Two Fat Ladies/Chef!

As the resident UKTV boffin in my neighborhood, I'm often asked which hot new telly imports are required viewing for my friends. Usually I clue them in to the latest PBS acquisitions for Masterpiece Theater and Mystery or the latest britcom to grace US TV screens. This fall the series I raved most about was a wee bit different. I advised everyone to tune into a new show called Two Fat Ladies and, judging from the phone calls I got later, I must have forgotten to mention that t was a cooking show (most of my friends seemed to be expecting a wacky comedy starring the likes of Dawn French or Jo Brand...) . Not that anyone was disappointed; in fact a group of us now get together to cook and socialize while we watch the show.

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 Chef! Homepage that's well worth a visit.