Two new BBC food ‘programmes’ started airing recently. I’m sure they’ll hit the Food Network sooner or later. Here’s my advance take on the shows.
Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals
Jamie Oliver’s new show is really fast-paced and practical. I like it. If you watch the video above, Jamie describes the concept in his loveable, tousled style. For me, personally, I think it would be a stretch to do these menus in 30 minutes, but they look so good, that I would gladly give it a go. About half of the menus look like they would be great for company. Even if it took me double the time, I would be pretty happy about making dinner for company (main, sides, dessert – everything) in an hour. Seriously, it usually takes me like nineteen hours to cook for company, no matter what I cook, it seems. So I am watching the shows when I can, and keeping track of the recipes and menus that go up the Jamie’s 30 Minute Meals website. I’m sure I’ll be cooking up some delicious 30 minute – 1 hour meals in the nearby future.
Nigella Kitchen
The second new show is called Nigella Kitchen, and it is simply bizarre. I used to like Nigella, but this show is putting me off her altogether. There are all these shots through a weird fuzzy lens, like cheesy wedding photos, with Nigella narrating in the background – like a cooking show dream sequence. In one segment, Nigella bakes a cake dressed in a black satin robe, and in another, she wears a trench coat while she prepares a soup. Strange. There are way too many lingering shots where her well endowed chest seems to be the only thing in focus. And to top it all off, she uses words in exceedingly odd combinations – a bit like she’s working on a weekend homework project to use interesting adjectives & adverbs. “Throw the salt, glisteningly, into the pan.” That’s really something she said. To me, this show is taking the celebrity chef / “food porn” industry a few steps too far.
