Chef!

Lenny Henry has put together an excellent series about an ill-tempered, sarcastic chef in the English countryside. Seasons 1 and 2 are absolutely fantastic with a drop-off in season 3. The only real problem was that the show was plagued with heavy actor turnover making continuity difficult through the three seasons.

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!

Comparing this great comedy to Fawlty Towers is ridiculous. Both shows are brilliant, but that's about where the similarity ends (aside from the fact that they are both about an ass with a demanding wife)... One is told in a hyper exaggerated style (Fawlty Towers) and one is more of a slice of life, albeit a cranky and bumblingly interesting one (Chef!).

When I first saw Chef!. I though it would be another dry or pedantic Brit-com but i was pleasantly suprised to be greeted with a genuinely funny and touching program. Highly Recommended, particularly if you like food :)

And comparing it to Black Adder? That's like comparing Four weddings and a Funeral to Star Wars!

I was gripped from the first by CHEF!, a crazy, yet urbane "sit-com." It is the principal's devastating use of malicious wit and language combined with the undeniable seductiveness of his wife which I find so pleasing about this searies. Too bad there were only three seasons, but one can see how the audience must have been pretty small.