Chef!

You have to say that Lenny Henry CBE was always worth watching in this series about egotistical British chef of Jamaican descent who is the head chef at Château Anglais which is translated into Château England. The cast of supporting characters don't really hold up to Gareth Blackstock. Henry just steals the show from under them. Anyway his wife is played by a great actress. I loved Lola played by Elizabeth Bennett as the hungry hostess who devours food as well as comments on Blackstock's genius. This show is well written, acted, and directed with an inviting group of supporting players. Blackstock gets his jollies by being cruel, critical, and sometimes mean to his staff long before there was Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, or anybody else. Blackstock seeks utter perfection in creating the finest cuisine to be matched by those listed in Michelin and Cuisine magazines. Sometimes being a genius can make others weary of your presence as if God entered the room. But in Blackstock's kitchen, he's the Godlike presence, demanding, and critical.

I have worked my way up in the kitchen brigade over the last ten years and am now Chef-Patissiere at a four-star (US system) establishment and must say that I see many similarities with my profession and this series. Granted, Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry) exaggerates the tension for the purpose of comedy, but truly good humour is rooted in truth. I only wish I were as quick-witted about my sarcastic comments and scathing remarks as he. It's a slightly exaggerated, comedic portrayal of actual kitchen antics, and I think it is well represented. The characters are all believable, with the exceptions of Cyril and Reneé. The only character lacking is the slow-witted scullion (dish machine operator). I love the show! I give it four and a half of five stars.

`Chef' is an utterly hilarious show that I love to catch an episode of on BBC America. Lenny Henry's portrayal of the short-tempered Gareth Blackstock is right on the nose. It's hard to believe, but I have met a couple people quite like him. Unlike them, here you can sit back and laugh at these poor souls who are forced to work with him. My dad says it's just a show about a guy shouting at people, but I disagree. Few if any people have such a great wit when they're angry. `Chef' is about a man who has a great deal of frustration like many of us, but, unlike most of us, he's not afraid to vent it at the people who much of time deserve it. It's painfully funny, too.

I think Chef! is one of the best BBC shows I have seen. It will make you laugh like crazy. Chef is cranky but very lovable. His wife is something else. His staff consists of several younger cooks all hoping to learn his secrets. His method of cursing out his staff is hilarious, not using traditional curse words, but thing you would never think of. If you know and love someone that is temperamental and boisterous, you will probably enjoy this even more. I own the first two VHS tapes of this series and we watch them periodically and laugh again. Chef is very entertaining and I can't wait for the full season DVD's to be released in August.

Gareth Blackstock is the absolute monarch of his own little domain, the kitchen of an exclusive restaurant, 'Le Château Anglais'. He is a reasonable, patient man - as long as the dishes prepared by his staff are perfect. When they aren't, sit back and enjoy. The man turns into a Shakespeare of insults, an endlessly inventive master of invectives. Unfavorable comparisons, comments and suggestions (never descending to R-rated cursing) erupt from his fertile brain and verbally flay the unfortunate target of his ire. No one is immune, not his customers, not his long-suffering employees, not even his boss. Nothing stands in the way of his all-consuming passion for cooking, except (sometimes) his wife Janice. If you enjoyed Fawlty Towers, have any interest in cooking, or wish to hone your insults to the highest levels, this is your cup of tea.