This document proposes a new cooking competition TV show called "YouFood" that pits teams of teenagers against each other to create meals within time limits. Each episode would feature two teams of four teenagers and a coach competing to make a snack, dinner, and dessert using a secret ingredient. The show aims to entertain viewers while also educating teens on nutrition, healthy living, and cultural foods. It would air on the Food Network and promote healthy eating through merchandise, sponsors, and an online component for recipe sharing.

1. Kashina Ayala
Com 410
Professor Renee Hobbs
7 October 2012
TITLE: YouFood
CONCEPT: Inventive, imaginative, non-traditional, competitive methods of cooking performed
by two teams of teenagers in a fun fast-paced environment.
CONTENT: The show will involve two teams of teenagers with four people on each team. Each
team will compete against one another by preparing three dishes of food that will be presented to
each judge. Each team will have 45 minutes to prepare all three courses. The teams will consist
of two boys and two girls on each team, who will collaboratively creative a snack, dinner, and
dessert that will best show the creative, inventive, and cultural foods of each team. In addition to
the four members on each team, there will be a team coach/executive chef on each team to help
with safety regulations and education on culinary arts.The team coaches are not allowed to
actually prepare the food for the contestants or flavor the food because that would create a big
disadvantage to both teams. The suspense factor to the show will be a secret ingredient that must
be used in each of the three courses by each team. The failure to use the secret ingredient will
result in a major decrease in score by the judges. The disheswill be presented to three judges:
Demi Lovato, Shailene Woodley, and the third judge will be a surprise judge of the week. The
first episode will have Leon Thomas III from the hit show „Victorious‟ as the guest judge. The
emphasis of this show is not solely on the quality of food because these are young teens who are
putting their passion, love, and fun for food to the test; rather the show is to educate teenagers
and parents on healthier options to the traditional foods eaten in America. This show will also

2. emphasize the risks of obesity, juvenile diabetes, high cholesterol, and the importance of a
balanced diet.
The purpose of the show is to entertain the audience, the judges, and the viewers at home,
but also providing an educational aspect on healthy living and better food choices for teenagers.
The show will not only provide American food options, but multicultural, kid-friendly foods that
are easy to make and delicious. The viewers at home will have access to the recipes to do at
home themselves also. In addition to receiving the recipes, each week the viewers at home will
have access to vote online for the best presentation, best group unity, and most likeable meals.
The team who creates the most creative, well-presented, delicious dishes of food will win the
ultimate prize. The prize will vary from show to show because each team is asked what their
hobbies, interests, and future goals are. The team who wins will appear again on the show on the
season finale, which will have all of the winning teams competing for the ultimate prize! The
show will take place in New York City, which is one of the mecca cities of cooking in the United
States. The stadium will feature stadium seating, live action, and audience participation. In
addition, the audience will vote on what the secret ingredient is for the episode at hand. The host
of the show will be Guy Fieri, who is well known for trying various combinations of food.
FORMAT & GENRE: This show is a fast-paced, interactive, action-packed game show format.
The show will consist of a host, eight contestants, three judges, and a live audience. In addition,
the contestants will prepare a two minute video that shows the viewers at home and the audience
who they are, where they come from, what their favorite foods are, who influenced their cooking
style, what their interests are, what their future goals are, which school they attend, the
importance of health in their lives, and why they feel they will be great competition. It is
important to note that the contestants will be diverse, and will have equal numbers of girls and

3. boys on each team. The show will start off with the host introducing the show, the contestants,
and a brief explanation of the rules of the show. The rules are as follows: each team will consist
of four members and a coach. The coach is collaboratively selected by each team, and their
options consist of choosing from the current Iron Chefs of America. The coach will be
introduced right before the first commercial break. After the break, the host will reveal what the
audience chosen secret ingredient will be. The teams will then have two minutes to collaborate
with the coach and their team mates on what three items they will make. They then will divide
their team on who will complete what and how everything will be prepared. Each team must be
able to have a snack, a dessert, and dinner on the plate before the 45 minutes expires. The plates
must be well presented and creative. After the meals are done, the three judges will give their
evaluation of each course and decide who they feel has the best dishes.Before the judges evaluate
each dish, the dishes will appear on the television, with their recipes and creative ideas, and in
return the viewers at home will then have to decide on who they feel are the winners, by voting
online. Each contestant will discuss the ingredients used, the style of the course, and what
measurements were used. The recipes will then appear on the right corner of the screen so the
viewers at home, whether it is kids or parents, will be able to use them.After, the break the host
will reveal who the winner is and what they have won. IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT
SAFETY CONCERNS WILL BE DISCUSSED THROUGHOUT THE SHOW! Demonstrations
on how to properly use the kitchen equipment will be addressed prior to airing the show. For the
viewers at home, the host will reiterate the proper kitchen instructions. During the preparations
of the three courses discussions on health topics, statistics, and factual information on a balanced
diet will be discussed as well, through pre-recorded tapes by each contestant, which will air in
between the cooking time.

