Food Network Teams With Mary McCartney on Cooking Classes for Subscription App, Live TV Special

By Todd Spangler

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Discovery’s Food Network has tapped Mary McCartney, British cookbook author, photographer and vegetarian advocate, in a bid to bring more subscribers into its recently launched subscription app.

McCartney, who’s the daughter of famed Beatle Paul McCartney, worked with on a series of new on-demand cooking classes for the Food Network Kitchen app and it set to host an on-air special next month. The app debuted in October in the U.S. with international rollouts expected in 2020.

Both the classes and TV special showcase McCartney’s vegetarian recipes, highlighting her love of cooking. Classes are available now on the app for recipes including Lemon Pesto Spaghetti, Spicy Yummy Rice Noodles, Easy Peasy Pea Soup and Black Bean and Sweet Corn Tacos. The special, “Mary McCartney Serves It Up,” is slated to premiere Sunday, Jan. 5, on Food Network.

“We are excited to partner with Mary McCartney to bring her passion and extraordinary background to our viewers and fans,” said Courtney White, president of Food Network. “Presenting unique culinary voices to satisfy the tastes of our audience is something we strive to do across all our platforms, and we know fans will love her easy, family-friendly recipes and the stories behind them.”

McCartney’s cookbooks include “Food: Vegetarian Home Cooking,” in which she offers easy, family-friendly meat-free dishes that will appeal to everyone, and “At My Table: Vegetarian Feasts for Family and Friends,” offering more than 75 recipes. She also is a co-founder of Meat Free Monday, a not-for-profit organization that campaigns for sustainable, meat-free living.

Food Network Kitchen, Discovery’s biggest subscription-based business bet in the U.S. to date, is regularly priced at $6.99 per month or $59.99 per year. The app offers live cooking shows, on-demand instructional and step-by-step cooking videos, a collection of 80,000 recipes, plus original programming and select shows from Food Network’s library. The service also lets users order groceries directly straight from the app, app using Amazon Fresh, Peapod and Instacart in select cities.

Discovery also has launched special holiday discounts for Food Network Kitchen, with a one-year subscription for $39.99 and a six-month subscription for $24.99. The offers are valid through Jan. 24, 2020.