These 1990s cooking shows perfectly sum up our childhood
Remember tuning into the box to watch Huey’s Cooking Adventures or Two Fat Ladies? Television cooking shows have stepped up their game recently but these 1990s food shows hit differently.
Back in the ’90s, a time when most of us only had four channels to choose from, cooking shows just hit different.
Affable hosts, questionable cuisine and novelty suspenders were the highlights of our days – especially school holidays or when we’d chucked a sickie.
These are core-memory cooking shows (mainly) from the ’90s that perfectly sum up our childhoods.
Huey’s Cooking Adventures
Who could forget Iain ‘Huey’ Hewitson who was a fixture on our screens throughout the ’90s. Huey’s walrus-style moustache, colourful fruity suspenders and frequent muddle-ups made for such an endearing watch. A totally comforting time capsule.
Surprise Chef
This was an odd one no matter which way you cut it. Chef Aron ‘Aristos’ Papandroulakis would ambush unsuspecting shoppers in the supermarket, inspect their ingredients and ask if he could come home with them to cook. It was chaotic and charming and a really fun flash in the pan.
Consuming Passions
While the title may be giving Days of Our Lives energy, Consuming Passions was a cooking show hosted by Ian Parmenter from 1992 to 2001. Parmenter, a London-born Australian chef hosted 450 five-minute episodes in which he, and his crazy hair, would teach us exotic sounding dishes like Prawns Fandango and Chilli con carne with chocolate.
Ready Steady Cook!
Ready Steady Cook! was the absolute hallmark of having a sick day and staying home from school. First with the UK version, then our own Australian series, two contestants would bring an assortment of staples from their pantry and fridge, while in-house chefs would drum up crazy meals and have a cook-off. The dramatic climax of the show came via a live studio audience who would vote for the winning team by holding either a capsicum or tomato card in the air. It’s real edge-of-your-seat stuff to be honest.
Two Fat Ladies
The Two Fat Ladies AKA Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright were absolute icons. Imagine scooting around the countryside with your best friend in a war-era sidecar, stewing chubby rabbits, talking nonsense and finishing with a spot of brandy. We could watch Paterson’s perfectly manicured hands slather butter onto partridge skin all day.
What’s Cooking? with Geoff Jansz
Originally hosted by Gabriel Gaté, Geoff Jansz took over What’s Cooking? in 1993 and upped the ante with his perfectly coiffed hair and totally 90s puffy button downs. Oh, and there was some cooking involved too.
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