Recipes for Love and Murder

This series is charming in many ways. Like other cozy mysteries there is a cast of characters, most of whom are enjoyable company, and some of whom have quirks that you may find annoying. Personally, I enjoyed all the characters and some I found very pleasant company. The location is another plus for the series. South Africa is certainly a different setting and one I'd like to see more often.

From the trailer I'd expected a new mystery with each episode but there is basically one case for the whole ten episodes. That was okay with me, especially as there is more than one mystery to be unraveled in that time. I do hope there's a second season in which we can get to know more about the main character, played by Maria Doyle Kennedy (excellent) and the other characters.

Beautifully filmed. Proudly south african moment........ makes you want to eat all the time lol......... Beautifully filmed. Proudly south african moment........ makes you want to eat all the time lol.........

A small South African town is rocked by a murder, a crime that The Police struggle to solve. On the case is cook come writer Tannie Maria, a Scottish woman with a backstory of her own.

This delicious first series is truly a mystery and culinary joy fest, combining recipes, humour, intrigue and murder. It truly has such a broad appeal, a show that fans of both lighter, teatime mysteries and the more heavy duty crime thrillers will enjoy.

Early on it's quite light, whimsical almost, but as it progresses, it becomes more and more serious, the final two episodes from the first series are actually very gritty. The change up is honestly quite impressive.

I love the recipes angle, and that food looks epic, especially that curry on episode one, it gives the show a very unique flavour.

I can't remember a ten part series which is so well paced, so evenly balanced, there's never a lull. I honestly didn't want this wonderful series to end.

Every single character is meaningful and important, I just adore Hattie, she's quite something. Tannie Maria is wonderful, and I adored her backstory, you always have a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, did she do something?

Al I can say is roll on 2025, and series 2, personally I cannot wait.

9.5/10.

Charming, gloriously inclusive and just damn gorgeous. You have to accept some things about Tannie Maria. She doesn't answer questions in as straightforward a way as some would like. She solves problems by cooking her way through them and can't always articulate her solutions any other way. But if you change the pace of your expectations and indulge the complexity of the story being carefully unfolded for you, you will be introduced to deeply crafted characters portrayed by an incredible cast in a breathtaking location that (if you're not South African) you may know nothing at all about. For the people complaining about the plot (surrender to the pace because it's worth it) or diversity of characters (the horror), I am not sure what you're watching. It's a story about a place where murder is kind of the least interesting thing going on and people form genuine connections with one another. The murders don't drive the plot of every storyline or even the majority of each episode. There are simultaneous storylines happen at once. This isn't Vera (Bless her in all her glory). It's Recipes for Love and Murder and that's exactly what it's about. Plus the food looks luscious. It took me a minute (as a former farmer) to enjoy Morag, the chicken, in the kitchen but Tannie Maria's hen would never. Give yourself a treat and check this one out.

It matters that Tannie Maria (aka Maria Purvis) is the most likable amateur detective introduced in a long while because it means longevity - we look forward to seeing her again and willing to spend some of our time with her. Big credit goes to actress Maria Doyle Kennedy (who played one of the most hated characters in Downtown Abbey - Vera Bates). The series has an easy-going character driven style for the most part laced with some tension and a dash of the macabre with loads of humour, creating its own idiosyncratic take on the 'cottage-murder-mystery'. The cinematography, acting, music, story-telling and recipes work well together. Sure there is room for improvement, a bit of tweaking here and there but a solid first season worth the viewing and second helping.