TV Cooks

Let's face it, TV Cooks are annoying. Be it Delia Smith and her wittering on about how to boil an egg, or Gordon F**king Ramsey and his f**king swearing, left right and f**king centre, they can get right on your nerves. I enjoy watching things like Ready Steady Cook, not because of the cooking, but because of the ingenuity. I also enjoyed Jamie's School Dinners, once again, not because of the cooking (not that you saw much), but because he had a genuinely good idea about how to tackle the obesity epidemic.

When I first got Sky (Old English for extortionately expensive entretainment shown again and again) I found a documentary on Discovery called "Kitchen Chemistry" with an unknown chef called Heston Blumenthal. He later went on to become the world's best chef, with his restaurant the "Fat Duck" in Bray not far from Windsor. He was a Chemistry graduate from Oxford where he got his honours degree. He left dejected, low and unimpressed that he was about to start a career in one pharmaceutical manufacturer or another. So he started experimenting with food. What he then learnt has changed the face of cookery. Some call him the "Gastronomic Alchemist," I just call him an inspiration. His series last year on making everyday dishes in his own inimitable way opened our eyes to such delights as roast chicken and roast potatoes (my favourite single item ever) and his spaghetti bolognaise, which was surprisingly close to my own recipe. He's never conformed to standards, and his most famous dish at his restaurant is today's video. Prepare to be amazed/horrified*.

*delete as appropriate.

Enjoy.