Hot Topics:

Spec is tasty to Mandlay

Sternberg preps Roberts cooking show for U.S. auds

E! to toast host with big payday

'OC' sees new slot amid Fox sked shakeup

TV poll studies what viewers want

Sky One chief clicks on Interactive

Taylor Lautner to star in 'Max Steel'(3390 views)

Jack Black animates film pitch(3187 views)

'Blind Side' tackles box office competition(2665 views)

Nine(1478 views)

Bennett Miller to direct 'Moneyball'(1375 views)

Overture nabs rights to 'Stone'(1039 views)

Mandalay Entertainment and Scott Sternberg Prods. have sold "Jason Roberts' Taste," a third half-hour cooking special hosted by the Australian chef and TV personality, to Independent Television (formerly Pax TV).

Roberts cooks up a storm every day in 30-minute series "Fresh," distributed by Channel Nine to outlets in Oz and New Zealand.

Sternberg is grooming Roberts, who touts fresh, natural foods in small portions, to take over a regularly scheduled cooking show in the U.S. that would showcase his youthful energy and good humor.

During his book tour in 2003 to promote "Graze: Lots of Little Meals Fast," Roberts appeared as a guest on a number of U.S. TV shows, including ABC's "Good Morning America."

But Sternberg said these short segments didn't display Roberts' talent to the fullest, which is why the half-hours on Independent TV, like the "Fresh" program in Australia, give Roberts a better chance to draw the attention of U.S. network talent scouts.