The Cook and the Chef-Summer (2006)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Menu Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2006
Running Time	260:18
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Maggie Beer Simon Bryant
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (256Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	Yes

    It been a while since there was a new cooking show made for Australian television and this one probably slipped under a lot of people's radar as it was shown in the early evening on the ABC. For those with digital television it was also repeated later in the evening on ABC2, which is where my wife and I caught it regularly. The concept is a little bit different, for rather than being focused on one celebrity chef with a large ego it features (as the title suggests) a cook and a chef. The distinction drawn is that the 'cook', Maggie Beer, is a well-known foodie from the Barossa Valley rather than being a professional chef. The 'chef' is Simon Bryant who is the executive chef from a five star hotel in Adelaide. When you first start watching this series they seem like a very strange pairing with the young and funky Bryant seeming to be out of place in the traditional family kitchen at Maggie Beer's house. However, as the series progresses it is the juxtaposition of styles and backgrounds which really makes the series work as they introduce different ingredients, techniques and ideas to each other. There are also occasional bits of niggle between them to spice things up. All in all, the pairing works pretty well.

    Each episode tends to feature the two of them taking the same ingredients and cooking them in completely different ways, focusing on local seasonal produce from Australia. Local producers are also featured heavily, from backyard tomato growers to secretive grain millers. Most of the recipes are straightforward and a website is available for full recipes. This 2 DVD set includes the 10 episodes which made up the first series. Strangely, the first disc includes 7 episodes and the second only 3. Each episode runs for approximately 26 minutes.

    The episodes included are

1. Best In Season - Tomatoes, kingfish & olives.
2. A Summer Lunch - Squid, capers and affogato.
3. The Orchard - Peaches in jam, ice cream, salads and so on.
4. Brunch - Eggs, pancakes, muesli & grilled watermelon!
5. A Late Summer Lunch  - Roast Chicken, salads, strawberries.
6. Dinner Party for 6 - Meringue, prawns and duck.
7. Party for 20 - Shiraz jelly, dips, chicken and snapper.
8. A Luscious Lunch - Oysters, avocado jelly, quail, cheese and Bloody Marys.
9. Pizza - Traditional and not so traditional pizzas.
10. Easter - Eggs, desserts, tomatoes, octopus and kinky things to do with a Barbie doll!

    This is a good quality low-key cooking series produced locally for the ABC without the need for a celebrity chef. Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was quite sharp and clear. There was no evidence of low level noise.

    The colour was wonderful, rich and solid throughout.

    The were no noticeable artefacts.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired. The English subtitles were clear and easy to read.
    

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 256 Kb/s.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The music by Steve Matters is fine but a little over the top.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    None.

Menu

    The menu was simple but functional.

     This disc is not available in other regions. The disc is coded for all regions.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    No extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall