There has been a feast of food-related fare this week on the box. I won't dwell on Come Dine with Me (C4, 8pm, 5 April) - except to say, yes, DJ Wayne was a dim-witted, undeserving winner who shouldn't have harangued Jayne, but the posh, ballet-dancing foodie asked for it.
From whining diners to winning dinners, it was good to see Gary Rhodes back on TV with Rhodes across the Caribbean (UKTV Food, 9pm, from 6 April). I've never been a massive fan (the rictus grin is old-school in a bad way), but though his desperate efforts to restore his A-list sleb chef status on Strictly Come Dancing failed , he's clearly been doing sterling work in the wilderness of satellite TV.
I've been banging on for ages about how Caribbean is going to be the next big thing (and not just because I'm half Trini) and Rhodes illustrates its fusion appeal perfectly. Starting in Jamaica, he showcased traditional dishes such as "brown stew chicken", which he elevated from a humble stew with the help of Scotch Bonnet peppers, soy sauce, ketchup and thyme.
The cooking was all about simplicity, though I didn't fancy "life porridge", a mixture of raw oats, peanuts, raisins, bananas and molasses dished up by a local Rastafarian. And just what were the "lovely herbs" he was picking from his garden, I wonder? But it was great to see someone finally doing something to disabuse the British public of the notion that Caribbean food is just barbecue food.
Willie Harcourt-Cooze deserves similar praise for his efforts to re-educate the Cadbury-munching masses about real chocolate in Willie's Chocolate Revolution: Raising the Bar (C4, 8pm, 7 April).
Annoyingly, he's toned down the smug persona so I can't make any Willie W**ka gags, boo hoo. In fact, I found myself warming to the cacao maverick as he embarked on his mission to create a proper chocolate bar and persuade us to ditch what he dismissed as " sugar and vegetable fat with a thin coating of chocolate". Judging by the retching, they weren't convinced. But he did get a sports doctor to prove his chocolate helps burn fat, which has to be a good thing.
Just wish I'd been given the "homework" of tasting 70%-cocoa chocolate.
From whining diners to winning dinners, it was good to see Gary Rhodes back on TV with Rhodes across the Caribbean (UKTV Food, 9pm, from 6 April). I've never been a massive fan (the rictus grin is old-school in a bad way), but though his desperate efforts to restore his A-list sleb chef status on Strictly Come Dancing failed , he's clearly been doing sterling work in the wilderness of satellite TV.
I've been banging on for ages about how Caribbean is going to be the next big thing (and not just because I'm half Trini) and Rhodes illustrates its fusion appeal perfectly. Starting in Jamaica, he showcased traditional dishes such as "brown stew chicken", which he elevated from a humble stew with the help of Scotch Bonnet peppers, soy sauce, ketchup and thyme.
The cooking was all about simplicity, though I didn't fancy "life porridge", a mixture of raw oats, peanuts, raisins, bananas and molasses dished up by a local Rastafarian. And just what were the "lovely herbs" he was picking from his garden, I wonder? But it was great to see someone finally doing something to disabuse the British public of the notion that Caribbean food is just barbecue food.
Willie Harcourt-Cooze deserves similar praise for his efforts to re-educate the Cadbury-munching masses about real chocolate in Willie's Chocolate Revolution: Raising the Bar (C4, 8pm, 7 April).
Annoyingly, he's toned down the smug persona so I can't make any Willie W**ka gags, boo hoo. In fact, I found myself warming to the cacao maverick as he embarked on his mission to create a proper chocolate bar and persuade us to ditch what he dismissed as " sugar and vegetable fat with a thin coating of chocolate". Judging by the retching, they weren't convinced. But he did get a sports doctor to prove his chocolate helps burn fat, which has to be a good thing.
Just wish I'd been given the "homework" of tasting 70%-cocoa chocolate.
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