Saturday Cookbook. ITV

[Frillz Profile]

Saturday Cookbook
Season 1 Episode 3 of 21
Nadia Sawalha and Mark Sargeant are joined by Dick and James Strawbridge - stars of ITV1 series The Hungry Sailors. Dick takes part in a cauliflower recipe challenge, and James cooks a family favourite - mega burger with home-made relish and smoked cheese. Mark also makes sticky lemon chicken

Has anyone watched this?
It's on at 08.25am, or if that's not convenient you can catch it on ITV+1 where it overlaps with Saturday Kitchen on the Beeb.

As with SK it's a bit of background fodder, but having an experienced presenter like Nadia who's also involved in both food and production plus a regular chef, it's much fresher.

I saw last week's when they had a guest chef, Aaron Craze http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/chefs/aaron_craze and Fay Ripley, the actress who now also writes about family food.

Both chefs made a pasta dish (separately, not against each other) and Nadia and Fay judged which one they preferred ... much more interesting than the omelette challenge.

I also like the fact that Nadia can handle 'chatting' i.e. responding to normal conversation and questions, while still doing whatever she's doing and that the guest had a particular interest in food. OK she was obviously also plugging her latest book, but it made a change from a celebrity guest with no real interest or knowledge about food.

Will see how it goes, it's got a way to go as yet.

[hungryhousewife Profile]

Hi Frillz
I haven't seen that programme, or heard anything about it. I really enjoyed the Two Hungry Sailors.

I have been catching the tail end of a series Natalie Sawalia did called 'The Instant Restaurant' where keen cooks open up their homes as a restaurant to 10 people for one night. It doesn't seem to be on any more, but was quite a fun idea.

There was a relevant discussion on the BBC Food Board recently, started by Phylis, as she had opened her conservatory as a restaurant to raise money for charity.

I'll look out for the this.
HH

[Frillz Profile]

Hello HH

Didn't see that one, but I thoroughly enjoyed Nadia's Eating in the Sun, which was on BBC.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lft1w/episodes/guide

[Frillz Profile]

I've turned this on half way through today, so will have to watch the first half on +1 but am enjoying it.
Today the guests are Dick Sawbridge who won Celebrity Masterchef and his son James, who also had their own cookery and travel programme (which totally passed me by)

http://www.itv.com/food/programmes/hungry-sailors

[Alison Wright Profile]

Hi Frillz,

I caught last weeks' (the 2nd show) & didn't enjoy it much I'm afraid, although I saved Fay Ripley's Bakewell cake recipe from the website which looked nice .

I enjoyed Nadia's pop-up restaurant series & especially Eating in the Sun, but found her presence on Saturday Cookbook very OTT. She's shouty, giggly & rather overbearing, & seems to want the limelight & take over from Mark Sargeant - a professional Michelin starred chef !

Far too much noisy, excitable chit-chat going on that you can't hear what people are saying & not enough focus on ingredients & serious cooking.

I recorded yesterday's show & watched it earlier today, & I haven't changed my opinion, although Dick & James were lovely as always, & I liked Dick's Burmese cauli dish, although I didn't think it could be properly cooked in the time given - all a bit rushed I thought.

I'm surprised at ITV programmers, (who must know that Saturday Kitchen is on the wane) for not taking the opportunity to 'pimp up' this new series with more high-profile presenters & grab the Saturday morning slot from under the noses of the BBC - heaven knows they have the money to do it.

But - as I'm a sucker for TV food programmes, I'll continue to record it with a hope that someone has a word in La Sawalha's ear to calm herself down a bit for the betterment of the programme.

Rant over!

[Frillz Profile]

I must admit Alison that I thought Nadia had got the job because I assumed Doghouse were making the programme, but having a look on their website, the latest news is more than a year out of date
http://www.doghouse-media.co.uk/?q=node/196
I know she's not to everyone's taste and can quite see how she can be overbearing/over-exuberant.

It's not made by them though, it's Optomen http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optomen who we can see from the link, are already involved in lots of various cookery programmes.

It's early days (as well as an early start time) so I'm sticking with it.
This Saturday's programme is said to have Jodie Prenger (West End singer) and Phil Vickery as guests.