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The Great Cookbook Challenge With Jamie Oliver, the latest show of the TV chef on Channel 4, sees aspiring cookbook authors vying for a publishing deal with his publisher, Penguin Michael Joseph. They have to leave a deep impression on Masterchef judge and Evening Standard critic Jimi Famurewa, PMJ managing director Louise Moore, and Taverna cookbook author Georgina Hayden. Let’s take a look at how the fourth and fifth episodes unfolded.
The cookbook challenge broadens its recipe scope
After testing the fledgling authors on their basic concepts, it’s now time to determine if those concepts can truly stand the test of a full-fledged cookbook. Having been evaluated on “weeknight” and “weekend” recipes (which unfortunately fell into the simplistic traps of such categorizations), Sarah’s lasagna cookbook was sidelined due to an underwhelming tikka masala version and a venison lasagna that was essentially a venison and potato gratin.
USP! USP! USP!
It’s quite understandable that the judges, especially publishing boss Moore, keep emphasizing USPs every few minutes. The cookbook market is highly saturated, and standing out is of paramount importance for both the publisher and the author. It’s where the profits lie. However, considering that the USP for the winner of a cookbook challenge hosted by Jamie Oliver is somewhat self-fulfilling, it’s starting to feel like the show is once again encountering its fundamental contradiction. It needs to demonstrate that the cookbook world is tough while its entire promise for the winner is to make it significantly easier.
The contestants must shine on Instagram
That was episode four; episode five was all about appealing to the eyes. Instagram has undoubtedly transformed the way people consume cookbooks, not only visually but also in its potential to expand a written text into videos, reels, and more. First, Jamie Oliver’s followers judged their photography; then, a professional cookbook photographer took charge of their recipes with the authors directing the shoot. Apart from a particularly odd moment when one cook was told in no uncertain terms “you better do what we tell you”, it was further evidence that the cookbook world is worthy of being televised.
Cookbooks may be on TV, but the revolution is not
Five episodes in, it should be feasible to decide whether The Great Cookbook Challenge With Jamie Oliver is a good food TV show. From an entertainment perspective, it works: the competition and contestants are captivating; the challenges are diverse; the judges and host are sociable, supportive, and critical when necessary. The final four of Rex, Dominique, Ian, and Zena is more diverse than many UK food shows manage throughout an entire season.
But while cookbooks – at least the kind sought after by this program – view function and quality as inseparable, the same cannot be said for this show. Every time it seems to be expanding its range a little (thanks to Zena for the “naan bread is bread bread” line), things fall back into references to “authentic” this and that; more than once, contestants are implicitly told to reevaluate their entire concept (the one that got them through initially).
Perhaps this is an accurate depiction of a cookbook industry that adheres to its status quo and demands authors to be accessible, unique, and exceptional all at once, individual representatives for entire cuisines they could never truly hope to comprehend. But then that raises larger questions that the show can never address: Is this a cookbook industry that people should desire?
