I just wondered what people think of Great Food Live now? I have loved it for the last 3 years. BUT I do not like it quite so much. They seem to have changed a few things:
No regular chef - different ones each day
A recipe to camera piece for the chef - so no banter
Less Jenni!

It seems to have lost a bit of its soul - the reason I liked it so much was the fun element and that seems to have gone a bit.

What do you think?



Sarah

Hi SarahandPaul,

Have just read your post - and couldn't agree more - infact have just posted the item below on a slightly different thread. Glad it's not just me.

Starting to notice some differences in GFL, and I don't mean the cosmetic ones. With the demise of Bites 1 hour for GFL is starting to look insufficient. Suppose we are just stuck with that, however there seems to be two noticable differences - less interactive chat with the Chefs as they cook - some dishes have simply been prepared straight to camera. Everyone does that and it can get boring. Some of the best tips and genuinely helpful information has arisen when there is interaction during the actual food preparation. Secondly although there are the usual contributors - Guy W. etc there seems to be no real co-chef presenter any more. Am I judging this too early (3 episodes in) or is this a deliberate change? If so it's a bad one, and at the expense of being labelled a cynic all these "new changes" including all the stuff that has been written about the demise of "Bites" and "food uncut" smack more of a balance sheet rationalisation or put simply cost cutting. If it is it's a pity because I don't think people are that easily fooled.

SarahandPaul I totally agree with you. The atmosphere is missing. It has changed and not for the best.

Less Jeni, a recipe for disaster! Agree with SarahandPaul

Blueblud

I do agree with the above comments, however, we are only three days in and I think we should give it a few weeks before being negative. Like anything in life, changes happen; sometimes they are for the best in the long run even if they may not seem so to start with. Bottom line is we need time to get used to the new format. I am just glad that Jenni is back so that I can get my GFL fix each day.

I agree somewhat with SuesdM, but sorry mate i'm firmly with all the other above colleagues in the food store.

Glad to see GFL and everone back after the break and think Jenni is great. I did like the chef host especially the banter it generated as the week went on, but I love, love, love the show. Let's give it a chance and see what happens. My only question is what has happened to GFBites? Food Uncut just doesn't cut it for me and seems to be imitating 'Taste' on Sky. Bring back Bites!

I totally agree with all of you. I was going to start a post myself on this subject. The reason I watched Great Food Live was that it was the only cookery programme that made you laugh out loud. I know essentially it is meant to be a food programme but some of the other cookery programmes are just so boring and so much the same i.e. a chef standing in front of a work surface telling you to add this ingredient, then do this, then do that. Great Food Live was so different, I enjoyed the cheeky banter between Jenni and the chefs and the fact that she is not a chef herself prompted her to ask questions that the viewers might have asked. Apart from the fact that Jenni is on screen for only about two thirds of the programme now, the programme is not even the full hour, I noticed that it finished a good seven minutes before 7 o'clock because I turned over and watched the end of Delia on Food Plus.

Agree with so much of the above - I want 11/2 hours of Jeni back please.

You know it's very true that you can't please all of the people... I remember sooooo many posts on this site complaining that Jeni keeps interrupting the chefs when they were trying to explain recipes, now everyone wants her back!

I haven't seen the new format - however I did catch Gino doing his pasta dishes the other day (for all of 5 minutes) and I thought I was watching a different programme. He was very rushed wasn't he?

Have to agree with everyone above. Watching GFL was a bit like having your mates round for an hour and a half and now the fun has gone. Remains to be seen whether I will keep watching.

Jenni and Gino make a great combination for live TV. So what do they do - leave Gino to make his pasta dish on his own. I can't believe that the producer of the show can be so daft.

The other thing is they are left cooking and presenting food in a messy kitchen because Jenni isn't there clearing up for them.

I have learnt so much about cooking and different ingredients just by Jenni asking the chefs questions. Come on please give us back the programme we all loved.

I have Food Uncut on at the moment while I'm ironing and I got the urge to put in my five pennyworth. How interesting that so many other people are missing the old style GFL and Bites too. The presenters of Food Uncut are very attractive and clever but they don't have Jenni's...........???well what does jenni have that they don't? I don't know but she has bags of it! As someone before me said, its like having a natter with a good pal every day and I want more not less. I'm not saying you should axe Food Uncut, just put it on at another time and give us our old favourite back. As for the new look, the set is fine but I'd say no more than that. I can't see why you felt the need to change the old one. I sound a right old moan but I don't like change for change's sake.

