Two Fat Ladies

Studio: Acorn Media Release Date: 07/29/2008 Run time: 731 minutes

Vegetarians and the faint of heart, beware! But for everyone else, the Two Fat Ladies are back, and they are simply spectacular. In this British television series, Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright cook for lunch, cocktail party, afternoon tea, picnic, breakfast, or dinner and travel (by motorcycle and sidecar) to a different location in each episode to cook a requested meal--usually laden with cream, butter, and meats (Jennifer notes of one tartine: "Delicious, despite its vegetarian overtones"). Yes, this is a cooking show, but with Jennifer and Clarissa's patter, it has the feel of a comedy. As they whip up Loin of Pork Stuffed with Mushrooms and a pot of Clam Chowder, the Two Fat Ladies sing the praises of bacon (Clarissa hints at a risqué past when she notes that bacon is a great hangover cure; not that she gets hangovers anymore. Other allusions to falling off barstools and beer for breakfast are dotted throughout). The meals look sumptuous--salmon soaked in wine and topped with orange rings, Brazilian bean fritters, fruit tartlets, vichyssoise, and so much more--and it's terrific fun following the women as they go sightseeing (a motorcycle rally, watching a male choir, on a quest for the perfect drink at the Brazilian embassy, at a brewery, picking strawberries). Jennifer is likely to break out in song or rhyme, and Clarissa tells interesting facts and gossip from her life. They chitchat about tips for picking up men, the fact that nutmeg is a hallucinogenic, the beauty of British military boys, how you can't get crackling in Scotland or France. So, be prepared to learn how to core a kidney (and who knew kidneys needed coring?), make cracker crumbs, and laugh along at the antics of these two rather large women. The Two Fat Ladies are destined to become a cooking classic. The four-season, 24-episode DVD set includes biographies of Paterson and Wright, a documentary tribute to Paterson, and a recipe booklet. --Jenny Brown

Stills from Two Fat Ladies (click for larger image)

Beyond Two Fat Ladies Tribute book to Jennifer Paterson Two Fat Ladies Cookbook More recipes from Two Fat Ladies You might also like: Spilling the Beans Midsomer Murders Set 11 Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Single Disc) Cooking With the Two Fat Ladies Foyle's War: Set 5 Fat but not forgotten 2009-01-01 4 / 5 Well, you've got to like Brits, and you've got to like upper-class Brits, and you've got to like food, and you've got to like to laugh... But if you can say YES to all four, then you're likely to find these shows very entertaining indeed. It's such a charm to spend time with people who don't take themselves too seriously, and who share their love of eating so generously. Cooking with "Well Seasoned Cooks" 2008-12-29 5 / 5 While I was growing up, my dad owned a restaurant. I learned early on that the most interesting place to be was in the kitchen with the cooks. Not only were there great smells and the occasional morsel of food to be had, but also the intermittent scrap of overheard adult conversation, spiced with local gossip and experiences that young ears were probably not supposed to hear. The kitchen was certainly never boring. The cooks put me to work doing all sorts of elementary tasks like peeling vegetables and helping make deserts and, in payment, I learned a lot of colorful information about the outside world. I also learned how to cook. Many years have passed. They are all gone now and I miss them terribly, especially when I'm in my own kitchen cooking as I do now quite often. It's no fun cooking by oneself. Now something delightful has happened. After many years of absence from television, a comprehensive compilation has been made of the smash 1990's BBC cooking show, The Two Fat Ladies, and it is available for American audiences to buy. I find that I can go into my kitchen, slip one of my four new DVDs of the Two Fat Ladies into my computer, and cook with ladies very much like my former idols. The two fat ladies are the late Jennifer Paterson, a spirited lady who spent her life living in many different corners of the world both as a privileged member of the British upper class and as a cook, caterer, and eventually food writer for the Spectator. She relates the most remarkable stories from her past and has the tendency to sing an occasional show tune or pub song, or recite a childhood poem. Clarissa Dickson Wright is her down to earth complement. Early circumstances for her also included maids, cooks, butlers, and travel. Both women are able to bring to the screen a multitude of cultural dishes with a side dish of entertainment similar to that provided to me in my childhood. Each week, the beginning of the show features Jennifer, driving her trademark BSA motorcycle, with Clarissa sitting beside her in the sidecar, to some of the most picturesque parts of the English or Scottish countryside. After arriving at their destination, they are given the use of a remarkable kitchen, sometimes in a century old building complete with the quintessential Aga stove. In those kitchens, the two ladies turn out sumptuous meals using enough butter, double cream and lard to send people conscientious of their fat intake away screaming. In the process they are delightful. Along with watching them making wonderful looking meals, one is treated to an occasional history of food, utensils or ingredients; weekly trips into the country to buy farm fresh ingredients; local folklore; royal gossip and a lexicon of pre 20th Century measuring terms that have always given the serious measurer fits: a `slop' of cream, a `touch,' a `slurp' and a `splash' of this and that. For anyone who loves to hang around in kitchens, The Two Fat Ladies is not to be missed. Two Fat Ladies Ride Again 2008-11-22 5 / 5 I am so thrilled that this is finally available in the states. Jennifer(God rest her soul) and Clarissa are so entertaining. I would say the recipes are not for the American pallet, the best part is seeing all the various places in the UK that they visit and who they cook for. They are so interesting and they tell little quips of their lives. Two Fat Ladies Rock! 2008-11-10 4 / 5 This set of videos is exactly what I expected-- dry British humor, interesting food preparations and two eccentric "seasoned" chefs with a beautiful English backdrop. Clarissa and Jennifer are a hoot and I'd love to have a dinner party with them! I think I am disappointed 2008-10-24 2 / 5 Maybe I was under a false impression, but I expected better, funnier and more appetizing! * Current Price/Avail/Qty displayed on website may be delayed by up to 24 hours. Items added to cart and into the checkout process will reflect current price and status of product.