Chef! (1993–1996) User Reviews

Serious profession.

[Java_Joe · 8/10 · 11 October 2019]

When you get down to it, a Chef is an artist. They take ordinary ingredients and make extraordinary tasting dishes out of them. And like all artists they can be temperamental, demanding and demand nothing less than perfection from those around them. And if you've worked in a restaurant or kitchen at any point in your life you've run across such a person. Lenny Henry delivers this in "Chef!".

The plot is rather simple. Lenny Henry plays Gareth Blackstock, the head chef at the celebrated Chateau Anglais. It's a very exclusive, and expensive, restaurant. Gareth treats his staff like dirt, demands the very best from them and doesn't accept anything less than perfection. But that's only because he doesn't accept anything less than perfection from himself. Gareth is scathing in his critiques, quick-witted in his comebacks and not one to suffer fools gladly. Surrounding him are colorful characters that you find in all sitcoms, chief of which is Everton played by Roger Griffith. He's an aspiring chef with talent but he's a bit of a bumbler and often times is the source of Gareth's ire.

There's three seasons and I find the third to be the weakest of the lot. See it if you're a completionist or just stick to the first two if you want to laugh.

Black Adder - WHAT!?!

[Goboy · 8/10 · 18 July 2002]

Comparing this great comedy to Fawlty Towers is ridiculous. Both shows are brilliant, but that's about where the similarity ends (aside from the fact that they are both about an ass with a demanding wife)... One is told in a hyper exaggerated style (Fawlty Towers) and one is more of a slice of life, albeit a cranky and bumblingly interesting one (Chef!).

When I first saw Chef!. I though it would be another dry or pedantic Brit-com but i was pleasantly suprised to be greeted with a genuinely funny and touching program. Highly Recommended, particularly if you like food :)

And comparing it to Black Adder? That's like comparing Four weddings and a Funeral to Star Wars!

Before there were the real Chefs!

[Sylviastel · 8/10 · 12 May 2007]

You have to say that Lenny Henry CBE was always worth watching in this series about egotistical British chef of Jamaican descent who is the head chef at Château Anglais which is translated into Château England. The cast of supporting characters don't really hold up to Gareth Blackstock. Henry just steals the show from under them. Anyway his wife is played by a great actress. I loved Lola played by Elizabeth Bennett as the hungry hostess who devours food as well as comments on Blackstock's genius. This show is well written, acted, and directed with an inviting group of supporting players. Blackstock gets his jollies by being cruel, critical, and sometimes mean to his staff long before there was Simon Cowell, Gordon Ramsay, or anybody else. Blackstock seeks utter perfection in creating the finest cuisine to be matched by those listed in Michelin and Cuisine magazines. Sometimes being a genius can make others weary of your presence as if God entered the room. But in Blackstock's kitchen, he's the Godlike presence, demanding, and critical.

EVERTON!!!

[JonathanDP81 · 26 May 2000]

`Chef' is an utterly hilarious show that I love to catch an episode of on BBC America. Lenny Henry's portrayal of the short-tempered Gareth Blackstock is right on the nose. It's hard to believe, but I have met a couple people quite like him. Unlike them, here you can sit back and laugh at these poor souls who are forced to work with him. My dad says it's just a show about a guy shouting at people, but I disagree. Few if any people have such a great wit when they're angry. `Chef' is about a man who has a great deal of frustration like many of us, but, unlike most of us, he's not afraid to vent it at the people who much of time deserve it. It's painfully funny, too.

I love this show.

[n-naqib · 9/10 · 17 October 2009]

I have a soft spot for Chef! because I was living in Oxfordshire (where the whole show is set) when it was first aired in the early to mid-90s, and all the countryside scenes and local references ring true and make me nostalgic for that whole period. This is a warm, hugely funny, superbly scripted, wonderfully acted TV comedy which I never tire of watching over again. Despite the changes of cast across the three seasons, the three main characters (Gareth Blackstock, his wife Janice and Gareth's long suffering sidekick, Everton) remain the same throughout and offer enough continuity for the viewer. I am not sure that this show would necessarily translate well to American viewers though. I have shown episodes to American friends and they don't get many of Lenny Henry's riotously funny in-jokes, which often carry very specifically British cultural references (to certain political figures, tabloid journalism, British sports heroes, the public school system, British fast food, and so on). On the other hand Brit friends or people who're really into British culture and the sharp humour really love this show.

