Modern celebrity is a funny thing. You don't need any discernible talent or brains. You don't need to be good looking or have the X-factor. In fact, the more mediocre you are, the better your chances of climbing the greasy pole witness the dregs of humanity who have coined it in after appearing on Big Brother over the years.
But change is in the air. This week Channel 4 left thousands of vacuous wannabes pondering their career options by announcing it was pulling the plug next year (disingenuously claiming it was for creative rather than commercial reasons).
Meanwhile, over on BBC2, someone who rose from obscurity to fame and fortune on the back of genuine entrepreneurial flair, good old-fashioned charm and, okay, a bit of help from a Dragon, was showing how it should be done.
In the first part of a new four-part Caribbean cookery series, sauce maker turned TV chef Levi Roots returned to his Jamaican roots to showcase the sort of sunshine cooking that immediately makes you want to book a holiday (Caribbean Food Made Easy, 8.30pm, BBC2, 24 August).
Roots is a natural in front of the camera and, much as I liked Gary Rhodes' culinary journey around the Caribbean, this cooking is the real deal. Armed with his trusty drum barbecue, he knocked out dish after dish of rustic but authentic-looking grub, more often than not involving scotch bonnet peppers, spring onions, ginger, thyme and all spice.
But this programme was about more than just food. In between rustling up homecoming lamb, roasted snapper and coconut salsa and sticky jerk wings, Roots visited his grandfather's farm, where as a kid he'd eaten the mangoes as they hung from the tree, and Lilly's Bar, where he found Usain Bolt's dad Gideon tucking into a hearty yam dish (Jamaica apparently produces 18 different varieties of yam, which is held in such high regard there's even a festival to celebrate it).
In short, it was as much about cultural roots as culinary roots and that, along with the fantastic cooking locations (under mango trees, on beaches, even in front of burning sugar cane), is what'll make me tune in again next week. As Roots would say: Fabulocious.
But change is in the air. This week Channel 4 left thousands of vacuous wannabes pondering their career options by announcing it was pulling the plug next year (disingenuously claiming it was for creative rather than commercial reasons).
Meanwhile, over on BBC2, someone who rose from obscurity to fame and fortune on the back of genuine entrepreneurial flair, good old-fashioned charm and, okay, a bit of help from a Dragon, was showing how it should be done.
In the first part of a new four-part Caribbean cookery series, sauce maker turned TV chef Levi Roots returned to his Jamaican roots to showcase the sort of sunshine cooking that immediately makes you want to book a holiday (Caribbean Food Made Easy, 8.30pm, BBC2, 24 August).
Roots is a natural in front of the camera and, much as I liked Gary Rhodes' culinary journey around the Caribbean, this cooking is the real deal. Armed with his trusty drum barbecue, he knocked out dish after dish of rustic but authentic-looking grub, more often than not involving scotch bonnet peppers, spring onions, ginger, thyme and all spice.
But this programme was about more than just food. In between rustling up homecoming lamb, roasted snapper and coconut salsa and sticky jerk wings, Roots visited his grandfather's farm, where as a kid he'd eaten the mangoes as they hung from the tree, and Lilly's Bar, where he found Usain Bolt's dad Gideon tucking into a hearty yam dish (Jamaica apparently produces 18 different varieties of yam, which is held in such high regard there's even a festival to celebrate it).
In short, it was as much about cultural roots as culinary roots and that, along with the fantastic cooking locations (under mango trees, on beaches, even in front of burning sugar cane), is what'll make me tune in again next week. As Roots would say: Fabulocious.
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