Posts by: Dougy Boy

Yes, less sea-sickness. Instead of zooing in and out the camera only now lurks from behind corners and slowly pans. What a blessing!

But you're right, the stultifying dullness remains and it's impossible to stay awake for an entire HOUR of this drivel.

I have to agree, Delyth. Even after all this time I too miss GFL and the fun it brought every afternoon.

MK just doesn't do it...too serious, too dry, too boring.

Unfortunately I don't think Jeni would have any part of UKTVFood anymore.

I have to agree with all of the above. Market Kitchen is insipid. Just get rid of it.

Falafel reading between the lines on the home page, I think that she may actually be gone for good. Fading away is a good technique to handle any political fall-out and makes the transition so gentle it may be imperceptible.

And frankly I don't know why she'd want to do this turkey of a show. It hasn't done her career any favours and all she'd havbe to do is read this board once, really, to get a glimpse as to how she is perceived on screen.

Seeing her on other shows I don't know if it is her, I think it may just be what MK does to everyone.

Maggie, it's not really a rotten thing to say - it's what you and so many others feel. I agree entirely.

And your husband is right, it IS sleep-inducing.

Maggie, I too think Contessa is a great program. Some are put off by her recipes as being too fatty or too sugary - but I think this no apologies approach is terrific. I have made many of her dishes and they are very, very good. But perhaps not EVERY evening!

As for the prediction on Market Kitchen being axed, I too hope that it is cancelled sooner than later but this show has demonstrated a unique survivability, hasn't it? They haven't improved, changed or fixed it, its ratings are less than the cheap repeats they show and many, many people simply can't stand it.

What gives UKTVFood?

Franci, gave the cheese spaetzle a try last weekend and it was wonderful! A completely different approach to the dish that I've never had.

It reminded me of a macaroni and cheese in some ways. I used gruyere.

I think I will do this again but instead of gruyere place chunks of feta throughout and bake. I bet that would be tangy!

I couldn't agree more, badfeeling. Even after all these months I really miss Jeni and her bright OTT approach to presentation. We always knew she was talking to US, she involved us and never let the show get too serious.

Her ability to improvise and ad lib were terrific and I loved the interaction with her "stable" of chefs.

And yes, the re-runs seem as good as the originals!

Where to start? Well, like most here, I'd been watching GFL for a long time and was actually the reason I watched UKTVFood at all as there are plenty of food prgrammes elsewhere -some would say better. I enjoyed GFL greatly and have learned a lot about cooking from it.

The programme offered humour and entertainment with education and information. GFL was an excellent programme, and has an extremely inferior and patronising replacement - Market Kitchen.

It's almost as though the commissioning executives at UKTVFood have not learned anything from GFL and its very strong following!

I would also submit that to try and extend the 'viewing day' on UK TV Food buy screening the evening showning at 11pm and not 10pm adds to the errors UK TV Food have made. Too late for a lot of viewers I am sure.

I have watched Market Kitchen on and off now for an entire season but cannot believe that it is supposed to replace GFL or even be a decent food programme in its own right.

I have virtually now stopped watching it except "when nothing else is on", it makes me cringe, its pace is too fast AND too slow, it 'talks down' to viewers, and is so phoney.

If executives from UKTV Food ever do read these messages, which I suspect they don't, please beleive me that I am what you may call a typical viewer, and if I have switched off, then many, many others have as well.

Just look at the publicly available Top 10 figures, not impressive. But worse, look at the subscription-only figures on total viewership. Disastrous.

If GFL had to end, then develop its very successful format, not abandon it and replace it with something which appears to have been made by people who have never watched a food programme ever.

Please do something about this situation, otherwise I see a bleak future for UKTVFood, just "treading water" and not gaining any viewership or sponsorhip.

GFL carried UKTVFood as a flagship programme. It was original, lively and if I'm not mistaken the only live food show on the air. It made all the repeats in the rest of its programming somewhat palatable.

Alan, the viewing numbers at the "transition" of one show to the other was:

GFL:
25/2 #3,10 > 426,000
4/3 #5,7,8,10 > 471,000
11/3 #1,5,7 > 449,000
18/3 #2,4,6,9 > 493,000
25/3 #1,2,4,5,6 > 486,000
1/4 #4,5 > 394,000
8/4 #2,3,8,9 > 472,000

Then, of course, the switch to MK happened and we now have:
22/4 #1 > 258,000
29/4 #7 > 203,000
6/5 No ranking > 194,000
13/5 No ranking > 177,000
20/5 #7 > 211,000
27/5 #3 > 205,000

What was more fascinating though was to look at the ratings for the 8PM timeslot when MK Season 1 ended. It was repleced by repeats of Two Fat LAdies and we went for MK having one entry in the final week to Two Fat Ladies sweeping virtually all top ten ratings the following week with nearly three times the viewership of MK.

Not good for MK.

While Top10 ranking is not nearly as relevant as total viewership, MK has never had more than two ratings in the top 10 so far, where GFL often had 3,4 or more entries within the top 10 ranking for a week.

So, although influenced by weather, other programming, etc, in general GFL had twice the viewership of MK.

No surprise, really.

I'm like you freddyg......and I just can't watch Market Kitchen for more than ten minutes...although I do keep trying. There's a germ of a good show buried in there somewhere. If they'd only let it out!

