每年日本申请专利的新品种食材多达千种，《头号食谱》节目组将挖掘这些新品类食材，并邀请全国知名大厨为新食材首创一道食谱，最终将由美食评审团现场试吃点评，选出每期神奇食材的"头号食谱"。 There is a huge number of ingredients in the world. What we usually eat is just a small part of them… In this show, great chefs cook unknown ingredients that they have never seen. The ingredient looks/tastes strange. The chef is firstly surprised at such an unknown, but gradually grasps ...
詹姆士出走料理以尋找詹姆士私廚菜單為節目主軸，為了尋找記憶中的美味料理，詹姆士將帶領大家探索市場，品嘗在地美味、尋訪料理達人。並在節目中展現特殊食材的處理方式、嘗試新的醬料或是新的料理作法，製作創意料理料理教學，最後在節目片尾時作出一道詹姆士創意料理。