Another Classic British Comedy

[jedimack · 10/10 · 8 September 2018]

I don't know what it is, but England tends to have great comedies. Example: "Mr. Bean", "Vicar of Dibley", and "Fawlty Towers". But like many British comedies, it didn't have enough episodes. "Mr Bean" had 15 episodes in 1 season (or, in the UK, 'series'), "Vicar of Dibley" had 16 episodes in 3 series, along with 2 more "series" consisting of 2 specials, one that's Christmas and one that's New Years related, and the other 2 being the finale where the Vicar gets married. "Fawlty Towers" had 12 episodes spanning 2 series (though I heard that they were planning a 3rd series but was canceled after Basil Fawlty (John Cleese) and Polly Sherman (Connie Booth) got a divorce. This show had 20 episodes spanning 3 series, and each episode is fantastic. Just go watch all these shows.

Lessons in cooking and rhetoric

[seoulless · 8/10 · 9 March 2006]

Gareth Blackstock is the absolute monarch of his own little domain, the kitchen of an exclusive restaurant, 'Le Château Anglais'. He is a reasonable, patient man - as long as the dishes prepared by his staff are perfect. When they aren't, sit back and enjoy. The man turns into a Shakespeare of insults, an endlessly inventive master of invectives. Unfavorable comparisons, comments and suggestions (never descending to R-rated cursing) erupt from his fertile brain and verbally flay the unfortunate target of his ire. No one is immune, not his customers, not his long-suffering employees, not even his boss. Nothing stands in the way of his all-consuming passion for cooking, except (sometimes) his wife Janice. If you enjoyed Fawlty Towers, have any interest in cooking, or wish to hone your insults to the highest levels, this is your cup of tea.

It's a great comedy.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 9/10 · 10 January 2020]

Chef was a really great sitcom, one sadly which people seem to have forgotten. It's a real Shame, it stands up incredibly well. Lenny Henry created a marvellous character with Gareth Blackstock, a great chef, with a huge talent, shirt temper and sharp wit, he was brilliant in it.

The supporting characters were terrific, loved Everton, but all were great.

Two brilliant series, with consistent high quality episodes throughout, if I'm honest I'd say it dips a bit in the third series, but it's still very good.

A Blu-ray release would be great, it was done on film. 9/10

Great British Sitcom

[Topgallant · 9/10 · 12 November 2009]

I have watched all episodes of all three season, in their entirety, twice in the last few years. This is one of those sitcoms I can't get enough of. The only other sitcoms that fall into this category with me are Star Trek: The Original Series, which, coincidentally, also ran only three seasons, and Red Dwarf.

What can I say? It's the snappy dialogue, character rants and character interactions that make this work so well. It's a show with superb production values, a comfy score, a quaint English location, and consistently funny plots and situations that never, ever try to tackle 'serious' issues. Sit back and enjoy.

It makes me wonder if Chef Ramsey got the idea for Hell's Kitchen from watching this show.

The antipode of AbFab

[Jerry-Kurjian · 10/10 · 11 October 2007]

Chef! is wonderful . . . at least the first season. And the second season, as several others have also said, is fine though the supporting cast changes (and lose charm as they become more central to the stories) and the stories are less fun. The last season, with its love triangles, harsh, brassy lighting, and general feeling of angst is a real disappointment. But the first season is a joy. It is such catharsis when Gareth chews people out - we can only dream to attain to such heights of belittlement. And, like Oedipus who discovers his errors too late, Gareth pays for his rashness. Unlike another great bbc series' main character Gordon Brittas (bbc's Brittas Empire) who never susses to his foibles, Gareth knows his sins, just as we do. When the moment comes that he reaps his bitter harvest, we're there with him because we've said and done things that we've lived to regret. It makes it cool.

