Charge of the chef’s whites brigade
THE CHEF’S BRIGADE BBC2, 9pm
KITCHEN-BASED shows are often very serious. You know the drill – lots of yelling, crying, hugging and everyone a hot, sweaty, stressed-out mess. This latest concoction is no exception.
It sees Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton on a mission to take a team of raw cooking talent and turn them into a chef’s brigade. But what is that, you may wonder?
Jason explains: “I’m obsessed with food. It’s my life, it’s who I am. But if you want to make world-class food, it’s never about one individual, it’s always about building a team. And in the kitchen, that team is known as the brigade.”
Jason has four Michelin stars and 18 restaurants. Putting these teams together is what he does for a living and he’s deadly serious about getting this right.
He’s handpicked some chefs who have talent but only basic skills.
After a few weeks they will be competing with the brigades
at Europe’s finest restaurants. Cue the drama.
On meeting these chefs, they are mostly young, wide-eyed and slightly scared. Some have never been abroad before and certainly have never eaten in top restaurants.
Jason whisks them straight off to a posh eaterie in Italy before they’ve even started.
They will have four days to get up to standard and cook with the head chef there.
Gin-infused cuttlefish anyone? Surely that will be a breeze to whip up.
It’s all quite stressful and will build towards a final showdown against those bastions of fine dining, the French.
The knives are out.