Azonei (@azonei.bsky.social)

No culinary war, no sweary saucier: why The Cook and the Chef is still the best food TV Across 154 episodes, Maggie Beer and Simon Bryant made a lovingly odd couple. They were messy, giggly and actually enjoyed cooking * Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email When did we decide making food should be stressful? I believe it was around 2009, when MasterChef Australia took off, with its explosions and tears and plate-throwing; of course we ruthlessly exported it, like the Hemsworths. Along the way, cooking went from being an act of service to an extreme sport; as a result, you can now watch people shout and cry as they decorate a mille-feuille on most of the streamers. Cooking is now a form of combat – there are Cake Wars, Cupcake Wars and Culinary Class Wars – and frequently, pure spectacle. You can make a cake that looks like a lifesize Superman (ahem, Super Mega Cakes) – but, as I said outloud while watching two contestants have a fight about time management, when is someone going to fucking eat something? Most new cooking shows are not really about food at all, but drama. In my mind, the best are made by people who don’t really want to be on TV – so out with wannabe reality types and, as much I believe both Jamie and Nigella genuinely love food, there is something gratingly artificial about his puppyish enthusiasm and her seductive verbosity, so out with them too. I much prefer the passionate, quiet, awkward types who get roped into doing telly: think Nigel Slater, Simon Hopkinson, Julia Child, Adam Liaw, Kylie Kwong or Nadiya Hussain. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2025/sep/03/cook-chef-maggie-beer-simon-bryant-best-food-tv-show?CMP=aus_bsky