Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag

Last updated
Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag
AnnaKristinaGroceryBagLogo.jpg
Title card of programme.
Genre Infotainment, Cooking show
Created by
Developed by
  • Anna Wallner
  • Kristina Matisic
Directed by
  • Nicholas Treeshin
  • Erin Redden
  • Jennifer Little
  • Michael Margolis
  • Jordan Kawchuk
Creative directorLionel Goddard
Presented by
  • Anna Wallner
  • Kristina Matisic
Theme music composerGraeme Coleman
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons4 [1]
No. of episodes78 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
  • Anna Wallner
  • Kristina Matisic
Producers
  • Joyce Sawa
  • Heather Hawthorn-Doyle
Production locations Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
CinematographyCarl Alcock
Editors
  • Robert Lawrenson
  • Erin Parks
  • Jennifer Lee
  • Michael Ellis
  • Jessica McKee
Camera setup Multi-camera
Running time30 minutes (including commercials)
Production companiesWorldwide Bag Media, Inc.
Original release
Network
ReleaseSeptember 3, 2008 (2008-09-03) 
November 27, 2012 (2012-11-27)

Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag was a Canadian television series that aired on the W Network and OWN Network in Canada, as well as 13 other countries around the world. [2] Similar to the series The Shopping Bags , produced and hosted by Anna Wallner and Kristina Matisic, this series focuses on the kitchen, putting cookbooks, kitchen products, and cooking ingredients to the test.

Contents

Synopsis

Each episodes focuses on hosts Wallner and Matisic testing one cookbook. They make several recipes, usually consisting a full meal from appetizer to dessert (except for speciality cookbooks such as a dessert cookbook) for a special guest chef (and occasionally, non-chefs) while explicitly following the book's recipes & instructions. The meal is prepared within a strict time limit which ends when the guest chef arrives on set, and is determined by the preparation/cooking time listed in the cookbook. At the end of the program, each host will declare the book a "Buy" or a "Pass" depending on whether they feel the book has delivered in its promise and purpose based both on the cook day experience and their individual pre-testing of the cookbook. If both hosts give the book a "Buy", the cookbook will earn the "A&K Stamp of Approval".

Throughout each episode, Wallner & Matisic also perform product testings of several kitchen gadgets and/or food items to provide a side-by-side comparison between different brands, make or variety, similar to how they tested products on their previous show, The Shopping Bags . These product tests usually pertain to ingredients or tools they are using in that episode. In addition, the episodes are intertwined with interviews with the guest chefs, who share their cooking tips and tricks.

Episodes & testing results

Series overview

SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 13September 3, 2008November 26, 2008
2 26January 7, 2009October 21, 2009
3 26September 22, 2010April 20, 2011
4 [3] 13September 4, 2012November 27, 2012

List of books with Stamp of Approval

Below is a complete list of cookbooks that have received the Official "A&K Stamp of Approval" by having both Wallner and Matisic give the book a Buy rating at the end of the episode.