There's so much that's cool about the first season - the quirky cooks who say nearly nothing but have lots of personality, Janice, Gareth's wife, who you'd kind of like not to like but who's strong, shares Gareth's dream, and is a foody, the rich feeling of high culture when the shenanigans of the kitchen are left behind, and so much more. The first season's last episode, finishing on Christmas, makes me all melancholy.

And there is a racial element that gives Chef! additional depth. Like Dave Lister in the bbc Red Dwarf series, Gareth is the minority who makes it to the top (though in Dave's case it's by default since he's the last living human in the universe).

It's a shame that the series couldn't have lasted longer – but going in the direction it was, it's best it died quick.

Nice to see the majority like this Bristish comedy

[handbagshoes · 7/10 · 29 March 2007]

I Was very surprised at reading the comments on Chef and that the comments are from mostly people oversees!!! (where are you Brit's to support this) I remember when Chef came out in England, and I only watched the first season which i thought was absolutely hilarious. My favourites where Everton and also Chef's father.

I am very surprised that it is being shown on BBC America, as It has not been repeated in England as far as I can a remember (correct me if i'm wrong - it may of been repeated on cable before I actually had it).....

BBC PLEASE REPEAT IN ENGLAND

Well done until 3rd service

[jandriod2012 · 8/10 · 5 November 2020]

I have enjoyed watching the repeats of this series on Gold, this programme is based on an idea by Lenny Henry but is largely written by comic genius, Peter Tilbury. The first two series are excellent and still stand up by today's comedic standards. The scripts are witty and original, and Lenny Henry reins in his usual overacting to good effect. However by series three Peter Tilbury has gone, and this is very noticeable in the poor script and storylines, the overexaggerated acting with the addition of an annoying American, and stock pantomime characters. The series was not recommissioned and it's easy to understand why.

First two series 10/10 Series 3 2/10

Truly awful

[happycarrot68 · 1/10 · 2 October 2019]

Lenny Henry doing what he does best, shouting unfunny one liners in a s(h)it com that you wonder how ever got aired in the first place. A horrendous bunch of characters and a script that a 4 year old could have knocked up . How 3 seasons of this were ever aired I have no idea. Belongs in the 99p bargain bin...overpriced at that amount to be fair.

A Chef's point of view:

[riggy001 · 17 August 2003]

I have worked my way up in the kitchen brigade over the last ten years and am now Chef-Patissiere at a four-star (US system) establishment and must say that I see many similarities with my profession and this series. Granted, Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry) exaggerates the tension for the purpose of comedy, but truly good humour is rooted in truth. I only wish I were as quick-witted about my sarcastic comments and scathing remarks as he. It's a slightly exaggerated, comedic portrayal of actual kitchen antics, and I think it is well represented. The characters are all believable, with the exceptions of Cyril and Reneé. The only character lacking is the slow-witted scullion (dish machine operator). I love the show! I give it four and a half of five stars.

Hilarious

[moivieFan · 9/10 · 25 November 2019]

Its been awhile since I have watched chef!. I remember watching chef! and laughing hard. Gareth Blackstock was so funny when he lost his temper. He took cooking so seriously. Everton and Gareth are the characters i remember the most. One episode i remember a little bit about was the episode where Janice leaves Gareth and when Gareth sings I can't live if living is without you he breaks down in tear. That episode how me roaring with laughter as so many chef!'s episodes did. What a show.

One of the best Britcoms of the last decade

[catuus · 9/10 · 4 July 2007]

Our local PBS station at one time offered a marvelous selection of Britcoms on Saturday night. Many of these gloriously funny comedies lit up the small screen like brilliant fireflies that lived only 3 or 4 of the short British seasons and (alas) vanished – Thin Blue Line, Murder Most Horrid, and others – and of course Chef!.

Alas, now the station seems dedicated to the more heavy hitters: Waiting For God, Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Go By, what have you. These are worthy entries all, that lasted several seasons. They're long enough to bear repetition, although I'm not sure endless repetition works all that well. One really wishes for some variation . . . like Chef!.

