Chef!

`Chef' is an utterly hilarious show that I love to catch an episode of on BBC America. Lenny Henry's portrayal of the short-tempered Gareth Blackstock is right on the nose. It's hard to believe, but I have met a couple people quite like him. Unlike them, here you can sit back and laugh at these poor souls who are forced to work with him. My dad says it's just a show about a guy shouting at people, but I disagree. Few if any people have such a great wit when they're angry. `Chef' is about a man who has a great deal of frustration like many of us, but, unlike most of us, he's not afraid to vent it at the people who much of time deserve it. It's painfully funny, too.

I think Chef! is one of the best BBC shows I have seen. It will make you laugh like crazy. Chef is cranky but very lovable. His wife is something else. His staff consists of several younger cooks all hoping to learn his secrets. His method of cursing out his staff is hilarious, not using traditional curse words, but thing you would never think of. If you know and love someone that is temperamental and boisterous, you will probably enjoy this even more. I own the first two VHS tapes of this series and we watch them periodically and laugh again. Chef is very entertaining and I can't wait for the full season DVD's to be released in August.

You have to say that Lenny Henry CBE was always worth watching in this series about egotistical British chef of Jamaican descent who is the head chef at Château Anglais which is translated into Château England. The cast of supporting characters don't really hold up to Gareth Blackstock. Henry just steals the show from under them. Anyway his wife is played by a great actress. I loved Lola played by Elizabeth Bennett as the hungry hostess who devours food as well as comments on Blackstock's genius. This show is well written, acted, and directed with an inviting group of supporting players. Blackstock gets his jollies by being cruel, critical, and sometimes mean to his staff long before there was Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, or anybody else. Blackstock seeks utter perfection in creating the finest cuisine to be matched by those listed in Michelin and Cuisine magazines. Sometimes being a genius can make others weary of your presence as if God entered the room. But in Blackstock's kitchen, he's the Godlike presence, demanding, and critical.

Excellent show by Lenny Henry. Good thing show only lasted three seasons so he didn't have to kill Everton! :) Seriously, Lenny Henry was perfect as the sarcastic, egotistical, but excellent Chef! who has to deal with blundering fools, drunken assistants, and of course a wife who makes Sybil Fawlty look like Mother Teresa. And those are on the good days!

Chef Gareth Blackstock cares about nothing so much as preparing the finest meals for the guests at his restaurant, often to the frustration of his beautiful, intelligent wife and long-suffering staff. Chef understands how difficult he can be in his never-ending quest to be the best. He describes himself as knowing nothing else: he has no hobbies, doesn't help out friends, or go out at night. In fact, he (loudly) describes himself as "a personality problem under a silly white hat." The humor is rapid-fire and intelligent, as Chef verbally eviscerates anyone who dares to come between him and a perfectly prepared plate of food. Lenny Henry is acerbic perfection as Chef Blackstock, exhibiting both broad humor and extremely dry, biting wit, and still remaining a sympathetic character. Highly recommended for Brit-com lovers and anyone who enjoys sly, rapier sharp, lightning fast wit!