Cookery Programmes

Paul Daniels onced asked his audience in his magic show. How many of them watched cookery shows.

Almost all of them raised their hands. He then asked how many of them cooked something they saw in the program. No one raised their hand.

Harry Hill goes though the ingredients for a successful cookery program. Well a tie in book goes together like a best friend. The ITV show Farmhouse Kitchen was a mini library with the available tie in books. I even spotted a young Rick Stein as well as a middle aged Mary Berry on it. Was she ever young?

The BBC had Fanny Cradock in black and white. When colour arrived she was replaced by Barbara Cartland or maybe Fanny looked like her slightly younger sister.

ITV galloped away with Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet. Shame the clips of him were brief.

Cookery shows changed with Delia Smith who wanted to teach people how to cook. In the 1990s there were hot chefs such as Gary Rhodes. Then it went all cockney with Jamie Oliver who used words like Pukka and Bad Boys. Disguising the fact that he was building a multi million pounds empire.

The evolving face of cookery shows is best seen with Masterchef. A simple concept that became ever more complicated. A sprint turned into an endurance race. It made millions for its creator Franc Roddam. The director of the cult movie Quadrophenia and the deviser of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet.

Again a well researched show with Harry trying his best not to fall for easy innuendos.

No footage of Bake off was included here. Bad blood between the BBC and the production company according to Harry.