Britcoms, unlike a majority of Americoms, have interesting settings. The American standard seems to be somebody's house. Interesting comedies can be done in somebody's house; George and Gracie did it – but a house is a house is a house and it gets boring. Some Americoms have been done in interesting settings, such as a radio station, and that helps. But Britcoms are often more creative in the area of setting. Chef! is set in the kitchen of a gourmet restaurant. OK, there are some scenes in somebody's house, but it's still a great Britcom.

Lenny Henry stars in Chef! as a very talented chef. Like many stars of sitcoms, he began his career as a standup comedian. His success is predicated on not stooping to the low-class sort of audience that believes swearing is funny and more swearing is more funny. Indeed, he has developed a style of invective that would send the swearing-is-funny types scuttling to the dictionary – if they knew what one was.

The basic plot of Chef! is simple enough. Henry is Gareth Blackstock, a chef whose inflated opinion of himself is probably justified. The 2-star restaurant where he works, despite its success, goes into receivership. You know the sort of restaurant I mean – the kind that serves you a couple of tablespoons of really great ours d'oeuvres, and charges you a small fortune for the privilege of having to rush home and make a couple of sandwiches to fill up on.

With great difficulty he and his wife Janice buy the restaurant. Most of the action takes place in the kitchen and other locations in the restaurant. Each episode is complete in itself, but there is an ongoing plot involving the fate of the restaurant and the relationship of Gareth and Janice (played with wit and charm by Caroline Lee Johnson). Also in the cast is Roger Griffiths, who plays Everton, a fine contrast to the urbane Blackstocks. These are the only members of the cast you will see for any longer than 1 season – although another character (Gustave LaRoche) appears in seasons 2 and 3, he is played by the estimable Ian Niece in Season 2 and by Jeff Nuttall in Season 3.

On the whole, Chef! is a very funny series. In the last season, 3, things take a more serious turn. Seasons 1 and 2 appeared in 1993 and 1994, while season 3 appeared in 1996. The 1995 hiatus might seem to indicate a problem, and in fact no more episodes appeared after 1996. It's fair to state, however, that the ongoing plot of Season 3 is at least resolved at the end.

I believe it's fair to observe that there is a very serious problem with this program. Save for the 3 main characters, the entire cast changes each season. One barely gets used to characters, and develops empathy for them, than they vanish and are replaced by strange faces. It doesn't seem reasonable to expect audience loyalty to a show when this sort of thing is going on.

The DVD set is a set of the 3 seasons as they were originally put out, in normal-sized cases. The thinner cases now so often used in sets would have been much better.

Alas, there are no subtitles. The English seem to feel that they don't owe the viewer any help in understanding what's being said – even down to the most outrageous Yorkshire or Welsh accents. This is the same country that, for years, didn't feel it necessary to label their stamps as to the country of origin. (Then, of course, there was the pre-WWI Times headline – I kid you not – "Storm in Channel, Continent cut off!".) Such hubris has only been partially punished by their having to endure a separate Scottish Parliament.

There are some special features on the 3rd DVD in the set. They're OK, but a little on the thin side: primarily interviews with the 2 main principals and a segment of a British food show profiling Chef!. These range (timewise) from brief to extremely brief – the interview of Henry last little more than 3 minutes! The whiffy title music wears out its welcome by the 2nd episode, becomes even more obnoxious by the 3rd – and by the 4th you will be clicking the fast-forward button before the "ooooo" begins, with trembling hands and a hymn of thanks to the god of remotes.

Nevertheless, it's pleasant to have a DVD collection of all the existing episodes to this fundamentally fine comedy.

Chef -- the Highlight of my Weekend Meltdown

[dovenable · 10/10 · 1 March 2008]

I was an ardent, consistent viewer of "Chef" in the Richmond, VA, area for several years. This was the only reason I made it home by 9 pm so I would not miss it, before the DVR age.

However, after relocating to the Hampton Roads area of VA, I was horrified to learn that "Chef" had been cancelled.

