Cooking Show Comparison

Lifestyle and cooking shows have become an important part of television in today’s culture with more US and UK shows being broadcasted (shows such as Nigella Bites, Hell’s Kitchen and Ready Steady Cook). Australia is fighting back with home grown shows such as Surfing the Menu, The Cook and the Chef and Masterchef. ‘Nigella Bites’ and ‘Surfing the Menu (Series 2)’ have made watching cooking shows humorous and attractive.

Surfing the Menu is an Australian lifestyle and cooking show hosted by two “hunky Aussie Larrikins” Ben (Bender) O’Donoghue and Curtis Stone promoting local produce and regional foods. The couple, good friends and chefs, use humour, special guests and easy made indulging meals to capture the interest of audiences.

Nigella Bites is a British cooking show hosted by renowned chef and cooking author, Nigella Lawson. Nigella uses her humour, sexual looks, and skill of cooking easy and fast meals to interest audiences. Both television shows can be viewed on the ABC network and Lifestyle Cooking on pay television.

PURPOSE

Surfing the Menu is all about using fresh regional food and local products to promote Australia. Surfing the Menu is not a typical cooking show with the pair visiting places of interest, local chefs, and well known members in the community focused on in each episode. For instance, in the episode visiting the Eyre Peninsula the couple go sand boarding with a local on the dunes near Coffin Bay.

 Nigella Bites is about presentation of cooking with a selected theme, such as ‘Trashy’, ‘Parties’ and ‘All Day Breakfast’, “Perfect meals for every occasion”.  Nigella Bites is about the comfort of cooking at home and the enjoyment of flavoursome food. Nigella uses her special sense of humour, exaggeration and sexual orientation to keep audiences interested. She uses the show as a method of promoting her many cooking books.

Both cooking shows cook meals that are indulging and appealing to the senses of the viewer.

AUDIENCE

Surfing the Menu would appeal to a person of either gender, aged 16 to 45 years old, of, idle class. Women would be attracted to the hosts as they are elegant and sensitive modern Aussie blokes. Women are attracted to the meals because they use local, fresh and generally healthy produce with neat and indulging presentation. Men would be interested in the foolish humour and jokes played out by the hosts. Men would enjoy the use of transport, such as boats and helicopters, and activities, such as sand boarding and surfing.

Nigella Bites appeals to both genders of an older audience of upper and middle class. The older audience is attracted by the use of mature and proper language with older audiences relating to the situations explained in each episode. Women would like the fact the meals are quick and easy to make and are more about indulging rather than healthy. Men would be attracted to Nigella for her stunning looks and sexual appeal focused on throughout the show. The seductive language used by the host would appeal to the male audiences, words such as “sweetness”, “gorgeousness” and “heaven”.

FORM

The hosts of Surfing the Menu, Ben and Curtis, come across as laid back and casual towards their cooking. They seem to be natural friends with Ben a very boisterous person and Curtis a polished person.  The two hosts are well educated in cooking and are middle class Australians. The two do not have a set kitchen, instead they cook in front of scenic landscapes in the community they’re visiting. The opening credits include the two hosts and picturesque Australian landscapes. Film techniques used in the series are extreme long shots on scenery, medium shots on both the hosts and close up on hands and meals.

The host of Nigella Bites, Nigella, is a well educated upper class female with lots of knowledge of cooking. Nigella uses her own kitchen where everything is new with surrounding colours welcoming. The mood is changed through the use of colours, themes and jazz music in the background. The opening credits are the same each episode with pictures of the host preparing the kitchen with cross fading techniques used. She uses seductive techniques towards the camera to make her shows attractive to male viewers. Film techniques, such as blurring in and out, close ups on hands and face and always following Nigella’s body, are used throughout the programs.

LANGUAGE

The hosts on Surfing the Menu, Ben and Curtis, use what is believed to be very laid back Aussie slang. “ay”, “tell you what”, “beauties” and “mate”. Throughout Surfing the Menu relaxing and chilled surfie music in used to lift the vibe. The vibrant tunes and colourful Australian landscapes are used to set the mood.

The language in the different programs contrasts exceedingly. Nigella uses upper class formal language while sharing her knowledge of cooking with the audience, such as “holy trinity of aromatic” and “intensification”. Nigella is well educated with her extensive and descriptive vocabulary. Upper class jazz music is played throughout Nigella Bites with lighting and colour used to set the mood.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

Nigella’s meals are so indulging because she has a careless sense about dieting and creating a slow fat healthy meal. It is very appealing for women to see a beautiful woman who maintains a good figure, go over board with the not so healthy ingredients. Nigella reflects comfort and enjoyment through her food because she does not put restrictions on her meals to keep them healthy and non-fattening. Cooking quick and easy meals for family and friends while entertaining is a major feature of each show. “What I’m after is minimum effort for maximum pleasure in both the cooking and the eating”.

Surfing the Menu exposes audiences to the variety of food and culture available in Australia. The show is more than just a cooking show with parts lifestyle, travel and adventure.  The hosts encourage viewers to get out by something local and fresh and turn it into an easy made delicious meal.

Both cooking shows are trying to show society how quick, straightforward and enjoyable it is to create an incredible tasting and indulging meal.

Nigella Bites and Surfing the Menu (Series 2) are two very different and modern lifestyle/cooking shows aimed to inform, entertain, engage and educate the audience. The shows use an array of techniques to interest target audiences in their characters. By incorporating elements such as social context, target audience, language, form and purpose the shows develop their own attractive and unique appeal.