Celebrity Chefs and Punky Chefs

[Sakkarin Profile]

This is an interesting page, I hadn't realised that Delia was being broadcast as early as 1973.

https://www.cooksinfo.com/timeline-of-t ... sonalities

Amused to see that in the very first TV programme in 1946, Philip Harben made lobster vol-au-vents. Very clear which audience the Beeb were targetting then, were lobsters not rationed in 1946?

Shame the list is not more UK based, and it also misses a lot of debuts that celebrity chefs made on less obvious programmes.

That's the reason I was Googling, in response to the "The clash with a little c" post, and remembering some very punky and irreverent cookery programmes in the 80s/90s, but can't remember the names of them.

I think several chefs who went on to become stars were introduced via "Hot Chefs", and I vaguely recall Ramsay being a sous chef in a very early Marco programme, and Keith Floyd introducing a very youthful Rick Stein in one of his. Neither of whom are on that list. But Gino d'Acampo is. Hmmm.

And surely Aimless Harriot was around long before his 1997 Barbecue Bible series*?.

Actually all in all, is it a bit of a pointless list, other than in that it gets us thinking?

* From the same website, it says his first TV appearance was on Hale & Pace in 1988. His Wiki page is actually quite interesting, he's done a little bit of everything over the years. I am impressed with his CV, but still can't stand him as a presenter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ainsley_Harriott

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Aw, I love Ainsley. I've met him a few times and he's lovely.

Cannot stand Gino although both my thirty-something daughters love him to bits.

My favourite remains Brian Turner.

[cherrytree Profile]

I’ve still got my Delia Family Fare paperback. She certainly livened up cookery programmes and was innovative with ingredients. She was the cookery person on BBC Look East aswell and I’ve got all those books too.

[Sakkarin Profile]

Ha! I've got the other three of her first four books (nicked from Wiki page)! Didn't realise there was another one in between.

I've had the Evening Standard one for many many years, but the other two I bought fairly recently (well in the last 10 years probably), "How To Cheat" to compare with her dreadful redo of it (the only reason I keep them both is because they are SO dreadful), the other one because I saw it recommended somewhere as her "posh" side where everything else is meat and 2 veg.

How to Cheat at Cooking (1971)
Family Fare (1973)
Recipes from Country Inns and Restaurants (1973)
The Evening Standard Cookbook (1974)
Country Recipes from Look East (1975)
More Country Recipes: A Second Collection from Look East (1976)
Frugal Food (1976) (Re-issued in October 2008)
Cakes, Bakes & Steaks (1977)
Delia Smith's Book of Cakes (1977)
Delia Smith's Cookery Course (3 volumes: 1978, 1979 & 1980)

[Sakkarin Profile]

P.S. I've just dug out "Hot Chefs", and it's not at all punky. And it came out in 1991, long after most of the actually mostly quite sophisticated chefs in it had their TV debuts. So what were the punky programmes I'm thinking of?

[Pepper Pig Profile]

I'm guessing Gary Rhodes would have been the first punky chef.

[Sakkarin Profile]

My favourite remains Brian Turner

By coincidence, reading Gary Rhodes' bio in "Great British Chefs" (1989), it says he did two stints working as a sous chef for Brian Turner at The Capital, 1983-85 and in 1986.

The fact that he was in that book two years prior to the "Hot Chefs" series means that he was already a chef of some distinction by then. This article reckoned Hot Chefs kickstarted Rhodes' career. Similarly Ken Hom was in the series, who had already got our attention 7 years previously with his groundbreaking Chinese cookery series, so it certainly didn't kickstart his career.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... f-set.html

[Sakkarin Profile]

"Get Stuffed", one of the programmes I was trying to remember. Dear me. This was the bottom of the barrel. Probably why it was withdrawn after just 284 episodes. Made in 1991-94, so any punks involved would have been fast approaching middle age.

I guess the fact that NONE of the programmes (other than this compilation of clips) has survived to appear on YouTube reflects the regard in which it was held.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3jJb9TgJcg

[Pepper Pig Profile]

I have a book somewhere, which I will look out for, about five up and coming chefs who have finally made it. One was Brian Turner and another was John Burton Race. Will have to see who the others were.

John Burton Race eh? Odious man.

[Sakkarin Profile]

He (JBR) appears in that Great British Chefs book too.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

Re TV. What about the wonderful Michael Smith who was a regular on Food and Drink and Pebble Mill at One and who had restaurants in the north. Brian Turner followed in Michael’s footsteps having had the same cookery teacher at school. I still use some of Michael’s recipes, he was a genius. Then for the everyday cook there was Zena Skinner, and Mary Berry also featured.

I hated the Galloping Gourmet because he thought he was so funny and wasn’t.

[Sakkarin Profile]

I have a Michael Smith book which I bought from a charity shop for one reason and one reason only:

MY name is Michael Smith...

[WWordsworth Profile]

Just leave it casually lying around your kitchen and see what response you get...