If there is any movement to revive the series, please include me. The actors were superb in their craft, and continuously provided the human side of our innate human emotions missing in most U.S. TV comedy. Lenny's performances were powerful, sensitive, yet reflective of his awareness of universal human values.

Despite statistics or ratings, I think the BBC did an injustice to the loyal fans of "Chef" by its decision to cancel it.

Importantly, this was the only decision for not continuing my financial support of NPR and public radio/TV in my area.

Please reconsider returning this special entertainment to your programming, particularly in the Hampton Roads, VA viewing area.

Sincerely, Doris A. Overton

WTF!

[Jima-36-585491 · 5/10 · 2 January 2021]

In the first episode the chef uses the sauce ladle to taste the sauce and returns the ladle to the sauce!! Yechh!!

Serious Profession?

[film-critic · 4 February 2006]

I loved the first season of Chef!, in fact, I thought that we were going to served a plate of classic Fawlty Towers with a side dish of Hell's Kitchen. To my surprise, we were. The first season demonstrated the comic genius of Henry and his ability to bring humor to the kitchen. Sadly, unlike most other reviews of this series, it is lost after the first season. The second season is watchable, while the final season is so glossy with obvious financing that you completely loose the characters, the structure of the original series, and everything that one could fall in love with. I had to check the box to with the final season to ensure that I picked up the right series. I nearly didn't recognize it. I have always wondered why most of the BBC's television programs only last a couple of seasons, and Chef! explained it to me perfectly. If this had continued further, we would have only deepened our loss for Henry's original obnoxious character and would have filed through nearly all of Britain's finest "would-be" actors to play the part of the ever-changing staff. It would have been a debacle of grand proportions that would have left this series with a horrible hangover that could never have been remedied.

I will state it one more time. I loved the first season of this television series. It was fresh, it was funny, and it had so much imagination that one could simply watch this first series over and over again while experiencing the same enjoyment they had the first time they viewed it. I loved watching Henry argue with the staff, continually sleep on his days off, while still showing quite a human element to his wife Janice. While they did argue throughout the program, I thought that it was nothing more than "love" spats between the two. I felt, at least in the first season, that Gareth and Janice knew each other, accepted each other, and supported each other. Similar to Fawlty Towers there was a bond between them that could not be broken. In fact, they wanted to go in to business together to support each other. This was the beginning of a great series. While this drama happened outside in Gareth's personal life, it was what occurred inside the kitchen that provided most of, if nearly all, the laughter. The connection with the staff, the education of the inexperienced and Henry's obsession with perfection created a very original program. It was bright, it was intelligent, and it was … to sound repetitive … funny. This was not a show that could succeed in America, and I think that is what I loved about it. Then … as if the forced that be were against this program … the second and third season were created.

The second season isn't bad. It does falter a bit at times, perhaps giving us a subliminal indication of what is to come, but it still can stand on its own. Gareth and Janice have their restaurant and are attempting to boost their business. They argue about the finances and the staff, but the love is still there. The staff has completely changed, but I was willing to ignore that for this time. Everton was still present in the kitchen, so I felt a bit comfortable with the lack of familiar faces. Henry is still obnoxious and himself. He stays true to his character from the first season constantly yelling sarcasm to institute perfection from his staff. The timing seems a bit off, but overall it feels like the original. As we chuckle (not quite laugh) our way through this season, there is no way to prepare ourselves for the horrid disaster that we shall simply call, "How Money Ruined Chef!" also known as season three.

The final season was a disaster. The characters that we fell in love with are have completely disappeared. We are introduced randomly to new characters that we are forced to laugh at and enjoy. There is no indication of this at the end of the second season, so it felt like hitting a brick wall. Lenny Henry is not funny. I would go so far as to say that he completely lost his character from the first season. He isn't angry, his sarcasm is very weak, and he does things in the kitchen that I would have never imagined him doing in the first season. Gareth Blackstock lost his spine in this season. While he has a personal crisis happen near the beginning of the season, that does not have to be the central focus of the show. What made this show fantastic in the beginning was the kitchen, and somehow in this season we completely disregard the kitchen (the basis for the show) and bring the comedy out into the "real world". For me, that didn't work. It is obvious that this season had more money due to the crisp visuals and Americanized standards. The music was a horrid choice and displaced any humor that tried to escape. Food was not important any longer, and the structured themes that created this series were torn down with cliché lines and childish acting. This final season ruined this series for me because it wouldn't stay true to itself.

