Saturday Kitchen

Having watched Saturday KITCHEN several times over the last few months, I am still at a loss to work out precisely what the point of the show is. It doesn't really aim to provide a series of recipes for viewers; it doesn't really have any particular theme - for example, looking at different types of cuisine; nor does it really tell us much about particular chefs and their styles of cooking. Its sole purpose seems to be to provide a forum for chefs to show off their culinary skills - which most of them undoubtedly possess - while cracking a series of increasingly wearisome jokes. The atmosphere of perpetual jokiness becomes wearing in the end; one wishes they would just pipe down and get on with their cooking. Despite long experience of presenting the program, James Martin still looks embarrassed in front of the camera; he is palpably reading his lines from the autocue. No doubt the program will continue to run and run, but it definitely doesn't appear to have much point.

Now, I have to say that I didn't watch the old episodes with AWT but did see James Martin's first episode and probably two thirds of the ones since. His delivery has improved immensely and the programme is incredibly enjoyable. I have also watched AWT on his ITV show and find James to now be the better presenter.

James also has a better reputation among the top chefs than AWT (Michael Winner said that AWT cooked the worst meal Winner had ever had at a restaurant) and is a better chef.

The omelette challenge is superb (remember one of the Roux brothers, I can't remember which, taking 2 minutes to make his omelette and topping it with caviar!) and the addition of clips from Floyd Stein, the two fat ladies et al makes it a great show.

The ingredients can be expensive, but if you want cheap decent fare then watch Simon Rimmer on Something for the Weekend.

Saturday Kitchen 06 August 2023 10:43 As dietician and cook, I enjoy cookery shows like Saturday Kitchen.

However, part of home economics (studied at high school) involved health & safety. In a kitchen, I trained to wear apron and keep surfaces clean and more.

Therefore, lost interest in cookery shows as presenters and guests do NOT use aprons.

In addition, food preparation and cookery are not all that's done in kitchens.

Suggestion: introduce snippets featuring reminders, advice and warnings for 1. Cleaning tips. 2. sterilizing tips 3. Hygiene (wash hands) 4. Un share different foods when using cutting utensils & boards. 5. recommend, present advise and options about kitchenware

Reduced viewing as footage omits food safety instructions learned at high school. Average dialogue, easy listening soundtrack. However, inappropriate for smart citizens.

This is the best thing i've ever seen, 10's across the board

This programme used to be a light-hearted Saturday morning show that was interesting and informative, but did not take itself too seriously. However, since Anthony Worall Thompson departed to ITV1 to make a similar-style show, this has gone rapidly downhill.

James Martin is certainly no replacement since he makes it really obvious all his dialogue is coming straight off the autocue. Nor can he ad-lib - for example when he said he was making barbecue sauce because it is easier to do than buying it from a supermarket, someone asked him why it was easier to go there and buy the separate ingredients. After staring blankly for about ten seconds one of his guests had to rescue him.

His cavalier attitude to the realities of everyday cooking does not help me warm to him either. When criticized by Nigella Lawson for using far more crockery than was necessary he replied that he had people to do his washing-up for him. He might but the average viewer probably won't. Indeed the edition was priceless when Nigella guested on the show as she managed to find fault with almost everything he did. Somehow I doubt she'll be asked back in a hurry. Unfortunately a number of the other guest chefs on the show appear to be the sort who have very suspect Italian accents put on to make themselves look more authentic.

The inserted segments from other chefs are often entertaining, particularly the vintage clips of Keith Floyd who is always good for a laugh as he seems to know his stuff and has fun with it.

All in all, recently the show seems to have changed its target audience as even the average price of a suggested wine for the featured dish has gone up considerably since the switch, as has the cost of producing the dish on reflection. Producing something with lamb usually means about £20 worth of cutlets, again not something that is going to be very practical to the 'normal' viewer.