Customer Reviews

Chef! - The Complete Collection (Series 1-3)

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Let me start off by saying that I'm a big fan of Chef. I run a Chef fan website, and have done so since August of 1996, before the third series of the show was aired. I know these episodes like the back of my hand. This show is utter brilliance. There's little weakness here. If that's the case, then why didn't I give this 5 stars?

The reason for that is that this DVD set misses a huge opportunity, and that's to be an archive of Chef! material, and ultimately that's a bit of a letdown. This is a 3 DVD set that does include all the episodes of Chef. However, there's not much else. Discs 1 and 2 have nothing more than the episodes themselves. Disc 3 has only a few extras on it, and they are:

1) A text based description of some of the careers of the three lead actors (Lenny Henry, Caroline Lee Johnson, & Roger Griffiths).

2) An interview with Lenny Henry that aired two weeks before the premiere of the first series of Chef! (3:45)

3) An interview with Caroline Lee Johnson that aired halfway through the first series of Chef! (8:36)

4) A making of/Interview with Lenny Henry about Series 3 of Chef! (7:24)

5) A bunch of trailers for other British Comedy series on DVD.

That's it. No text commentaries, no audio commentaries that are so prevelant these days on DVD sets. I would have loved to have heard Lenny Henry, Roger Griffiths, or any of the other actors talking about the episodes. Commentaries are a great way to get additional value out of a set, and much more enjoyment for fans of the series, like I am. You know there has to be more material lying around the vaults than that. Lenny could have done a commentary for each episode, or saving that at least a couple. The fact that the set is barebones really leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Additionally, there is an error in the packaging. If you look at the external box for the set which has all three DVD's in one package, the list of episodes for Series 1 is missing two. Some promotional materials claim there are only 18 episodes in this set (including Amazon's own incorrect listing information at the time of launch of this set). However, I've looked - there are definitely all 20 episodes of Chef! in this set. Disc 1 does indeed have all 6 episodes plus the Christmas Special.

But enough about the DVD's themselves. This show is one of funniest British comedies I've ever seen.

Chef! is a show about a cook named Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry) who is the head chef at a restaurant in England the Chateau Anglais. Gareth (usually just called Chef on the show) is a very good, extremely good cook, and is not afraid to show it. He is married to a woman, Janice Blackstock, and together, the two of them run the restuarant (in the first two series - In Series 3, the arrangement is a bit different). The show is based around their life running the resturant, and Gareth's rather overzealous and very loud personnel management of the people in his kitchen. Gareth, while the best cook in England (or so the show says, anyway), is an extremely high strung person, and loses his temper constantly. It's very funny when he does, and they actually manage to convey very strong emotions while staying away from actual swearing. Part of the thrust of the comedy here is that Gareth is so sure of himself, and blunders into situations and has to get himself out of them.

That's the best way I can think of to describe the show. Gareth doing his rants reminds me a lot of Basil Fawlty and his rants. There's a certain controlled "out of controlness" to the comedy here that appeals to me. This show is incredibly funny, if you like British Comedy at all, you'll really enjoy this. Even if you aren't a big britcom fan, I urge you to check it out. I think you'll like it.

Some of my favorite episodes are "The Big Cheese" (Favorite overall), England Expects, & Paris? Jamaica?. Series III takes a hit from some fans, but that's because it's not exactly like the first two. In Series 3, a bit more attention was paid to character interaction than it was in the first two series. It has a different feel, but I think it's stronger for that.

STILTON!

I was so excited when I heard that the complete series of Chef! was being released on DVD. I first discovered this show on PBS when it would air on Saturday nights. At first I didn't quite get the show, but the more I watched it began to grow on me and it became one of the funniest shows I had seen. And as a trained chef myself I can relate to this show. The writers have done an excellent job of portraying what life is like in a professional kitchen and Lenny Henry is excellent as Chef Gareth Blackstock. While Series 3 is not quite as funny as Series 1 & 2, it is still funny and worth watching. This is a great show and I am very happy to have it as a part of my DVD collection.

