founder of the nonprofit Meat Free Monday, Mary McCartney began hosting her new vegetarian cooking show, a six-part series that aims to promote plant-based cooking and recipes among the show’s audience.

Apart from cooking shows, around the world, plant-based cooking classes have emerged in response to the immense demand from plant-based consumers, for instance, Las Vegas is about to get its first-ever vegan cooking school and deli, Vegas Vegan Culinary School and Eatery, a women-owned business, aimed at helping interested individuals learn and appreciate plant-based cooking in April 2021.

Based in Berlin, Germany, another company Veecoco, founded by ‘vegan twins’ brothers Samuel and Lukas Schanderl, aims to raise awareness about plant-based cooking through online vegan cooking classes across international cuisines such as Japanese, Italian, Thai, and more, all taught by renowned world chefs.

The general & viewers’ choice Taste Award winners will be announced in April 2021.

Lead image courtesy of New Day New Chef/Amazon Prime.