A Cook's Tour of Spain
Reviewed by Conor O'Neill via 
on 21 Mar 2008
andalucia,
spain
item website
That oddball likable woman who won Masterchef a few years ago has come up with a thoroughly interesting show on Spanish food. This is the sort of straightforward warts and all food programme that I love. No gimmicks, no leering at the camera, just fantasic food presented by someone authentic.
Week one is Andalucia and I loved every minute. From Jamon Iberico to the pig slaughter and chorizo making, there wasn't a dud moment in the episode. Hell, at one point I had to pause it and go out to the kitchen to hack some slices of the Jamon joint we got from my mother.
The key to everything that Tommi does is simplicity. Gaspachos that take five minutes, tapas that take even less, this is real fast food. Andalucian's seem to love the same ingredients as me: garlic, oil, parsley and pork.
The rabbit and snail paella was an eye opener and definitely one to try in the future. The liver and kidney tapas looked gorgeous. I loved the fact that the old dear dropped her tortilla on the ground and scraped it back into the pan. The other old dear tasting raw pig meat and blood was definitely a new experience for me!
I assume she'll be publishing a book of recipes. I'll be getting it.
1 of 1 people found this useful
Comments
reviewer187679 at 00:42 - 21 Mar, 2008 said:
I must say I couldn't disagree more with this comment. I was dumbfounded when I realised that this Tommi character actually won Masterchef. The title of the series piqued my interest as I am an amateur cook myself and I have lived in Spain for several years. I was ready to enjoy this programme but good God how it failed miserably. This girl seems totally uncomfortable around food, just look at the way she handles it. She certainly does not come across as someone who works as a professional chef. Secondly, could C4 have not have found someone with a little bit more of a brain, with slightly more charisma than this girl who flounders with vocabulary so limited it seems she can only express herself with the intensifiers SUCH and SO followed by some innocuous adjective such as 'sweet' or 'nice'. Really, this smacks of some over-privileged sloane whose uncle runs a production company and who managed to blag a series so she could hang out in Spain on her gap-year. I mean come on. At least Tom Parker-Bowls can cook! And - who the HELL is the the guy who hangs out with her on camera contributing absolutely nothing? It is a dreadful scene watching a pair of non-entities making a complete hash of what could be a really interesting and entertaining series. This is a real shame because I know what great potential this format has and that it would make a series without too much effort. But sadly it seems C4 have ballsed up the concept by letting this incredibly dull girl loose on a country which is steeped in culinary - not to mention social - culture and which could provide the perfect stage for a great series. And to top it all off her Spanish is barely of GCSE standard. Utter pap.