While the show is very entertaining and stimulating I find it to be very elitist in that it is so clearly aimed at people who cant afford the ingrediants. what of the vast number of people living on fixed incomes and benifits.Why are they left out and denied your expertise and help?

You could do a day or preferably a week on living on a restriced budjet. You could cover diet shopping health and recipies even wine in relation to the many supermarket bargents at around £3.

Sowhy not put you middle class sensabilities aside and try to be more inclusive

Yes I am a social worker!

Stewart Dickson

The show is full of good ideas but not the least bit elitist, there isn't an ingredient that can't be either left out or substituted, just chill out, sit back and be entertained !

As for shopping on a restricted budget, have you ever gone into a supermarket late night? They are full of stuff that they are gagging to sell dead cheap because if they don't sell it, it has to be recorded as a loss then binned. Give it a shot, you might be surprised!

This may not be the attitude to take, but here goes..... which is more important to someone living on a low budget, cable/sky TV subscriptions to be able to watch the show, or food? If someone can afford to pay to watch the channel then surely they can afford to buy ingredients to make the recipes, maybe not everyday of the week, but I don't think any of us do that anyway.

Ah, but we get SKY as it saves us going out as well ie Footie, is cheaper to stay at home and have a beer that way, than going out twice a month to see the MIGHTY CHELSEA win everything !!!

I don't think GFL is aimed at people who can or can't afford the ingredients, it's pure entertainment, along with a few good tips & information.. Even if I could get some of the ingredients, I couldn't justify spending my non-existant income on them.. but I do spend what money I have on SKY to watch these programs, it's my choice (whilst munching on cheese on toast it's nice to see what's on offer) & some recipes that don't include expensive cuts of meat or fish (or free-range stuff) I can do...
Late-night supermarket shopping is all very well if it's not the big T (which doesn't reduce prices significantly) & if it's within walking distance, unlike where I live, 4 miles away, & a bus fare of £3.60. No bus service after 18:00hrs

Okay, I confess. Due to a misdiagnosis, I was my husbands carer for 8 years and, subsequently on benefits. Now, we're still on them as he's retraining and trying to get work. I still have to care for my daughter, so prob won't be able to go back to work full time for a while. We have a car, a computer, and Sky. We eat well, and how can we do this? We don't have a social life. We don't smoke, OH doesn't drink. I think I get through about one bottle of spirits a year. You have to decide what your priorities are. And I don't think I'm "middle class",

Hear Hear Trekkie, I gave up work when we had the children "out of choice" OH isnt on a huge wage and we have Relish The Continental which is a new company in its first year so no money coming out of it as it goes back in to buying stock.
We decided to do this for a long term gain, we have no spare cash and pressies are small but thought out.
Kids being 1 and 2 are getting small £1 pressies wrapped up cos all they want to do is open them.
Grand parents getting them the more expensive gifts.
I dont personally have any beliefs other than keeping my family well and loved and looked after as best I can and the same with my friends.
We have sky cos we also dont have a social life or drink other than the odd glsss once in a blue moon.
We eat well cos I cook from scratch which is loads cheaper than processed or prepared foods and use Aldi every week
and the local market for other things.
As for GFL cooking for the middle classes thats tosh and from an educated social worker, im suprised at your comments, perhaps you havent watched too many programmes its on every day during the week.

I admit that some of the menus can be pricey but as already mentioned you can, and I do, choose other options.
Its always fun experimenting.
I hope you keep watching and pick up ideas and even more so enjoy what is a very entertaining food programme supporting in the main small producers and really good food.

Merry Christmas
Helen

corr that was a bit long winded sorry!!

I agree with you entirely relishmama. Eating well actually costs less than eating covenience food. It gets my goat up when people use lack of money as an excuse to eat rubbish as it's just not true. A big joint of any meat can last for days with a few well chosen vegetables and spuds. We also eat alot of beans that we get from a local indian type co-operative, they're dirt cheap, easy to cook and nutricious. All you need is a bit of imagination!

Good food covers a wide range of recipes, I often see them demostrating recipes that are quick, easy and fairly cheap to prepare as well as some that require considerable skill and outlay. Would we watch it if it was all meals for under £2? I get really annoyed when people say they eat badly because of the cost. I teach food in an area where most of our pupils come from poorer homes. I find a few pupils from very poor backgrounds with considerable knowledge of healthy food and different ingredients. I also find pupils who eat terribly, have no knowledge of basic cooking skills but do have video phones and MP3 players. Definitely a matter of priorities.

So it appears to be let them eat cake or watch SKY. What a difficult choice. In my original point i should have saide I live 30 miles from the nearest supermarket. If I did venture into the metropolise at night I would be afraide I would be muged by some poor individule trying to get the money for a SKY subscrition or a Mr Kippling Cake

teee heeeee!!
Cant stand Mr Kipling anything, so I expect you grow your own then Haile?

No relishmama, us poor slobs on benefits don't know how to grow nuffink, and anyway Sharon and Tiff reccon that Mr Kiffing's the ult in sofictication. (By the way, I do appologise if anyone's name IS Sharon or Tiffany).

Well I can't afford to grow them fancy things. I'd have to buy seeds and spades and stuff. And I'm too busy watching telly anyway - you can't grow stuff and watch sky all day. There's not enough time.