SeasonBook titleBook author(s)Cuisine type or Genre
1 Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume 1 Julia Child, Simone Beck, Louisette Bertholle French cuisine
1Cooking with Jamie Jamie Oliver Fresh & Organic cooking
1Mangoes and Curry Leaves Jeffrey Alford, Naomi Duguid Indian cuisine
1How to Grill Steven Raichlen Grilling, Barbecue
1Everyday Italian Giada De Laurentiis Italian cuisine
2Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking Marcella Hazan Italian cuisine
2 The French Laundry Cookbook Thomas Keller, Deborah Jones French cuisine
2Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen Rick Bayless Mexican cuisine
2Deceptively Delicious Jessica Seinfeld Kid-friendly dishes
2The Oprah Magazine Cookbook O: The Oprah Magazine editors General cooking
2 The Joy of Cooking, 75th Anniversary Edition Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, Ethan BeckerGeneral cooking
2 Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes Jennifer McLaganCooking with Fat
2The Cake Bible Rose Levy Beranbaum Baking, Cakes, Cake decorating
2Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics Ina Garten General cooking
2The Flexitarian TablePeter Berley Flexitarianism, Vegetarian cuisine
2 Gourmet Magazine Gourmet Magazine editors Magazine, General cooking
2Chef Daniel Boulud: Cooking in New York City Daniel Boulud French cuisine
3Lucinda's Authentic Jamaican KitchenLucinda Scala Quinn Jamaican cuisine
3Bon Appétit, Y'all Virginia Willis Southern US cuisine
3Gordon Ramsay's Family Fare Gordon Ramsay General cooking
3The Pleasures of Cooking for One Judith Jones Cooking for one person
3Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook Bobby Flay Southwestern US cuisine
3The River Cottage Meat Book Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall Cooking with meat
3Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking Michael Ruhlman Ingredient ratios in cooking
3A16: Food + WineNate Appleman, Shelley Lindgren Italian cuisine, Neapolitan cuisine
3Izakaya: The Japanese Pub CookbookMark Robinson Japanese cuisine, Izakaya food
3Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook Anthony Bourdain French Bistro food
3Canyon Ranch: NourishScott Uehlein, Staff of Canyon Ranch Healthy eating, Spa food
3My Father's Daughter Gwyneth Paltrow Healthy eating, General cooking
4100 Recipes Every Woman Should KnowCindi LeiveGeneral cooking
4Absolutely Chocolate Fine Cooking Magazine editors Desserts, Dishes with chocolate
4The Babbo Cookbook Mario Batali Italian cuisine
4Mourad, New MoroccanMourad Lahlou Moroccan cuisine
4The Family Meal: Home Cooking with Ferran Adria Ferran Adrià General cooking
4Whitewater Cooks with FriendsShelley AdamsGeneral cooking, Al fresco dining

"Three Sisters Around the Greek Table" episode

After the airing of the season 3 episode "Three Sisters Around the Greek Table" on November 10, 2010, where the book received a "Split Decision" rating with a "Buy" vote from Matisic and a "Pass" vote from Wallner, the authors of the cookbook, Betty, Eleni, and Samantha Bakopoulos posted a blog entry entitled Don't believe everything you see on T.V. – A&K stamp of what???, voicing their opinions on the results of the show. [4] In the entry, they claim that their cookbook was misrepresented by Wallner & Matisic due to the two's lack of cooking knowledge, expertise, and precision as several mistakes happened during the course of the program. They also questioned the show's handling of the cooking time limit and the actual legitimacy of the "A&K Stamp of Approval". They ultimately called the episode sensationalized for the amusement of television audiences while giving their cookbook a negative image through the omissions and errors in cooking.

On November 14, 2010, Wallner & Matisic posted a note on the show's Facebook page entitled Open Letter to the Bakopoulos Sisters (Three Sisters Around The Greek Table) explaining their reasoning behind giving the cookbook the Split Decision result which included reviews from the show's testing group panelists. [5] The note explained that the results were based on months of cookbook testing by multiple panelists as well as the cook day results. It also mentioned that the cooking mistakes on the show, while included for entertainment value, did not ultimately reflect on the judging of the cookbook itself. The omitted cooking steps were edited out post-production due to time restrictions, but not missed during the cooking process. Wallner & Matisic noted that they posted the open letter on their Facebook page because they could not successfully post the comment on the blog entry by the cookbook authors.

The Bakopoulos sisters have since removed the original blog entry from their website.