Am I completely off my rocker when I make the observation that this series began with so much originality and intensity that one could not help but enjoy the sarcastic wit of Lenny Henry. 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. Henry is determined to be the greatest chef in England and takes his profession seriously, two qualities that you cannot fault a person for. 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 gone again, even Janice and Gareth are not the same. 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. The changing of the kitchen staff became annoying, Everton's character never seemed to grow with time, while it only became obvious that Gareth and Janice were not cut out to run a restaurant. Janice became bitter, which wasn't funny, while Gareth threw his original food obsession out the window in lieu of personal issues. 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 *****

At LAST Chef! is out on DVD. Its long over-due. This is one of the best, funniest British comedies to grace American Public Television EVER. Lenny Henery is simply brilliant as temperamental chef Gareth Blackstock, and Caroline Lee Johnson superb as his wife Janice. Sadly, the DVD set is very much lacking in extras -- all we get are a couple little things. It would have been nice to have gotten more. But the important this is that this series is finally available.

The first disk, series 1, is by far the best of the lot. There are some absolutely classic Chef! moments in these episodes, and the first few are probably the best of the whole series. The second series on disk 2 is almost as good, and there are some great moments and episodes here, too.

Sadly, series three isn't very good at all. Blackstock is less [...] and more buffoon in series 3, and Caroline Lee Johnson isn't seen much. The chemistry between Gareth and Janice is a major driving force of the first two series, and without it series three falls flat. The stories in series three are more removed from the kitchen and focus more on outside events and characters, which also takes a lot of the wind out of the show. Also, most of the new characters in series three just aren't very good -- I truly hate the characters of Savanah and the new manager. The acting seems VERY forced, as are the laughs -- they don't come as naturally here as they do in series 1 and 2. I will likely not watch the third DVD much, while the first two get a real workout. But all complaining aside, I'm thrilled to finally get this show on DVD. Its about time.

It is amazing how Lenny Henry manages to blend refined and singularly inoffensive words to create the most imaginative insults the English language has ever offered up. Not just a comedy, at times it deals with the stresses of life and marriage and the strain a career puts on both. Simply put, this is laugh out loud wordsmithing that Shakespeare would surely get a smile out of. This is the reverse Fawlty Towers, as Chef is just too good and dedicated to his chosen profession. But both provide all-time great comedy. Buy and watch it over and over, and if you are lucky you can use some of the insults at your workplace. As an aside, I agree that a commentary track would have been nice.

I'm so happy that the BBC culinary comedy, "Chef!" has finally been released to the DVD format. I use to catch it on my local PBS station and couldn't get enough of the ill-tempered, titled character. "Chef!" was a very funny British sitcom, which neatly observed the early 1990's arrival of the Superstar 'Diva' Chefs, who are very common today (just take a gander at cable's "Food Network"). In this show, we are introduced to hard working, cooking genuis, Gareth Blackstock (a brilliantly funny, Lenny Henry) who imperiously presides over the kitchen of the Oxfordshire, country restaurant 'La Chateau Anglais'. Gareth might be well known for the finest in French cuisine, but he also has a reputation for his rudeness and volcanic temper, which can explode at any moment, resulting in long tirades of verbal abuse.(Ex."You are a pea-brained, prat-faced, pompous, pillock-headed cretin. If you took an intensive course of intelligence injections and studied till you drop, then one day you might make it to moron third class failed!") The crux of the show is that initially nothing matters to Gareth, but creating the very best in cooking. Everything else gets second place in his life. This is all to the detriment and consternation of his smart, but long suffering/romance starved wife, Janice (an excellent, Caroline Lee Johnson), his abused cooking staff, the service staff, the restaurant's owners and even the dining clientele. During the course of three series, we watch how Gareth's obsessiveness and ego eventually wrecks complete havoc on his marriage and private life. But not all is so dark. The dialogue & plot situations are very funny. (A good example includes an episode that involves a search for English wine in Paris for a cooking contest. It was hilarious to watch the snooty, French liquor store owners laugh in Gareth's face!) Over the course of the series, Gareth's character is slowly softened a bit and the ever changing kitchen staff is eventually given a more prominent comedic role in the show. This includes the much put-upon, Everton (Roger Griffiths), the alcoholic, old hand, Gustave (Ian McNeice, Jeff Nutall), the ditzy, love lorn American, Savannah (Lorelei King) and the owner's spoiled daughter, Renee (Sophee Walker). The show has now been released to DVD in either individual discs or in the box set, "Chef!-The Complete Collection (Series 1-3)". I recommend the box set, because it gives you a better ideal of the evolution of the show and it's characters. Extras include short, but interesting interviews with the show's stars. This is an excellent British sitcom. Highly recommended!

