Comparrative Essay of Cooking Programs.

Comparative Essay of cooking programs “Nigella Bites” & “Surfing The Menu”.

“Nigella Bites” And “Surfing the Menu” are two cooking programmes that share the same end result of delicious foods, but are very different in the contrasting aspects of social context, form and purpose which all help to reflect the cooking styles and personalities of their hosts. The atmosphere and contents of both shows generally appeal to the audiences of a different social status and/or age group.
Set in Britain, the programme “Nigella Bites” appeals to an audience who belong to more of a winter climate. Each episode is formatted as a very comfortable and inviting home movie, using amateur camera work making it look more personal and family orientated. The show is filmed in Nigella’s own house and kitchen allowing her audience to feel welcomed. Images and visuals of illustrated foods and vibrant pink colours are shown throughout the opening credits with Jazz music engagingly flowing in the background. Many of her episodes begin with the view of a freezing British winter day/night and then follow onto Nigella being in the warmth of her own home.
“Surfing the Menu” is a travelogue formatted programme set in Australia which promotes different towns and locations around the country in each episode. Along with catching/acquiring their own ingredients before cooking their meals, the hosts Curtis Stone and Ben O’Donoghue aka “Bender” also make sure to interact with the culture of each location they shoot in, making the Programme very relaxed as well as educational to the viewers. The opening credits consist of a range of photo shots and bright colours that go with the themes of the tourism and the outdoors. While the boys are traveling cameras makes sure to capture different angles and views of the scenery, including aerial views of the land around them.
The atmosphere for each show is evidently contrasted; “Nigella Bites” is more of a matured cooking programme compared to the jovial attitude of “Surfing the Menu”. Both shows have very different exterior climates which appeal to different audiences: Nigella pursues the comforts of the indoor warmth compared to the blistering cold of its winters outside. This tends to attract those who like to spend their time inside during the cold/wet days, such as women and mothers living in a winter climate wanting to create more wholesome and warm meals for their friends and families. Nigella showcases a particular social lifestyle that represents the enjoyment involved in cooking and preparing meals for the ones that are dear to her. “Surfing the Menu” however attracts, and is more of a target to those who are more outgoing, young and interested in the experience of Australia’s summer cultures. Both international and Australians viewers are drawn in by the advertised beauty of the scenery captured during each episode because of all the multicultural nature and Australian cuisine involved, advertising tourism within the country.
Nigella is portrayed as a very family orientated and homely person who always enjoys her food and loves to cook. She has a proper upper-class British accent and speaks in a husky, somewhat seductive voice. Nigella is currently in her late thirties and is seen as very sophisticated to her viewers, usually she cooks on her own but once her meal is cooked and ready she shows her serving and sharing the meals with her children and/or all of her family and friends. The way that she describes her ingredients and recipes along with the terminology she uses such as “stunning”, “simply beautiful” and “absolutely gorgeous” makes it sound as if she is in love with what she is making, the endearment and emphasis she puts in makes her so believable and intriguing. Nigella tends to mainly use informal measurements and verbs to describe what she is doing which remind you of how a mother figure would teach you how to cook. Ben and Curtis on the other hand are completely different to Nigella, ‘typical Aussie blokes’ is what they are stereotyped as. Both in their mid-twenties, always wearing informal and comfortable ‘beach clothing’ and using a lot of Australian ‘slang’ such as “Mate” and “Chuck it on the barbie” the boys give off a very relaxed and casual feeling to their viewers.
The meals that Nigella prepares are heavy winter foods which are more time consuming but are perfect for those who have the time and love to cook. The “Surfing the Menu” recipes on the other hand are light summer foods that are quick and easy to prepare. Nigella makes sure her cupboards are full of all the different ingredients that she uses and she then gives her viewers an insight of the different things that she likes to always make sure she has stocked, what they can be used for and why they come in handy for her to have around. Curtis and Ben use ingredients that are imported into the local stores such as stir-fry noodles that they cook on an Australian barbeque, along with many other ingredients that they go out and personally collect from the local produce or catch on their own in each episode. As well as collecting their own ingredients from each place they visit, each meal they prepare always relates to the location they’re in making the programme even more entertaining and educational.
Typical cooking program camera techniques are used throughout both programs “Nigella Bites” and “Surfing the Menu” these techniques include: close-ups on the hands on action with the food preparation, and snap shots throughout the shows that are used to cut out the un-necessary preparation time and skip straight to the cooking, then to the completed meals. To show their personalities and connect with their audience both of the programmes hosts make sure to speak and look directly towards/into the camera whenever possible. “Surfing the Menu” also uses aerial shots during the car travels to capture the different scenery around them. Highlighted sounds of the cooking appliances and food being prepared are accompanied by soft music underneath throughout each episode in both “Nigella Bites” and “Surfing the Menu” to draw more attention to what they are doing.
The contrasting features between both “Nigella Bites” and “Surfing the Menu” such as; social context, form, purpose, audiences and the atmosphere differ due to the personalities and cooking styles of their hosts. Nigella’s show expresses her love for warm homely meals and cooking for her family and friends during the cold British winters and the programme is filmed as a home movie style, which gives off an inviting comfortable feel to her audience. Curtis and Ben’s show however, reflects on the adventures and experiences of local cultures during the warm Australian summer days and is filmed as a travelogue. Both of the programmes hosts have very similar camera etiquettes and happy/warm, engaging mannerisms.