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominee(s)ResultNotes
2009 Gemini Awards [6] Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information, or Performing Arts Program or Series Anna Wallner, Kristina Matisic NominatedFor the episode Mastering the Art of French Cooking
Leo Awards [7] Best Information or Lifestyle SeriesSeason 1Nominated
Best Host(s) in an Information or Lifestyle Series Anna Wallner, Kristina Matisic NominatedFor the episode Mangoes & Curry Leaves
Best Direction in an Information or Lifestyle SeriesMichael MargolisNominated
Best Cinematography in an Information or Lifestyle SeriesCarl AlcockNominated
Best Cinematography in an Information or Lifestyle SeriesNominatedFor the episode Mastering the Art of French Cooking
2010 Gemini Awards [8] Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information, or Performing Arts Program or Series Anna Wallner, Kristina Matisic NominatedFor the episode Cowboy in the Kitchen
Leo Awards [9] Best Information or Lifestyle SeriesSeason 2Nominated
Best Host(s) in an Information or Lifestyle Series Anna Wallner, Kristina Matisic WonFor the episode Cowboy in the Kitchen
Best Direction in an Information or Lifestyle SeriesJennifer LittleWonFor the episode Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Best Cinematography in an Information or Lifestyle SeriesCarl AlcockWon
2011 Gemini Awards [10] Best Lifestyle/Practical Information SeriesSeason 3Nominated
Best Direction in a Lifestyle/Practical Information Program or SeriesJordan Kawchuk, Erin ReddenNominatedFor the episode Best British Dishes
Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information, or Performing Arts Program or Series Anna Wallner, Kristina Matisic Nominated

Production and distribution

The show began broadcasting in 2008, and is filmed and produced in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Worldwide Bag Media Inc., and is distributed by Picture Box Distribution. The series premiere episode, Mastering the Art of French Cooking was nominated for a 2009 Gemini Award in the category for "Best Host in a Lifestyle/Practical Information, or Performing Arts Program or Series". [11]

In 2010, Picture Box Distribution announced that it had reached a deal with OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network which picked up the first three seasons, marking the show's debut in the United States.

Season 4 started filming in April 2012 and premiered on September 4, 2012. It was announced that show will shift from the W Network to its sister channel, Oprah Winfrey Network (Canada) starting this season. [1] However, a deal has yet to be reached for the American broadcast of season 4.

International Syndication

International syndication [12]
Country / RegionNameTelevision Network Dubbing / Subtitles
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada (Quebec)Anna & Kristina : recettes à l'essai
(English: Anna & Kristina: Test Recipes)
Zeste French dubbing
Flag of Finland.svg  Finland Annan ja Kristinan koekeittiö
(English: Anna & Kristina's Test Kitchen)
MTV3 Finnish dubbing
Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Li TV English
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary A jó szakácskönyv receptje
(English: A Good Cookbook Recipe)
TV Paprika Hungarian dubbing
Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Li TV English
Flag of Israel.svg  Israel Anna & Kristina's Grocery BagAnaney - Israeli Food ChannelEnglish
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Beep Omnimedia
Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Li TV English
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland Canal+ Poland Polish subtitles
Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore Anna & Kristina's Grocery Bag Li TV English
United StatesAnna & Kristina's Grocery Bag OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network English
Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam Cẩm nang nội trợ
(English: Guide of Housewives)
K+PC Vietnamese dubbing

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Bag Blog - Back in the Saddle Archived 2012-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Annaandkristina.com Blog Entry dated February 28, 2012. Retrieved on February 28, 2012.
  2. "C21Media | Home to the International Entertainment Community".
  3. Bag Blog – Back in the Saddle Archived 2012-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Annaandkristina.com Blog Entry dated February 28, 2012. Retrieved on February 28, 2012.
  4. Don’t believe everything you see on T.V. – A&K stamp of what??? - 3 Greek Sisters [ permanent dead link ] Blog entry dated November 12, 2011.
  5. Open Letter to the Bakopoulos Sisters (Three Sisters Around The Greek Table) Note dated November 14, 2010.
  6. 24th Annual Gemini Awards Nominees list Archived 2012-03-22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-03
  7. 2009 Leo Awards Nominees list Archived 2011-02-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-03
  8. 25th Annual Gemini Awards Nominees list Archived 2011-06-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2010-11-14
  9. 2010 Leo Awards Nominees list Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-03
  10. 2011 Gemini Awards Nominees list Archived 2011-10-06 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2011-08-03
  11. "A&K; in the News | Anna Wallner & Kristina Matisic: Official Website". Archived from the original on 2013-08-09. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  12. "Buyers Peek Into Picture Box's Grocery Bag". Picture Box Distribution Inc. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015. Retrieved 10 November 2012.