The Two Fat Ladies in question are Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright, career foodies who have seen and done it all and who, in the series, get to travel about Britain (on a Triumph Thunderbird with sidecar!) cooking up scrumptious meals with a lack of pretension refreshing in these days of superstar chefs.
I'd screened a few episodes of the series last year and was immediately taken with these marvelous women and the effortless way they presented their marvelous recipes sprinkled with the sort of easy witty banter that makes you wish you could visit with them everyday. How such a niche program ended up on an American cable network is anybody's guess. I thankfully raise my glass to the programmers at The TV Food Network for having the exceptionally good taste to add these motorcycle riding epicures to the schedule.
Another recent culinary themed telly import is Lenny Henry's often hilarious comedy Chef! Which has been airing on a number of PBS stations over the last year. Chef! Chronicles the misadventures of chef Gareth Blackstock as he tries to run his kitchen and his life in the face of the overwhelming stupidity and incompetence of the rest of the planet (at least that's how he looks at it).
Lenny Henry, one of the premier comedians of his generation (and Mr. Dawn French when he's at home) breathes comic fire into Chef! He's aided and abetted by a fine supporting cast (especially Caroline Lee Johnson as Janice Blackstock) and spot-on writing. Here's hoping that Henry will follow Rowan Atkinson as the next britcom star to make the leap to international superstardom.
The TV Food Network Website has a page dedicated to Two Fat Ladies featuring a program schedule and selected recipes from the series.
Jon Siegler runs a fine Unofficial
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Hunter Peters's British Television topic, please visit the Discussions page.