“This is the most relaxed I’ve ever seen you without a gin
in your hand,” remarked my boyfriend last night.
I was sprawled out on the chaise part of our corner sofa, sweatshirt
and comfies on and peppermint tea in hand (I’m not sure where the gin comment came from…)
And on the TV? Celebrity Masterchef. An old favourite since
youth, when I’d sidle onto the armchair and watch it with my parents. The fun
of watching them come up with their own dish was always offset by the stress of
seeing an amateur trying to squeeze perfect blobs of pea purée onto a plate in
a professional kitchen – with a sweaty, red-faced executive chef barking
commands over their shoulder. And let’s not forget the equal measure of heartache
and hilarity watching them present the judges with a plate no more appealing or
skilled than hungover beans on toast…
Cooking shows are having a bit of a revival in the UK.
People practically foam at the mouth when it’s time for a new series of The Great British Bake Off – and I can’t
count how many times I’ve heard someone say “it’s impossible to watch it
without wanting chocolate though, isn’t it?”
Once considered the territory of desperate housewives/bored
grandmas, TV shows about food are now pretty damn cool. We can thank Jamie
Oliver for much of the hype with his winning combination of quick, slapdash
methods and sexy, soft-focus zoom-ins – but who can honestly say they’re not partial
to a bit of Saturday Kitchen with their lazy weekend coffee?
It’s taken me a while to realise the extent of my own
obsession with these programmes. As someone with an embarrassingly short
attention span (I struggle to watch films), it’s hard for me to find a TV show
engaging enough to keep me from scrolling Instagram. So I tend to stick to the
easy-to-chew palate of British reality TV, with a side of (usually more glamorous)
American reality TV. And a steady 6.30pm appetiser of Friends re-runs on Comedy
Central.
But one recent, desperately anxious hangover found me
scouring the depths of Channel 4’s on demand library. I’d rinsed my usual cure
of soothing Our Planet, and I needed something
light and stress-free to take off the tequila-tinged edge of the night before.
And there it was. Jamie’s
Quick & Easy Food. I mean, the man’s a genius: five ingredients, minimal
effort, and incredible dishes. And don’t even get me started on the effortlessly
perfect ingredient flatlay shots, and soft-focus close-ups of the finished
dish. Because nothing can take the edge off a particularly panicky hangover quite like the sight of melting blue cheese gently trickling down the side of a juicy burger…
As a self-confessed foodie and keen (yet depressingly rookie) cook, it’s no surprise
that this viewing is heaven for me. Watching someone else cook is almost as
meditative as doing it myself, just with sexier results and a more seamless
process. It’s really soothing to see raw ingredients become something amazing.
And to be honest, seeing someone else berated for producing a dodgy-looking jus
makes me feel even more proud of my roast
aubergine and tahini (gourmet, I know).
(Watching Saturday
Kitchen guests drink Merlot at 10am = slightly less soothing, though).
So there it is. Cooking shows are cool, and I’ll never let
anyone tell me otherwise. I urge you to try it. The next time you’re a bit
hungover, having a crappy day, or just want to watch something that actually makes you unwind – head where
the food is. Whether it’s the hilarious disasters of Dinner Date, slapdash perfection of Jamie Oliver, competitive and
brutal Masterchef, or even a bit of
old school Rick Stein… nothing is as soothing as watching the methodical, step-by-step
beauty of a chef at work. It's why we all love restaurants with open kitchens, large open pizza ovens, and sitting at high-stool bars where we can see our cocktail being made. Seeing something come together is far more rewarding than just seeing the finished product.
Now who's excited for the return of Ready, Steady, Cook?!
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