TV Magazine – 1st February, 2003

Richard E Grant and Arabella Weir take TV chefs with a pinch of salt.

By James Rampton.

Celebrity chefs Minty and Simon Marchmont are on a mission to teach us all how to strip-search a cabbage, bamboozle a parsnip and relax an avocado. Arabella Weir and Richard E Grant star as the culinary couple in Posh Nosh, a new BBC2 comedy of eight 10-minute episodes which sends up the likes of Nigella, Jamie, Delia and the rest.

The husband and wife team run The Quill And Tassle restaurant in Buckinghamshire. Or to be more accurate, Minty puts in the hard work in the kitchen while her husband practises his strokes with his tennis coach – and love interest – Jose-Luis.

Both Richard and Arabella admit that the snobby attitude of a lot of TV chefs is a ripe target for comedy.

“They seem to be begging for it,” says Richard, 45. The Withnail And I star says he can’t believe that a cookery show spoof hasn’t been done before.”

“But I suspect the real TV chefs will love it,” he adds. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The only danger is that the real ones become so ridiculous, they’re impossible to parody any more. But we’re not there quite yet.”

So could Posh Nosh spell the end for our obsession with real-life celebrity chefs?

Richard, who lives in west London with his voice coach wife Joan Washington and has two children, stepson Tom, 26, and daughter Olivia, 14, laughs ruefully: “Fingers crossed.”

Actress and writer Arabella, 45, who co-wrote Posh Nosh, agrees with Richard. “TV chefs are always telling you what kind of chestnuts you must use, saying, ‘there’s no point in making this if you don’t have my fancy cookbook full of words you’ve never heard of.'”

As mum to Isabella, five, and Archie, three, Arabella, who lives in north London, knows that life isn’t always like the cookery books.
“They all pretend that cooking their recipes is incredibly simple, and you’re supposed to feel like a complete idiot for not finding it easy,” says the actress, who has appeared in many guises on The Fast Show, including the ‘No offence’ cosmetics saleswoman.

“As if everyone has got fresh scallops in the fridge. I haven’t. All there is in my fridge is a half-pint of off milk!”

“These makeover shows all serve to make you feel your life is not good enough and it will only be good enough if you hang about with some bloke in leather trousers cooking divine dishes.”

“It’s a similar thing with celebrity magazines. You sit around reading them and think, ‘I don’t match up because I don’t hang around with Brad pitt and wear Gucci trousers.'”

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