Television Review- Iron Chef UK

I don't know about you, but I simply love tradition and culture, especially that of the Japanese....

But to take a Japanese concept and bring it to the UK without adapting it to suit our culture is just madness!

I've been following the first week of Iron Chef UK and was frankly astounded! How can someone like Olly Smith (the epitome of an English man) be made to sound like a bad Japanese stereotype speaking broken English?

With three people 'presenting' the show in kitchen stadium and two so-called food experts on the judging panel, there's little room left for any contestants amongst the ever-inflating ego of Olly Smith....

This show is dramatic and dark and I'll admit I enjoyed the intensity of it, but I'm not sure if it works with the British.... Martin Blunos looked particularly uncomfortable at the long, drawn out silences, which I suppose were meant to add tension.....

I'd say avoid this show if you're not keen on drama and 'honour' overkill.... but if, like me, you don't take yourself too seriously, go and watch the show!

Now if you don't mind, I've got the next episode loading on 4OD, I bid you goodnight!

Delia Through the Decades- BBC1

BBC iPlayer is a wonderful, wonderful thing! Especially when conventional television is a bit of a trek to the other room, and you've just made yourself comfortable with a cup of peppermint tea... Tonight, my bedroom was my living room, and as the wind howled outside, I nestled under the covers to catch up on some cooking!

Often regarded as THE voice of authority when it comes to boiling an egg, or indeed, how to cook, the hardened Norwich FC fan and queen of cuisine, Delia Smith has returned to our screens. This time, rather than telling us how to bake a potato, or how to cheat, it seems Delia's turned the clock back.

As a twenty-four year old aspiring food writer, this program has acted almost as a spring-board for my seemingly unreachable goals, making them seem more real. Like me, Delia was unsure of what she wanted to do for a long time, but there was always this resounding love of food which simply wouldn't leave...


Always in a kitchen, asking questions, whether serving food, prepping vegetables, or doing the washing-up afterwards, it seems we all have humble beginnings. Delia tried her hand at many career choices before falling in with the right crowd at The Singing Chef.

I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of this show, gone are the images of Delia as a prim 60-something housewife, I'm seeing a new side to Delia, young and vibrant, not afraid to make mother angry, and I like it! She was rebellious, inquisitive and confident, and this show certainly gains favour for me as Stephen Fry voices her story and recounts her ballsy attitude to life.

A prime example of this is reflected en route to an interview with the editor of The Daily Mirror. Reality, it seems kicked in, just for a moment, and it dawned on her that she had no O-Levels, couldn't spell and couldn't type...

This is where her true genius shines though... they saw the raw talent and went with it. The next thing she knew she was baking a cake for a Rolling Stones album cover!


I only wish I had her conviction, I do have a similar gusto for all things gourmet. And like Delia, I'm focusing in on the history of cuisine, reading books about royalty, pre-historic cooking techniques and articles about fig-related bicycle tours around America- it's a good job I find this stuff fascinating!

Next week we see the move from 1960's cuisine to the 1970's, so expect pineapple and cheese on sticks and tin foil hedgehogs aplenty!