Let’s talk about Food

Today is Blog Action Day when bloggers of the world unite to promote a single cause.

Past topics have included  water, climate change and poverty.  This year that topic is FOOD, which coincides with World Food Day.

So in the interests of doing my bit here are a handful of shows that are airing this week on that very topic, and you’re invited to share your thoughts on the food shows you enjoy.

Which shows are your favourites? Which presenters do you like? What have you learned from these shows -and have you ever cooked any of their recipes?

Junior MasterChef Australia
7:30pm Sunday / Monday TEN
A new challenge is set to the eight kids lowest on the point score. The kids are asked to cook the perfect roast. Two mini cooks are safe, which leaves six cooks to battle a pressure test.

Huey’s Kitchen
4pm weekdays TEN
Travelling around some of the most picturesque regions of both Australia and overseas, Huey presents simple yet special recipes that are easy to recreate.

Kitchen Nightmares USA (rpt)
9:30pm Monday GEM
After turning around restaurants a year ago, Chef Ramsey heads to Giuseppi’s and Sante La Brea to check in on how they are doing. We also get an update on Finn McCools and countdown the top three worst inspections and worst fights in Kitchen Nightmares History.

Poh’s Kitchen on the Road
8pm Wednesday, 19 October ABC1
This week Poh’s road trip takes her to King Island. Located in the Roaring Forties of Bass Strait, off the NW tip of Tasmania, King Island is about half way to the mainland state of Victoria. Windswept, rainy (it has an annual rainfall of over 1000 mm), rugged and attractive it boasts over 145 km of untouched coastline, an estimated 57 offshore wrecks (a legacy of the dangers of trying to cross Bass Strait in inclement weather) and a wide and unusual variety of wildlife. King Island is known nationally and internationally for its fine produce: cream, specialty cheeses, beef and rock lobster. Kelp is harvested from the shore, dried and exported for use in a number of products including ice cream.

Poh immerses herself in island life. First she visits a dairy farm owned by Philip and Kelly Lancaster, a third generation farming family, and tries her hand at milking. Then it’s off to the famed King Island Dairy to talk to master cheese maker Ueli Berger about the island’s renowned cheeses. “They are like my babies,” says Ueli. Next it’s a call into the local organic egg farm owned by Dave and Glenda Holloway where the chooks run free, and when the time comes retire to a paddock of their own. Poh’s King Island experience is distilled into her recipe for kefir, a fermented milk drink that she discovers on the island. She then uses the island’s wonderful cheddar cheese for a soufflé and an apple pie with a cheese crust to be topped off with a dollop of King Island cream.

Kill It, Cook It, Eat It
9:30pm Wednesday, 19 October ABC2

This final episode takes a look back through the highlights from the series, with added new material, following the journey the volunteers took when they came to Pipers Farm in Devon.

Whilst caring for the animals on the farm, the contributors chose the beasts for slaughter, which they then watched die at the local abattoir. With the meat from the fresh carcasses they made burgers, kebabs, sausages and nuggets. By making the connection between the living animals and popular meat products, the ethics of the meat industry could be debated.

Gourmet Farmer
7:30pm Thursday October 20 SBS ONE
Viva Italia – Matthew has been invited to Italy as part of Slow Food’s annual salon. While there he learns to make salami the traditional way with local butchers. This gives him an idea for how to preserve pork when he has an excess supply back home in Tasmania.

Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam (rpt)
8pm Thursday October 20 SBS ONE
Tonight, Luke stops off in Dong Hoi and prepares a dish for a family en route to Vinh. Arriving in Vinh, he explores the vibrant market lifestyle in this small country town where locals, all too keen to lend a hand with his recipes of eel and pork neck, crowd around him. He also visits a family living on a stilt house where he prepares a pickled bamboo and tamarind soup for some keen kids ready to pass judgement on their local dish.

Choccywoccydoodah
6pm Friday, 21 October ABC1
Imagine a world where everything you see is made of chocolate. In the English coastal town of Brighton there is a very magical chocolate shop – Choccywoccydoodah. This specialty shop produces seriously amazing cakes for a truly impressive list of celebrities. Kylie Minogue, Madonna, Sir Bob Geldof, Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant have all commissioned cakes. At up to two metres tall and with a price tag of a cool £9000, these cakes are works of art.

This week it’s autumn and Brighton is cooling down but in at Choccywoccydoodah things are hotting up. Chief cake artist Dave and his ambitious assistant Tom go into battle to come up with two new cakes for tough boss Christine. They also create a cake for auction at a glamorous charity event fronted by Davina McCall.

The Good Cook
6:25pm Friday, 21 October ABC1
Simon Hopkinson knows all about good food, and he knows what you need to make great meals in your own kitchen. A widely-acclaimed chef and food writer, he draws on his years of experience and love of cooking to show how you can create restaurant quality food at home, with everyday ingredients. Along the way he reveals where and how to find the right produce, which ingredients it’s worth spending your money on and how to create exquisite meals using cheaper cuts and fabulous flavours instead of the latest food fads.

This week Simon demonstrates how to make the ultimate ‘naked risotto’, delicious Parma ham and asparagus pancakes, a quiche Lorraine and a very simple but amazing coffee granita. And he shares why two of his ‘can’t live without’ ingredients are Italian risotto rice and Parma ham.

Weekend Kitchen
1:30pm Saturday 7TWO
Handsome young chefs James Martin and Paul Hollywood delve into the world of speciality breads and the food that goes with them. Chef Paul Gayler presents the perfect guide to healthy eating by using only the most healthy, wholesome produce. Learn how to make quick and easy meals by using only a hob and a grill. Chef Ross Burden travels to Thailand to experience its distinctive cuisine and look at some of the exotic ingredients. Italian chef Mauro Bregoli showcases traditional Umbrian dishes from a cookery school in Northern Italy.

…and a special shoutout to LifeStyleFOOD Channel which has way too many shows for me to list!