Even though I’m getting tired of the sheer volume of cookery shows on the box, one consistently pleasant treat is Si and Dave aka The Hairy Bikers. And last night, they appeared chortling into view with The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best (BBC Two, Tuesday, 12 January, 8pm). Many foodie gits have bemoaned the non-pro cooks that appear on our screens, but like a lot of TV viewers (I suspect… and I’m often wrong), I’m more prone to a food enthusiast than a food Nazi… something that could never be thrown at Si and Dave or Delia.
Archive for the ‘Food TV’ Category
TV Review: The Hairy Bikers: Mums Know Best, BBC Two, Tuesday, 12 January, 8pm
Wednesday, January 13th, 2010Set The Video: Heston’s Christmas Feast, Channel 4, Friday, 18 December, 9pm
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
Of all the TV foodies on the box, the only one I can’t get mad at is Heston Blumenthal. He’s the mad Professor Yaffle of cookery. Instead of giving us tips, he fills our heads with ideas so mental that by the close of his show, someone will need to hang our brains in a gallery. And so, with great glee, I look forward to watching Heston’s Christmas Feast (Channel 4, Friday, 18 December, 9pm) which will once again, make me insanely jealous of anyone fortunate enough to get their tea cooked for by the most mental chef in history.
TV Review: Gordon Ramsay’s F Word, Channel 4, Tuesday, 15 December, 9pm
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009
It’s strange that Gordon Ramsay’s F Word (Channel 4, Tuesday, 15 December, 9pm) is back on our TVs and no-one seems to give a fig. Once, it was a telly giant that had everyone chattering like scared apes… but now… everyone lies about scratching their backsides and thinking “Oh, it’s you again…”.
TV Review: Christmas at River Cottage, Channel 4, Monday, 14 December, 8pm
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009
Christmas time is here again, and naturally, this means that TV is bloated with a whole host of cookery gits telling us what to eat. They’ve every right to of course, because we’re all idiots who just buy turkeys every Yule without really thinking about it (unless you’re a foodie already of course). The latest chef with ideas is Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall with his Christmas at River Cottage (Channel 4, Monday, 14 December, 8pm)… and he’s got a gun.
Set The Video: River Cottage, Channel 4, Thursday, 12 November, 8pm
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
If you can find something from within yourself to stomach yet another programme about food without immediately self-harming your innards with household bleach, then you’ll be thrilled to know that this week sees another series of River Cottage (Channel 4, Thursday, 12 November, 8pm). While it’s perfectly reasonable to say that TV is overloaded with far too much food these days, it’s not fair to say that they’re all rubbish. They’re just mostly rubbish.
Set The Video: Masterchef – The Professionals, BBC Two, Thursday, 22 October, 8pm
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
A clearly weary world can trudge toward Masterchef The Professionals (BBC Two, Thursday, 22 October, 8pm) in a show that’s fast becoming a parody of itself. The shouting, the ear-imploding rave, the thumb-screw pressure applied to sweaty cooks and Gregg Wallace’s sweet tooth… they’re all there, all present and correct and… well… exactly as you left them.
Are you ready for the return of The Restaurant?
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
The Restaurant is one of the most engrossing and classy shows on the box and, in world-renowned chef and restaurateur Raymond Blanc, they’ve got a man who really knows his onions. Literally I guess. Blanc & Co return to BBC Two on Thursday 29 October at 8.00pm in the third series of the show with nine couples hungry for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to open a restaurant with him. It still stuns me at how great the prize is!
Related: More Restaurant action on TV Scoop
TV Review: River Cottage: Gone Fishing, Channel 4, Tuesday, 15 September, 8pm
Wednesday, September 16th, 2009Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall is a man with a mission. His mission is to badger us into submission until we’re all living like medieval peasants off the land. That’s a nice enough thought but y’know, I like Playstations, kettles and Whopper Burgers. So whilst I lead a life that would make a duckling bawl, Hugh’s has… River Cottage: Gone Fishing (Channel 4, Tuesday, 15 September, 8pm)… sorry, I couldn’t crowbar it into a sentence.