Overall, thanks to the final season, this was a mediocre television series. Lenny Henry is funny, but as the monetary dollars rose, his sense of humor seemed to fall. What began as lyrical humor eventually devolved into physical humor that wasn't funny. This series sank and never had the opportunity to resurface. If you must watch Chef! stick to the first season, you will be pleasantly surprised, while if you continue you may find yourself pleasantly angry by the results. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Grade: *** out of *****

Excellent

[nafig_blin · 18 October 1998]

Lenny Henry has put together an excellent series about an ill-tempered, sarcastic chef in the English countryside. Seasons 1 and 2 are absolutely fantastic with a drop-off in season 3. The only real problem was that the show was plagued with heavy actor turnover making continuity difficult through the three seasons.

A hilarious show!

[Dittoman · 17 January 1999]

Excellent show by Lenny Henry. Good thing show only lasted three seasons so he didn't have to kill Everton! :) Seriously, Lenny Henry was perfect as the sarcastic, egotistical, but excellent Chef! who has to deal with blundering fools, drunken assistants, and of course a wife who makes Sybil Fawlty look like Mother Teresa. And those are on the good days!

A chef's quest for perfection leads to hilarity....

[macpro75 · 27 March 2005]

Chef Gareth Blackstock cares about nothing so much as preparing the finest meals for the guests at his restaurant, often to the frustration of his beautiful, intelligent wife and long-suffering staff. Chef understands how difficult he can be in his never-ending quest to be the best. He describes himself as knowing nothing else: he has no hobbies, doesn't help out friends, or go out at night. In fact, he (loudly) describes himself as "a personality problem under a silly white hat." The humor is rapid-fire and intelligent, as Chef verbally eviscerates anyone who dares to come between him and a perfectly prepared plate of food. Lenny Henry is acerbic perfection as Chef Blackstock, exhibiting both broad humor and extremely dry, biting wit, and still remaining a sympathetic character. Highly recommended for Brit-com lovers and anyone who enjoys sly, rapier sharp, lightning fast wit!

What I think of Chef!

[tamra_66 · 17 May 2005]

I think Chef! is one of the best BBC shows I have seen. It will make you laugh like crazy. Chef is cranky but very lovable. His wife is something else. His staff consists of several younger cooks all hoping to learn his secrets. His method of cursing out his staff is hilarious, not using traditional curse words, but thing you would never think of. If you know and love someone that is temperamental and boisterous, you will probably enjoy this even more. I own the first two VHS tapes of this series and we watch them periodically and laugh again. Chef is very entertaining and I can't wait for the full season DVD's to be released in August.

Stumbled on this programme on Detroit P.B.S.

[gmr-4 · 22 October 2001]

I was gripped from the first by CHEF!, a crazy, yet urbane "sit-com." It is the principal's devastating use of malicious wit and language combined with the undeniable seductiveness of his wife which I find so pleasing about this searies. Too bad there were only three seasons, but one can see how the audience must have been pretty small.

Chef!

[cruzdevick · 4 November 2005]

This is a great comedy, all three seasons I highly recommend. They have a way of having a comedic idea coming back at the very end of the show to leave u smiling. Season three focuses more on the characters but is still very enjoyable. Its a bargain, and is well worth the money. Its so much better than today's I see it coming comedies, It is much sharper, appeals to maybe a somewhat more intelligent group. My only complaint is its only was 3 seasons, a chefs hat off to Lenny Bruce and the whole cast. Gareth is quite mad at times, Janice can't seem to get enough attention from him, Everton is a riot. The show is so much more than its kitchen name might imply.