COLIN MATHURA-JEFFREE’S ‘ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS’ TRIFLE
Take a jam roll and slice it to create a layer of sponge. Place in a glass bowl.
Create a booze-laced jelly and layer it so it soaks into the sponge. Add fruit of your choice and custard Put down another layer of jam roll and repeat the jelly, fruit and custard steps
Top off the trifle with whipped cream ‘‘to ensure the story of the show is being told across various platforms throughout the day and into the night’’.
When starts playing out, viewers will be able to sign up for Block Out Live, a Kiwibank-sponsored digital Bingo game that can only be played while the show screens.
Veer says that’s a move into ‘‘advertainment’’, a practice gaining traction in Europe. ‘‘They are games that are essentially promotional campaigns for a company.’’ He cites a recent postal agency example, where participants were invited to deliver a virtual package intact to a specified address by the shortest possible route. ‘‘So people were walking around with their cell phones making sure they weren’t shaking them . . .’’
It’s advertising, says Veer. ‘‘But they’re entertaining, and if they’re entertaining, people are going to engage more and if they engage they watch the show and if they watch the show, you’re going to get better ratings and better ratings mean more money from advertisers.’’
But if TV is tapping into the zeitgeist to make more cash, audiences don’t appear to mind being monetised. Guy Williams, television funny guy and one of Twitter’s 20 most followed New Zealanders, says social media makes reality television ‘‘so much better’’.
‘‘These shows are built on a combination of manic positivity and cheesy emotional story lines. You need sarcastic twitter jokes to level the playing field a little bit.
‘‘Twitter is like texting, but better, because you don’t actually need any friends to do it. It’s a lot of fun talking about it online because you qualify for a better quality of friends. I’ve been at
What’s key is when fans talk up a show and tell others what they like or don’t like about it . . Some of our best social media content comes from our fans.
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some depressing flats where there are eight people sitting around a TV and all of them are looking at their phones.’’
(Williams is not making this up – his emailed proof was a photograph of nine 20-somethings staring at their phones during an episode of X Factor NZ. They were ignoring both the television and the celery and the cheese platter).
Cate Owen, MediaWork’s social media strategist for the past four years, says ‘‘all our recent research shows that multiple screens don’t detract from the first screen experience’’.
And the value to the networks? ‘‘Of course TV3 is going to tell you how wonderful The Block is,’’ says Owen. ‘‘What’s key is when fans talk up a show and tell others what they like or don’t like about it . . . Some of our best social media content comes from our fans. We didn’t plan for someone to make a Lego model of the X Factor NZ set, but when they did, we had the platforms to spread the word and share that with other fans.’’
Lynley Kirk-Smith, TVNZ’s general manager of marketing: ‘‘People want to engage 24/7 – the audience is making that choice – and we’re following a consumer need.’’
COOKING SHOWS have always topped the reality ratings and have prompted amateur chefs to fire up their own kitchens. The launch of a homegrown version of My Kitchen Rules is set to reheat the reality show ratings this week so we went out to ask a few Kiwi celebs to dish up their favourite dinner party recipes. Colin Mathura-Jeffree NZ Hottest Home Baker host Colin Mathura-Jeffree prefers to keep things classic and familiar when creating a three-course meal to represent his personality
‘‘I love good food to be hearty, overflowing, old English, full of love and simple. My family had wonderful hearty dinners in winter like this.
‘‘I would do a cheeseboard, classic corned beef with hot mustard, and trifle with so much alcohol it would put a smile on your face and a wiggle in your hips. And let’s not forget some great Kiwi wines to go with the meal.’’ Toni Street Seven Sharp co-presenter Toni Street would begin with an entree of seafood to ‘‘wow the judges from the outset’’.
‘‘I’d do a crispy yum yum prawn, a seared scallop and salmon sashimi . . . the magic in this would be the homemade yum yum sauce.’’
Her main would be a seared lamb rump with celeriac shoestring fries with chilli salt (her co-host Mike Hosking tells her celeriac is the ‘‘in’’ thing right now), paired with steamed garlic broccolini and orange ‘‘to bring that fresh element’’.
Toni Street and Polly Gillespie.
Dessert would be her whisky crunch ice-cream parfait. ‘‘Layers of homemade ice-cream, salted caramel and pecans with fresh raspberry. I haven’t found a single person who doesn’t like it. It’s super easy but looks and tastes impressive. The dessert is super decadent, which fits perfectly with my dining mantra. Every meal should end with something sweet.’’ Polly Gillespie The Hits radio co-host Polly Gillespie would make a first course of creamy mushroom and truffle soup with cheesy home-made croutons.
Her main would be a rack of beef with French green beans, blanched and finished off in bacon.
For dessert, a rich chocolate cake with fresh raspberries and coffee latte icecream.
‘‘I love rich taste – I have synaesthesia, so highly developed sense of smell and taste, which means I taste things very particularly,’’ she says.
‘‘I can’t have anything bitter, and therefore will cook foods that soothe and massage the pallet as opposed to bombard. It probably means I would make good food, but not artsy and edgy!’’