Has Jeni been on an assertiveness course during the summer break? She seems to be dominating the guests even more than previously and begining to get a bit irksome! Otherwise great show, just get Jeni to calm down a bit.

No offence to Jeni who is great…… but I find her attitude to Alan Coxon a bit offensive. He is very knowledgible and its interesting to learn about the history of foods etc, I wish Jeni would appreciate that.

im sure jeni appreciates all the chefs that come on the show, and if she appears to be a littlle bossy, take a closer look, i think she gets ear ache form the guys above shouting at her to get the chefs to move on a little quicker and not ramble on too much, i feel a little sorry for alan , he does seem a bit nervous because he looks rushed, but bless him he still manages to get the food cooked and tell his stories. so not all the onis on our jen...

I think its the faces she pulls after his stories that makes me a bit angry…… it seems as there is no respect, again this isnt meant as an attack on Jeni, just a comment.

I don't think any of the chefs will take offence at what Jeni says. I am quite sure they work to a script and are more or less aware of what will be said. A lot of the banter is quite spontaneous, but I think they all know each other well enough not to be upset.

It would be very boring if the show just went along with polite introductions, the chefs explaining what they are doing and Jeni thanking them.

A bit of light relief is very welcome, and sometimes Jeni gets as good as she gives.

Yes its definately a case of winding each other up Alan understands the comments and rises to the occasion hense the in jokes with the other guests yesterday. Alan is an intellengent man and Jeni is a very sharp witted woman, they wouldnt put them together if it was upsetting anyone. You can see the twinkle in Alans eye when he gets going with the fact and fugures he doesit deliberatly and I think its funny. And you can hear the rest of the studio in fits in the background, I was laughing too yesterday. all in good faith.

touche relishmama, we have already had similar comments about jen on this kind of thing, and as we all say, she does get as good as she gives , and when she gets it, well, i must say i laugh, coz it aint that often she gets caught out.and she pulls faces at that too...

I too am having a problem with all this - in that, Jen (bless her!) always seems to be rushing all the chefs to get to the end result ?!)- but isn't this programme about showing the viewers HOW to create the end result?! It is almost as if I was in a restaurant, and the chef came out and explained in great detail what he was doing to create my dish - if this happened I would be saying 'yep lovely, but WHERE IS IT?! It's as though GFL and GFB aren't interested in helping the viewer to re-create the dishes at home, but are just using the progs as a platform for the chefs to quickly show how their dishes are created?

I have to agree with jaybee………
I think there may be a solution to this………
When the recap comes up, they could be putting finishing touches to the dish, rather than leaving it sitting there looking fantastic, that would give a little extra time to show us in more detail how to recreate the masterpiece!

I am sure this has been brought up in other threads, but I would love to know what happens to all the food that they use to show how to create something. Half of it isnt cooked correctly, is it still finished off and eaten? Does the crew get to take some home for hungry families? Is it donated to charity? What happens……

I do see what you all mean, perhaps they could have less dishes and more time to prepare them all or maybe miss out the chat with the guest - that said Ken Hom was fantastic today and finished everything perfectly - he really inspired me to start cooking Chinese food!

I agree with most of the comments and like jaybee I would like GFL to spend more time on a recipe than rushing the chefs to finish, and Porridge is absolutely correct - Ken Hom is not only an excellent chef he is also a perfect gentleman and a professional, he made Ching-He appear so comfortable and at ease when doing her recipe in his presence. A man with great style and my utmost respect.

Hi, first post, could well be the last. Have read the comments about not slating the presenters, BUT, can the sound men please turn Jens microphone off and can someone remind her that this is a FOOD programmme not a place for her to try and act. I feel that a great programme is now being spoilt by her. I love the show but maybe its time for a new presenter, Julie Peasgood is an idea for permenant presenter.

Jeni is obviously conscious of the criticisms of her (she does make reference to them in the prog), and if the producers are pressuring her from "on high" it reflects on their planning a show which inevitably has elements of variability. But if things are so tight, why did today's show finish almost 10 minutes before schedule? A live show with a smattering of short pre-recorded inserts would make all possible, and mean that an insert can be dropped in or out depending on run times.

I thought that is what we had now Julian2. I like Jeni, she has a light touch with most of the cooks/chefs. That said I do feel that trying to dance around knives, hot pans and the rest is not at good idea and seems to be aimed at making her guests look silly.

Chef, you are quite right! I like Jeni, but at times, she seems to think it's the Jeni Barnett Show, the food and the cooks are the stars, her job is just to act as link between them and the viewers. Let them tell their stories and anecdotes about ingredients, rather than hearing about her antecedants and food preferences.

Jeni was a bit bossy with Alan Coxon as was she with Gino D'Acampo today -- he had this look of horror when she wacked him with the pillow on GFL this afternoon.

I do think she discounts the brainiacs like Coxon and Ross Burden for their knowledge of food -- odd though that Lotte Duncan types get a free pass. No just kidding...

It's all in good fun though, isn't it really?

how right jon253 is, I really like Jenni but she really is following in Ainsley's footsteps and trying to be the centre of attention instead of the food being the centre of attention. She should really let the chefs give us their recipes and let us watch them do the cooking.

No, come on, Jon and Lelly. It's not just about the food. Jeni is an entertainer as well as a presenter, and she's so comfortable in her skin, and really given the giggles we get as part of the deal, isn't that what presenting a food programme is all about? (And, differently, the same with Ainsley and even Fern with RSC.) But beyond the presentation, I do like learning about the history and science of cookery. If it's mixed with the banter like Jeni delivers so naturally, that's good, yeah? It's good telly after all, isn't it, and also this sort of thing doesn't carry on for this long now if it's not well-produced and nicely delivered.

I think Jeni is getting really funny (as in an entertaining humourous way.)

I admit when I first watched her, I did used to get a little annoyed when she hurried the chefs up..but now realise why that was..and some of the things she does make me laugh out loud!!!

She has really grown on me.

Hello there, I have just tuned in todays show and there is alot of flirting with gino deeacampo and jeni.I wonder if it is re hear sed or if it is natural flirtation?? I am not a fan of gino deeacampo but the two of them make a great duo for the show. I really like jeni, she made me laugh today.

I think she needs help, bless her, slicing tomatoes though!!!!!!!

I haven't seen today's show (will catch it this evening when I get home) but from what I've seen from yesterday's show I concur with davina that there's a great chemistry albeit an innocent one I'm sure between those 2. Also i think Jeni is just being Jeni, she's loud, aggresive, she takes the best & worst out of every cooks, flirty, but that's what's appealing about the girl....like it or not she's very much part of the show & really can't think of watching the show without Jeni being the presenter....it's like Happy Days without Ritchie, huh???no way & see what happened to that programme.

hi baboush, i totally agree with you.

Just watching good food bites now and gino deeacampo just held jeni's chin as he said the word "zabliglioni" to her (like they do in the films) ( tell me your thoughts when you see it this evening!)

HI to all

I have to say that I dont like all these remarks about Jen. She gets the best from all her guests and yes, she is a true showwoman. I love her and when she is away I don't like GFL as much. She is a big gal with a big personality, long may she host GFL.

Jeni is brilliant presenter and great sense of humour!