TV review: Was the set for this cookery programme designed by someone who watched too much Teletubbies?
Crazy Delicious
We've started watching (Netflix) in our place. It’s what happens when a bunch of Netflix producers decide take , add some and then aim it at 8-year-old-girls. This pre-teen girl motif starts with chimes in the opening credits and never lets up after that. I’m surprised that it isn’t presented by a unicorn.
The only thing familiar about this show is the format — a presenter, three contestants, three judges and tear-wrenching eliminations. The rest is just bonkers. It looks like the set was designed by someone who watched too much growing up, with fruit and vegetables scattered around for the contestants to forage. The idea is that the food should look as good as it tastes — the crazier the better. You think to yourself: 'all that’s missing here is Heston Blumenthal'. And then Heston Blumenthal walks out. He’s one of the judges! I wasn’t expecting that. Or that they’d dress the judges in white and place them above the action, as if they were angel-gods. It goes against everything that you’d expect in a cookery show. And that’s what makes it so good.
The problem with and is that you’d worry for most of the contestants, the way they take it so seriously. Serious isn’t really an option when a comedian from Bristol tells you to forage bananas in a fake forest.
That message didn’t make it through to all the contestants. The first episode featured Joseph, who shared that he has a mean competitive streak that would come in at 9.5 on a scale of 1 to 10. Thanks for sharing Joseph! Now go over there and make Heston a banana sundae.
Which he did, very well. And into the final he went against Lily, who over-stretched herself with barbecued patisserie vegetables (imagine) and ended up very sad when her time was up. No need though, because the angel-god judges loved it.
But not as much as they liked Joseph’s Jerk Watermelon Surprise. The surprise is that it’s watermelon, because it looks like a roast ham until you cut into it. Jayde said that everyone will be trying that now, which is plain wrong. Must people would steer clear of the recipes on here. is all in the watching, it’s a feast for the imagination.
It’s also very happy. (They say the word 'happy' a lot, maybe a bit too much.) But we love it in our house now, when we need a break from the heat. I liked that Joseph won the first episode, he deserved it. I also like that the prize is a golden apple. There’s no need to take food so seriously.
