Ready Steady Cook is a staple of the British Cookery Show diet. Where two semi hapless contestants come onto the show and are taught to cook, using limited ingredients and a lot of luck. Amusement runs high, as their mistakes are viewed, but do cookery
shows really do anything for the 'at home' cook? I'd like to think yes. They are FULL of ideas, that, with a little modification, would work anywhere, and most cater to every level of skill. From food on the go to the complete Christmas meal, there have been shows that cover them all. From traditional to 'new edge' - there's a show for everyone, and everyone for a show.
They fall into two types of cooking show - the live ones where the chefs produce their recipes in front of an audience, with or without much success, including the 'at speed' cookery shows where they try to show people the fastest and usually healthiest of
recipes they can, and the ones filmed over several days/weeks and then pieced together.
Again, depending on taste, these shows appeal to vastly different people. Fame is also found in cookery shows. Various 'household names' have been made on the basis of cooking shows, including Martha Stewart, Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith and countless others. Their success measured by the popularity of their food alongside their
good looks, the only difference in their presentation is the vigor and energy they present their recipes in.
Gone are the days of the solemn faced chef talking you through your meal in a falsetto
monotone, and evolved from the radio shows of old, these cookery programs have the advantage of high tech devices such as TV, the Internet and of course, the trusty note pad and pen. Take for example can’t cook, won't cook! This show took the original Ready Steady Cook philosophy one step further and took two contestants, who had little to no clue about how the kitchen worked at all, and taught them some very basic things.... usually with terrifyingly silly results. That's not the only type of cookery show that people can find on television.
Since the advent of cable, cookery shows have, like most every other niche programming area, taken off. And their main draw is introducing people to new recipes, new tastes, and letting people see the 'inside' tip. And it's the 'inside' tips that give us more cause of adventure, and the ability to choose what is convenient and possible for our own tastes, and diets. Many of our 'taken for granted' new tools were born out of the popularity of their appearance on TV, including, believe it or not, the lean grill and the bread machine.
From Hell's Kitchen - a documentary on the inside of a kitchen with Gordon Ramsay - to the cookery shows that are presented by one chef, you're sure to find a taste, and a presentation, to suit any palette.
