texasmesquite

TV cooking shows won't die - Granger


KATHERINE FIELD, NATIONAL ENTERTAINMENT WRITER - AU
30/01/2009 4:46:00 PM

Australian celebrity chef Bill Granger says TV cooking shows may come in and out of fashion, but they'll never die.

The number of cooking shows has increased in recent years to become a major TV staple, thanks to the likes of Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsay and Granger himself.

But Granger, who has a new series about to air on the Lifestyle Channel, doesn't believe viewers are sick of the genre.

"Even I can never get enough of it - you would think I'd get sick of it because I'm working in it," Granger told AAP.

"But it's like everything, it goes out of fashion and has its ups and downs.

"It went out of fashion a couple of years ago but it came back with a huge vengeance."

Granger says there's room for everyone.

"The thing with food is we (celebrity chefs) are all quite different, we've all got our own thing," Granger said.

"There's room for lots of different personalities."

Granger says he catches up and has a good relationship with other high-profile chefs such as Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsay and Donna Hay, whose children used to go to the same pre-school as his.

"We all keep up, it's such a small industry," Granger said.

"Food is a generous industry, the reason you're in food is because you like feeding people and making people happy.

"It's a nurturing kind of thing and I think that makes the people that work in food great."

After spending a lot of time overseas, Granger said he relished doing his new program called Bill's Holiday, which took him to some remote spots including in Arnhem Land.

And he loved the opportunity to cook simple, relaxed Australian cuisine.

"I really felt I needed to get out into the country to see what Australian food was," Granger said.

"Out in the country you have these extraordinary people creating this great produce."
Among the dishes he tackled were the great Aussie sponge cake, roast chicken, lamb skewers, bacon and egg rolls, prawns, pancakes, barbecued barramundi, and cherry tarts.