TV Review: Caribbean Food Made Easy, BBC Two, Monday, 24 August, 8.30pm
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
The closest thing we’ve had to Caribbean food on TV has been Ainsley Harriot gurning over a hob and bulging his eyeballs over a bit of Percy. He’s pure nonsense. He’s also a bit Children’s Entertainer as opposed to real deal, roots-fi cookery. So step forward Levi Roots, star of Dragons Den who pisses charisma, in new food show Caribbean Food Made Easy (BBC Two, Monday, 24 August, 8.30pm). And what a welcome addition to the schedule it is.
Related: Chinese Food Made Easy | Dragons Den Section
TV Review: Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey, BBC Two, Thursday, 16 July, 8pm
Friday, July 17th, 2009
Cookery travelogues can be a bit on the self indulgent side can’t they? They say “Look at me! I’ve been paid to go to somewhere you’ll never visit and eat loads of mental food… GASP… this insane looking thing has only been fried and my mind is completely blown. I feel like I’m on drugs. F U people of Rotherham.” Mercifully, Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC Two, Thursday, 16 July, 8pm) didn’t suffer from that too much. Rather, it was like been taken away for a weekend by an old gay man spoiling you with posh grub.
Related: Rick Stein’s Memoirs of a Seafood Chef | Rick Stein’s Who Do You Think You Are?
Sophie Dahl joins BBC Two with new cookery series
Wednesday, July 15th, 2009
Sophie Dahl, you know her right? She caused pent-up men to masturbate furiously whilst driving their cars, crashing into the already flaming wreckage on roundabouts due to some nudey photoshoot she did on billboards. Well, she’s about to appear on our screens with a new cookery show on BBC Two. Made by Jamie Oliver’s production house (so expect slightly wobbly cameras) and due on air in 2010, Sophie will work up recipes and reminisce on her own personal food memories. Does that sound like fun? Of course, she’s better know for her modelling (and as a by-product, being a bit larger than your average model and then losing loads of weight) and the fact she’s got a famous dad.
Related: Our Food TV section
Set The Video: Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey, BBC Two, Thursday, 16 July, 8pm
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009There’s something immediately pleasing about Rick Stein. He seems like a nice bloke… but one that could throw a punch in your defence if needed. He’s travelled the Mediterranean and widened his eyes at fresh fish near his house and now, we get to tag along in Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC Two, Thursday, 16 July, 8pm). The Far East has been a muse to pretty much every TV chef going, yet no-one has managed to beat Keith Floyd in terms of going there and making hilarious and brilliant TV. That’s possibly down to the fact that no-one dared knock as many drinks back as Floyd. So will Stein be swiping the crown?
Related: Rick Stein’s Memoirs of a Seafood Chef | Rick Stein and Cornwall fall out? | Rick Stein’s Who Do You Think You Are?
TV Review: What To Eat Now Summer, BBC Two, Monday 13 July, 8.30pm
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
In the early part of this episode, a posh woman said to Valentine Warner, “There’s something of the young boy about you. You always seem to want a pat on the back.” And she hit the nail on the head. Valentine is just a big kid at heart and his bouncy, smiley and affable nature really comes out when he’s cooking, especially with someone else.
For all our bits and pieces on What To Eat Now, go here.
TV Review: The Supersizers Eat… The Twenties, BBC Two, Monday 13 July, 9pm
Monday, July 13th, 2009
There’s no denying that Giles Coren and Sue Perkins have set themselves some arduous challenges in the current series of Supersizers. Whether it’s living the medieval lifestyle, consuming gargantuan banquets a la last week’s French Revolutionary diet or simply, in the case of the 1980s edition, keeping those shoulder pads firmly in place, there’s no denying it’s made for enthralling viewing – with, it has to be said, a certain sense of thankfulness that it’s them working their way through all those frequently unappetising menus and not you.