Would like to associate myself with the remarks of the previous poster.
It seems we're getting less and less of our rations as time goes on. First of all, we had a ninety minute GFL. Then we had a 60 minute GFL (which left less time for the discussions) and a 30 minute Bites. I got used to this and liked it. Bites were good to watch, or to store in my SKY planner for when I had a 30 minute gap to fill. Now we have a refined GFL and a new show, which I haven't really warmed too. Without the banter, GFL doesn't seem to have the same charm anymore either. I hope it's just teething problems. I am finding the music in between items irritating. I keep thinking they've gone to a commericial. If wasn't "broke" so why did they try to "fix" it?
Having said all of the above it stands head and shoulders above any other cookery show on this or any other channel. I just hope it doesn't lose it's humour forever.
Agree watching the chefs cook on their own without Jeni asking questions just isn't the same. I too have learned so much from the show and her questions.

What can I say? I just have to totally agree with everyone else. GFL has consistently been the best food programme by far and often the best programme of any kind!!
Will we never see Jenni & Simon Rimmer together again?-they surely are one of the best double acts on tv. It's a crying shame to ruin what was a winning format. I looked forward to the show every day and Sky plussed it if I couldn't watch it live. As for Food Uncut, it's not a patch on Bites. I won't be recording it in the future. The previous format was "must see tv" and anyway "Uncut " doesn't have Jenni.
Please reconsider and give us back the best food programmes ever.

Hear, hear

I'm really pleased to read that many people feel the same. I thought maybe I was just getting grumpy and didn't like change!
I know that the producers sometimes leave messages on these boards and I would love them to leave a reply for us - we are afterall loyal watchers and I must say I could see myself starting to switch off from this format.
It would be nice to know that, having tried a new format, the producers consider what we have said.

Sarah

I don't know how many people will have to be driven to write a comment on this message board to make the GFL team listen, so hear I am too!!
Please, please return to your old ways, the new format is too sleek, less interesting and frankly, less entertaining.
We want more Jenni!!!!

I agree with all the above comments. GFL is the only programme I watch on this channel now as there are so many repeats being shown of programmes I have seen many times before. However, the new format on GFL is so uninteresting that I have today turned off after watching for about ten minutes. The programme has become dull and I agree that the banter between Jeni and the chefs whilst they were cooking was interesting. Please go back to the way it was, it was so much better.

I would like to add my little woof to this thread. Please go back to more banter with Jeni and the chefs.

Have just finished watching the last episode of GFL this week and have to agree with all of the above comments please, please bring back Bites and Banter.

Gamebird: seeing as the exact same production company makes GFL, Food Uncut AND Taste, I'm not surprised that FU is a carbon copy of Taste. Probbly recycling old ideas that SkyOne rejected! In fact, if you look closely, it's exactly the SAME set on Food Uncut as it is for GFL - although it looks smaller, but those coloured perspex bits in the corners are the same, and the kitchen units, while different colours, are identical. I suspect some serious cost-cutting is going on.

I believe that Jenni isn't having a co-host anymore - I think that's a definite change. I also agree that that she should be in on the cooking. It's daft her not being there - what is the benefit?

I seriously doubt that anyone other than the lovely researchers that post here read this forum, otherwise they wouldn't be making changes in the first place. I don't think people high up in the world of TV are actually in touch with the people that watch it. It's certainly that way in every other industry, including the one that I work in. The Suits make decisions based purely on ego and money, and for the sake of making decisions. Why they chose to rip apart our favourite show format and replace it with halfbaked, badly casted froth that undermines everything GFL stands for is anyones guess, but it's certainly not an educated decision. We watch GFL because it's got integrity and it's in depth. We like FOOD, that's why we subscribe to a FOOD channel. If we wanted frothy, surface skimming programming, we'd watch Full on Food on the BBC. Oh no, hang on, it's not on anymore... HMMMMMMMM.

I like Stefan Gates though!

I totally agree with all the above comments. We need the old show back in the format we all loved. I cant believe I am seriously thinking of not bothering to record it on Sky+ anymore.

Ditto to everything that's been said so far; GFL's changes are horribly misconceived.

As for Food Uncut, Stefan Gates is loathsome, and Merrilees Parker is fine on GFL as a guest chef but can't hack it as a presenter. JCN is horribly self-absorbed and humourless. Dreadful all round.

Totally agree. The daftest of changes by people who clearly didnt realise why GFL worked so well.