Tom Kerridge Credit BBC

Tom Kerridge is fronting a new artisan food TV show Photo credit BBC

Artisan food producers from across the UK will pitch to the public in a dragon’s den-style new TV series fronted by Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge.

'The Finest In The Deli: Yorkshire’s Choice' is a new BBC Two series, due to air in 2018, which will showcase artisan food products to food writer and restaurateur Nisha Katona and artisan expert Alison Swan Parente as judges, as well as members of the local community.

In the eighth and final show, seven winners will gain a listing at a real shop in the Yorkshire Dales, with one final public vote determining the best overall product.

Kerridge said: “The huge rise in interest around artisan food products in this country has been phenomenal over the past few years.

“This has led to a great many more amateur food lovers having a go at making goods themselves with some outstanding results. I cannot wait to see the range of artisan products on the shop shelf and seeing if they are well received by the local community.”

Swan Parente, founder of The School of Artisan Food, added: “Being able to make food from scratch is a useful skill. It helps keeps us in touch with our roots and our environment and it most definitely saves us money and gives us something to be proud of.

“I am thrilled to be a part of this programme where entrepreneurship and artisan food skills are valued and encouraged.”