A Pinch of Ethics and a Soupçon of Home Cooking: Soft-Selling Supermarkets on Food Television

On 27 August 2013, Australian commercial broadcaster Network Ten screened a new reality show, Recipe to Riches, in a primetime slot. Based on a Canadian format of the same name, the show sees contestants — ordinary people with no formal training or food credentials — competing for the prize of having their homemade recipes recognised as worthy of being top-selling supermarket products. This chapter discusses the Australian version of this somewhat unusual reality show, situating the rise of the format in the broader contexts of the increasing politicisation and scrutiny of food production and provenance as well as the role of agribusiness and supermarket players in Australia and internationally. Reality-based food shows like MasterChef Australia (Network Ten 2009-) have proved to be highly successful commercial ventures, integrating ‘below-the-line’ advertising and commodities seamlessly into their format structure and content. Sponsored by major Australian supermarket chain, Woolworths, Recipe to Riches takes this commercial logic considerably further. Turning the recipes of ordinary Australians into mass products through a large-scale ‘batch up’ process in a (purportedly) commercial kitchen, the show’s narrative involves developing a branding strategy and a product launch, finally resulting in its temporary placement on Woolworth’s shelves, at which point viewers get to vote for their favourite product by buying it in-store or online.