Cornetto, that's Jean Phillippe from his London restaurant. All his Maitre D's seem to be Belgian for some reason?

I don't know how this show is structured. The way GR talks and swears at JP can't be real. He'd quit.

And all those diners that never get fed? They must be invited guests that don't have to pay. Half the time GR closes the kitchen without serving any mains!

I love this show. Pure entertainment.

Franci...thanks for the reply. I will absolutely give the cheese spaetzle a try this week given how the weather has given up on us! I love spaetzle that much that I would find it challenging just to have it as a snack.

And now that Market Kitchen is back on the air I have so much more spare time!

Christmas stuff is here too...it's not our age, they are just putting the seasonal stuff out earlier and earlier. I hate that, it ruins the "specialness" of each holiday. As soon as Christmas is over, out come the Easter eggs!

I'll let you know how I go!

Prodigal, I think MK is *deliberately* designed to be aloof and alienating! Not only the chefs wearing their "formal whites", but also:

1. The choice of presenters. The Queen-in-waiting's son, arguably the top food critic in the UK, and Tana-the-Queen of Sheba. Only Mr Tebbutt seems down to earth, albeit owner of a "Gastro"? pub.

2. The method of presenting. The viewers are only spoken to during the bumpers. Otherwise we're ignored and we only eavesdrop on the "action"

3. The recipes. So many are beyond reach, using inaccessible or difficult to obtain ingredients or are simply dishes no one would cook at home.

4. The format. Why insert a distracting, phoney cafe into the programme? It must be bloody expensive and it adds zero to the show. It causes the viewers to turn off.

Who is this programme really intended for? It's not at all obvious. Only those that would watch ANYTHING food, no matter how dire.

Be wary of any claims that lecithin has any therapeutic or beauty benefits!! It's a pretty rough chemical and is made by a process that uses heavy amounts of hexane - a known carcingoen.

There has been so many phone-in vote frauds perpetrated lately, such as the fiasco with Big Brother, that there is no reason to believe this voting is any different.

It is particulalry suspicious as the actual counts are not available and they haven't used an independent auditor as is now required by law in the US for these types of contests.

It is also suspicious as people who were watching the ongoing rankings and counts have now come forward and say the results are inconsistent with these rankings.

The motivation to manipulate the outcome for some production purpose is too great to take assurances that everything was on the up and up.

It does indeed smell 'fishy"

cheese, there's always a problem using the words "natural" and "artificial". Lecithin is very natural, it is found in egg yloks and soya beans. Lecithin is used commercially in substances requiring a natural emulsifier or lubricant, from pharmaceuticals to protective coverings. For example, lecithin is the emulsifier that keeps cocoa and cocoa butter in a candy bar from separating. It is made by processing soya beans at very high heat and extracting the substance. Some would say this is "artificial". It is claimed to be a great anti-oxidant but this is no exactly proven as yet.

Kitty79, simply go to this webpage [link]

Then select the episode and the recipes can be found on the individual episode webpage.

Great food, isn't it? What do you think of the program production?

Babsky...so VERY sorry to hear that. I think that Tana is THE major problem with the show. Sure, there are many, many technical problems with the production but Tana, and to a lesser extent the other hosts as well, seem to suck all the life out the show. Even enthusiastic guest chefs seems to be pulled down by the boring intermittent dialogue and inane chatter.

A switch of hosts would be the first step in remedying this dreary show.

Llilli, sadly I must agree....no "atmosphere" as you put it. GFL had that special "life" didn't it? The GFL host and the guests had a special chemistry that literally drew you into the programme, making the show a part of many peoples' lives.

A terrible programming decision and a real shame. There'll never be an adequate replacement to GFL. It was one-of-a-kind.

SallyBB, no sadly we didn't...but our Maitre D was VERY good....made us feel extraordinarily welcome. I wonder where HE was trained!?

I'm back in LA now with some post-production work and am going to try to get back to Las Vegas just for a weekend. Here's an update on Las Vegas:

[link]

I'll let you know if I make it there and give you an update.

No.

Conch, I've seen them too. But a lot of improvement will be needed. Market Kitchen in the prior form was so dire that any change they make has to be an improvement. Certainly enlivening the presenters a tad, filling in the gaping periods of silence, and getting the cameraman to stop lurking behind faux shelves and stop the creative zooming will be a good start....I would even go so far as to eliminate the "cafe" set, it just a distraction from what they are trying to accomplish.

Oooo, tripe is a lovely dish. Rich, succulent with a wonderful texture. Yes, the Italians do make wonderful variations of the dish. Try these, they all turn out perfectly:

[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

All great winter dishes !

I'd like to add my vote to Great British Menu but I think the finale with the Queen is better than the exposure to the French. What could they possibly do next year, cook for a panel of American critics? The Queen thing was just the tops.

I have to agree with the comment somewhere above about the production values of GBM - they are truly professional. This is the type of production and post-production they should be applying to Market Kitchen. Clearly it must be a different level of budget.

The new trailers for MK do indeed suggest a major shift in what the programme is. Hope against hope they fix this dreadful show!

PS Jenny Bond is a terrific presenter. Clear, crisp and no nonsense.