When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 350F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.

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Instead, each steak is individually sealed in plastic to preserve its freshness and shipped with ice packs, arriving ready to cook or store for up to a week, without the degradation of flavor that comes from freezing.

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Eventually a harried housewife or a busy executive will be able to order a ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook gourmet meal for delivery by dinner time (see box).

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There's also hard-to-find grass-fed meats, ready-to-cook organic and free-range chicken, and a well-stocked selection of just-caught seafood.

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One man who has overseen Smith's rise to prominence is Durham coach Geoff Cook and he believes Smith is ready to take on the captain's role at the Riverside.

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Peter Bazalgette, 58, of Endemol, who brought Big Brother to the UK and was behind hit shows Ready Steady Cook, and Ground Force, gets a knighthood for services to broadcasting.

BBC: UK

More men were having to cook for themselves and ready meal producers were on hand to make it as easy for them as possible.

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In recent years he made guest appearances on Ready Steady Cook, Celebrity Ghost Stories and a tribute documentary to Australian "crocodile hunter" Steve Irwin.

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Alongside Big Brother he is responsible for creating formats such as Ready Steady Cook, Changing Rooms and Ground Force, which have gone on to become international hits.

BBC: Sir Peter Bazalgette