For all our Supersizers news and reviews, go here.
Coming soon… The Hairy Bikers’ Food Tour Of Britain, BBC Two
Monday, July 13th, 2009
The Hairy Bikers – or Si and Dave as they like to be known – have their own very special fanbase. Series of The Hairy Bikers’ Cookbook and The Hairy Bakers have seen them attract huge numbers, and it’s not just the cooking bits that have done the business – they’re bike-riding, no nonsense approach to cookery has endeared them to many. Now they’re back and they’re back on their bikes, but this time in a daytime slot…
Related: TV Scoop interview: The Hairy Bakers | TV Review – Hairy Bikers Come Home
TV Review: Celebrity Masterchef Final, BBC One, Friday 10 July, 8.30pm
Friday, July 10th, 2009
I can’t remember a series of Masterchef – celebrity or otherwise – that has worked the three finalists as hard as they’ve done in this series. Iwan Thomas, Wendi Peters and Jayne Middlemiss looked knackered, tense and seriously on edge as they entered the Masterchef HQ kitchen this evening. Iwan even touched the frame of the door as he strode into the arena, just like Liverpool football players touch the ‘This is Anfield’ crest before they run onto the pitch. And this was even before the cooking started.
For all our Masterchef news and reviews, go here.
TV Review: Celebrity Masterchef, BBC One, Thursday 9 July, 8pm
Friday, July 10th, 2009
There was a lot of crying last night’s penultimate episode of Celebrity Masterchef. And who can blame these exhausted finalists? The series has been going for at least six years and Iwan Thomas is keen to win it I’m half expecting him to serve up his own kidneys in tomorrow night’s final cook-off. But there was this very tense and breakneck episode to get out of the way first, and it was a doozie.
For all our Masterchef news and reviews, go here.
TV Review: What To Eat Now Summer, BBC Two, Monday 6 July, 8.30pm
Tuesday, July 7th, 2009
Back in 2008, the BBC trumpeted the arrival of a new TV chef. He was supposed to be a rebel, the Russell Brand of cookery, and a breath of fresh air to blow through a stale genre. I immediately hated him. Anyone who is so compartmentalised and so manufactured is surely only good for being utterly ignored. The first moments of What To Eat Now seemed to confirm my initial view, but then something weird happened. I started to tolerate and then actually like the guy. Sure, he was goofy and full of self-consciously odd phrases, but some of the food he cooked was right up my alley. Because of this, I was actually looking forward to this new seasonal series.
Related: TV Review: What To Eat Now | Valentine Warner… why?
TV Review: The Supersizers Eat… The French Revolution, BBC Two, Monday 6 July, 9pm
Monday, July 6th, 2009
Given that Supersizers is fast becoming one of the highlights of my viewing week, I did feel somewhat bereft when last Monday’s edition got bumped from the schedules on account of a certain Wimbledon match featuring Andy Murray (great game, but even so….). All of which means that we are still yet to see Giles and Sue getting to grips with 50s eating, but this week, in keeping with the schedule, our intrepid duo donned corsets and periwigs and headed back to the days of the French Revolution for some serious gorging.
For all our Supersizers news and reviews, go here.
TV Review: Celebrity Masterchef, BBC One, Thursday 2 July, 8pm
Friday, July 3rd, 2009
As much as I’m a fan of Masterchef in all its forms, this series of Celebrity Masterchef has, to me, dragged a wee bit. The standard of cooking has been pretty poor, but things are getting serious now – it’s semi-final time and you can see everyone has got their game faces on. So did I. I haven’t watched it for a week or so, so I was eager to see if things had progressed. I’d also forgotten that this was an hour long, so it was isotonic drinks a go-go.
Related: Our Masterchef section.
From:Coronation Street fans apply here