We are resolutely stuck in the Dog Days of January. It’s a Never-Never world where the television content is execrable, a crap factor that’s neatly matched by inane newspaper stories on everything from crash-of-the-day to disease-of-the-week.
Other bloggers have taken to their sites to express their fury at this. And while I don’t blame them, this time round I’m not joining the fray.
Why? Because a period of enforced recuperation has allowed me the luxury of reconnecting with A Great Love, one that almost became a career – food and cooking. These days it’s a love that has to satisfy itself with the eye candy of the Food Channel.
And while I wrote a column for “Cuisine” magazine last year lambasting the telly fashion for food-as-competition shows, in the spirit of accentuate-the-positive-delineate-the-negative that has heralded the start of 2012, here’s my choice of absolute faves that take pride of place on my MySky.
Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam
As much a cooking show, as it is a travelogue, Nguyen introduces us to everyone in his home country, from his grandmother to the lady cooking street-food in Hanoi. It’s the show to watch if you’ve never been to Vietnam but want to go, if you’ve been but want to go back and, most importantly, if you want to learn to cook Vietnamese. A lush, visual, sensual splendour.
Nigel Slater’s Simple Suppers
Yes, Nigel style is depressing, yes, his flat delivery drives me crazy at times (it’s not quite as bad as Rick Stein’s nasal whine but its getting up there) BUT this is a beautifully directed show, which transmits Slater’s passion for food. It uses clever visual techniques to introduce and shape the programme, allowing the recipes to take centre stage. Slater’s food philosophy is true to the programme’s title. His food is easy to follow tasty-takes on classic ideas.
Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets
A show that’s unashamedly one to watch if you’re a foodie’s foodie. This show doesn’t muck around with false concepts of “competition” to keep your attention. It assumes you want to watch the art of haute cuisine being demonstrated by a master chef who can still give his apprentices the rounds of the kitchen.
Again, well produced and shot (the British are so much better at food shows than Americans), its style is a mix of plain old-fashioned cooking demonstration interspersed with voiced-over instructions.
If you’re the type of cook who bought Julia Child’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volumes One and Two”, this is the programme for you.
It’s one to watch, also, because it challenges and cajoles you back into the kitchen. And that’s never a bad thing.
Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations
Ok, this isn’t so much a cooking show as an eating-and-travel show but if you’re as much a greedy cow as I am (hey they didn’t call me “Gannet” for nothing…), this programme can take you to some of the most fascinating places, with cuisines that run the gamut from “A” for amazing to “B” for barfing.
Bourdain’s rock n’ roll style is complemented by his commentary, that sometimes contains more beeps than anything else.
Nigella Lawson – All & Any of Her Shows
I know what you’re going to say. How can I include a woman whose skills in the kitchen are highlighted by her ability to flirt down-the-barrel and eat quantities of grub in the most sexual way?
Lawson’s a cook, not a chef, but what she does do well is demystify food, making it accessible for those who can’t cook/won’t cook. I love the way she show cases “Ham in Coca-Cola” one minute (that gets the anti-obesity brigade frothing no doubt) alongside Temple Food such as “Vietnamese Chicken and Mint Salad”.
Al Brown – Various Shows
What’s not to like about this quintessential Kiwi bloke? Brown’s been able to pole-vault from his days as Head Chef at Wellington’s swanky award-winning “Logan Brown” to a variety of telly programmes promoting his straight forward eats, shoots & leaves food philosophy. Its about time we saw a bit of ourselves mirrored on our screens.
Ok, time for your thoughts now during these lazy, hazy days of summer. Let’s start a conversation, folks, not a rant.
Play nicely, people!!
Janet I have been a huge fan of Food TV since it’s inception.
I agree with your choices. I am also enjoying Britains Best Food.
If you are a passionate and greedy cook as I am, it’s amazing to watch average people making some interesting food. God I wish I was one of the judges. To taste, my mouth waters.
Britain does make the best Food programs, follows through from all of their TV and Film productions. But the Aussies do well and yes Nz is getting there. Food TV a Happy Place. Let’s not forget Canada, Chef Michael Smith. What an inspiration. We have to thank John mcCready and his wife JT for this superb channel.
You’re right Gillian….Mr McCready and his lovely wife do deserve the ups for FoodTV. He established it – and maintained it – on a wing and a prayer……
The ‘Food TV’ channel is one of the best things to happen on television. Huuuuge fan. I like all the cooking shows, you’ve mentioned: Watch and salivate, endlessly. L always enjoy reading the newspapers’ supplements about Food and Travel.
I also like watching Border Patrol, that follows the news on TV One. I don’t like the X-Factor and talent shows, like, America’s Got Talent et al.