Operation Transformation recap: To air-fry or not to air-fry, that is the question
Operation Transformation participant Edel O’Malley has been trying an air fryer.
On Operation Transformation, it’s been a week where Karl has shown us all how not to sit in a canoe, Daragh is one step away from running for local elections, and Edel is on a mission to get spice bags on the meal plan.
Anne is also back at her knit and stitch group, which is basically a boards.ie forum happening in real time. When her knitting peers comment that her husband Thomas has been getting some attention from his appearance on the show, Anne insists after all these years she has little to worry about.
“You never know Anne,” comes the giggly retort from an anonymous frenemy, but Anne claps back immediately.
“Well I keep telling him the old model is bad but the new model might be worse,” she says, to rapturous guffaws.
This is wonderful advice from Anne - not just if you’re looking to keep your long-term relationship on track but equally applicable if you’re looking to replace a washing machine with a second-hand one you’ve found on a local Facebook forum.
Meanwhile, Noel is getting a somewhat sadistic pleasure in watching Karl Mullan’s inability to stay afloat in a canoe, as Karl’s plan to ‘not get wet’ quickly crumbles when he realises that canoeing takes place mostly in water. No doubt Noel is relishing the chance to turn the tables on the smiling assassin, who has been putting participants through their paces for years.
Daragh in Limerick is continuing his personal journey towards a better, more confident self-image, a journey that is no doubt buoyed by his son, Rian’s, obvious adulation. When Daragh’s trip to Rian’s school ends with him announcing "No homework", the scenes are reminiscent of that scene in Evita, when Madonna is standing on the balcony. A career in local government surely beckons.
As ever, Edel’s honesty is what really makes her journey which no doubt resonates with so many women, particularly when she speaks of the difficulty in conceiving her son and how the whole experience is so "personal, and so strange".
On a lighter note, she has become one of those self-described ‘air-fryer people’, having joined the cult of the alternative oven in a bid to make a healthier version of a spice bag. When she is informed by our resident experts that a spice bag cooked in an air fryer is still a spice bag, Edel admits that she "just wanted to be cool", with a typical honesty that threatens to turn the entire air-fryer industry on its head with just one throwaway comment.
Michelle in Meath is disappointed with her cholesterol levels, despite making impressive progress and saying overall that her confidence has gone from a 2/10 to an 8. After what even the ever-smiley Kathryn Thomas describes as a "shit week", she is still admirably on track, and given it’s the week of Valentine's, we even get the inside scoop on how Michelle initially met her husband David.
David recalls having to pick his now wife up at a safe distance from her parents' house as she was embarrassed about going out with a "bogger". Their love story of when a Dublin woman meets a country bumpkin is one that transcends county boundaries and offers us a glimmer of hope in what are decidedly dark times. It’s basically West Side Story, with a bigger garden.
Standing as it does as the penultimate episode, next week’s final is looming on the horizon, but there is more than enough goodwill here to cheer our leaders over the finish line.
- Operation Transformation is on RTÉ One on Wednesday nights, and is available on the RTÉ Player
