Alex James has landed some great gigs in his time, from early Blur shows to the band’s triumphant return to Glastonbury in 2009. But Recipes That Rock (Food Network, Weeknights, 6.30pm) tops the lot. Basically, he gets to go to beautiful parts of Australia and eat crackling.

He also chowed down on Marron, evil looking lobster-type things, which snapped at the bass player’s fingers like a crustacean Oasis fan, still bitter about Country House. Then came Sea Anemone, shucked from rocks in the surf moments before being expertly fried and dressed with a lemon, garlic & chilli sauce.

“Super tender,” enthused James, who wore an expression of a giddy child let loose in the back of an ice cream van throughout the show.

Next up came the pork, deftly scored and BBQ’d until it emerged looking mouth- wateringly good.

“It’s like an explosion going off inside your head,” murmured James as he crunched on the crackling, and we knew it to be true.

We knew, because, like any crackling lover, he couldn’t resist tapping it with a knife before slicing up the joint. We heard that reassuringly light, hollow sound we know and love, audible evidence we have achieved alchemy by transforming a lump of dead flesh and flabby skin into a juicy hunk of meltingly soft meat, wrapped up in an irresistible combination of crispy, yet unctuous, gold.

That tap is more than a tap. It’s a promise of the porcine pleasure still to come.

Now someone get me a pig and a knife.