4. AUDIENCE AND DISTRIBUTION: The show is an hour long, live action, game show. The
target audience will be ages 12 to 17 of all races and genders. Although the ages will vary each
team will consist of similar age groups, so that there are no advantages for one team over the
other. Each diversified team will have to collaboratively create cultural meals that are kid-
friendly, fun, and creative. Each contestant is on the show to win the ultimate prize, however,
the contestants will learn how to work in groups, communicate effectively to one another, work
at a fast-paced environment, decision making capabilities, problem solving skills, measurements
for recipes, the ability to accept others‟ ideas, the importance of time, and respect for coaches,
teammates and opponents. The show will be able to tape everything within a given 3 hour
frame, which will save on the budget because multiple days of filming would not be necessary.
COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS: There aren‟t specific shows that are similar to the concept
presented, but PBS offers a show called “Hey Kids Let‟s Cook” that offers the abilities for
children to learn a different recipe each week. “Hey Kids Let‟s Cook” is targeted at ages 6 to 14,
while YouFoodis targeted at ages 12 to 17. YouFoodoffers the abilities for teenagers to use their
own imagination, creativity, and originality in making their own creations of a snack, dinner, and
a dessert. This show is a better option than any other similar show because it offers factual
nutritional information, suspense, team building skills, and significant abilities that teenagers
need. There isn‟t a show that on television that offers two teams of teenagers that are able to
express themselves through their passion of food, cooking, decorating, communicating, and
competition. The lessons learned on this show cannot be beaten either. What other show offers
teenagers to learn the best food options, the amount of calories in different types of food, being
introduced to multicultural foods, and the abilities to make new friends and healthy
relationships? This show is without a doubt the best option for television.

5. APPEAL: Teenagers will love this show because it offers a positive, productive environment
that allows them to express themselves in multiple ways. The emotions that teenagers
experience during adolescence are unpredictable, so this show offers a way for teenagers to be
understood, while gaining great educational background on nutrition and food. Teenagers will
be able to show off their skills, make friends, and win great prizes that can help with their future
careers, hobbies, and goals. The fight of being the best in high school could be solved in Kitchen
Stadium, which is a positive environment; rather than teenagers using their competitive strive in
a violent way. The appearance of celebrities and being seen on television I believe would attract
teenagers to watch the show as well. Not only is the show fun, teenagers will be able to show the
world who they are and what their talents are, and what teenager wouldn‟t want this?
DISTRIBUTION: The show will reach audiences through internet advertisements, television
commercials, and radio advertisements as well. The internet advertisements will be made via
Google, YouTube, and Facebook because these are the three most popular teenager websites.
The show will appear on television commercials on the Disney Channel, MTV, BET, Food
Network, Discovery Kids, ABC Family, and Nickelodeon. These are the most popular television
channels in the United States, so it would be smart to air commercials advertising the new show
on these channels to obtain viewers and possible participants. I decided the show would air on
the Food Network channel because viewers who already watch shows on the Food Network have
the passion and interest in cooking. I feel it would be a disadvantage for the show to air on
Disney or Nickelodeon because the risk of finding an audience who enjoys cooking as an interest
would be higher than already airing it on a network that parents, teens, and young adults enjoy.
In addition, YouFood will offer a Digital Teen online website page, where they can create their
own recipes, learn about the value of exercise, see the pictures of food recipes that have already

6. appeared on the show, and teen blog that can help them express their passion, struggles, and
interests with food and healthy living. I would also hope that mommy blogs would occur after
seeing a show with great ideas, a teenage haven and a place for parents and teens to indulge
together.
MARKETING/PROMOTION/LICENSING/MERCHANDISING: I will help pay for this show
by proposing to food manufacturers the benefits in helping to produce a healthier America for
children and teenagers. I will also create a proposal for Wal-Mart to help provide food and
prizes for the show, in hopes that they see the advertisement opportunities for themselves by
helping out with the show as well. I would see if there are any chefs like Paula Dean, Emeril
Lagasse, Guy Fieri, and any other Iron Chefs if they can contribute to the cooking utensils, pots
pans, etc… on the show and in return their products will be advertised throughout the show. I
would expect advertising to happen on the original show, Iron Chef America, which would help
promote a show on the same network. I would also create a proposal to Kenmore to try and get
the top notch stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, and other equipment. I would be in charge of
promoting the show by appearing on the radio, interviews, and talk shows. I believe that radio
promotions would be great because the target audience tends to listen to music greatly. Talk
shows are a way to reach out to parents who might become interested in learning more recipes,
and perhaps realize that their children are capable of relating to the show.
I would propose to Nike, Gatorade, and Crest to sponsor the show. I would create a
proposal that shows these companies the benefits on promoting healthy living to teenagers.
Teenagers use these products often and it would be great publicity for the show as well as great
advertisements for the three companies. Licensing the show should not be a huge problem
because I am hoping that First Lady Michelle Obama, Lady Gaga, Beyonce Knowles, Christina

7. Aguilera, Fat Joe, and other artists who have campaigns, foundations, and interests in having a
healthier America, the prevention of juvenile diabetes, and an emphasis on healthy living.
Merchandise could be sold to children, parents, preteens, and teenagers as well. Shirts,
sweatpants, sneakers, hats, aprons, and cooking equipment that saysYouFood, Teen Challenge,
Teen Takeover, Indulge in YouFood, YouFood=Good Food, and “Be a teen, but eat green”
sayings on a variety of the items would help promote the show and create more viewers to the
show. Merchandising for this show I feel could be huge because many celebrities, Iron Chefs,
the Food Network channel, and the companies sponsoring it could all help create merchandise
for this show.