This is one of the funniest of recent Britcoms. Our family absolutely loves watching it and I have wished for it to come out on DVD for years now. In fact, I have regularly e-mailed the BBC to ask for it. I am pre-ordering this title, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I have other British series that have been released through Warner Home Video just as this one will be, and they have all been excellent quality, and I fully expect that this one will be also.

Lenny Henry is one of the powers behind the charity-driven "Comic Relief," and the husband of Dawn French of "Vicar of Dibley," and "French and Saunders" fame. Lenny is not only a very funny man, but also a very talented actor. His portrayal of the titular Chef Gareth Blackstock, is spot-on. His arrogance sends him from the frying pan into the fire on an episodic regular basis with hilarity resulting. In spite of the laughs, one of the things I love about British Comedy is the pathos they manage to weave in with the humor, and this show is no exception. Definitely watchable and re-watchable.

I was so happy to see this series make it to DVD! I tend to agree that series 1 & 2 were far better than the last series. I could never quite get passed Savannah's character. I found her acting very awkward and over the top. That aside, I still enjoyed series 3 and it did have its fair share of funny moments.

Also regarding the missing episodes mentioned in a previous comment. These episodes are not actually missing they have just been renamed. The Xmas Special "A Bird in the Hand" is also included in the collection. It is the last episode on the Series 1 DVD. For some reason this episode is not listed on the box set. I purchased this set when it was first released so I don't know if this has been corrected or not. I hope this clears up any confusion. The DVD collection is indeed complete!

The previous reviewer mentioned the gaffe on the packaging. I had seen the 528 minute running time, did some calculations (averaged at 28 mins per episode) and the tally DOES go up to the full collection's content, so no worries on this!)

As for extras, these had also been given detailing by another person. Given these are NTSC versions of the PAL releases only, the included extras isn't bad - it's quite nice, actually. Many American shows (and many British ones) lack interviews and such altogether, but having Chef!'s "big three" actors make commentaries for certain episodes would be the only change I'd ask for.

I ran out the day the VHS tapes for series 1 came out. A friend introduced me to the series and I instantly fell in love with it.

A primer for the show:

Series 1 sets up Gareth Blackstock's attempt to buy the Chateau he cooks for. The 6 episodes, while following a base formula structure, cover so many concepts that it's too easy to forget that it's formulaic. And, indeed, there are some curveballs thrown you'd never expect - most of which involve Everton, the clutzy beginner. This series is also somewhat sequential; to get full benefit from later episodes, watching the previous ones will allow you to spot the refences.

Series 1's highlights are "Beyond the Pass", in which Gareth berates a couple of hapless customers while Everton learns how to make soup... oh, there's a great anti-banking tirade in this one too. A must-see for that alone!! :-) "Subject to Contract" features some great interplay against journalists. "The Big Cheese" features a famous chef (played by a real chef of the time) making a visit, with Everton putting a special ingredient into one of Gareth's important dishes... "Fame is the Spur", my favorite, has a camera crew making a documentary of what goes on in Gareth's kitchen. Everton also hatches up a new way to serve crayfish...

All the episodes are fun, but definitely watch them in order.

Series 2, also given the same level of care in its production, drops the formula. This is a mixed bag. This series doesn't really become engaging until "Masterchef", which is a TERRIFIC plot for Everton, who more than proves his mettle. Every episode after this keeps the same level of entertainment, topping off with the finale where we get to learn a new racial epithet that'll leave you confused AND laughing off your seat at the same time; it's most bizarre. Of course, "A Diploma of Misery" sets the stage for the final series...

Series 3 sees big changes. Gone is the classical music, the show being filmed (it's now taped), and Everton's growth as a character. On the plus side, we DO see a big interpersonal between Gareth and his wife (Janice) and there are some great character moments. But the level of comedy is nowhere near as brisk, and even Gareth's icy comments are nowhere near as sharp. Series 3 seems "Americanized", not just for the inclusion of an American (and a change in the actor playing Gustav for no reason) but for the type of humor used. While "Chef!" has always been a bit ribald, it was still witty. Series 3 starts using more physical comedy rather than wit. Of course, if you dig looking at naked men, then this series might have a surprise or two in store... But the downsides to this series aside, there ARE some good comedic bits and the drama of Gareth's relationship and surrounding events still makes it worthy.

Perhaps it's a shame no 4th series was commissioned. :-(

Definitely a must-buy for fans. I was a grin-on-legs when I saw it.

I just finished the first of the three Chef DVDs. I haven't watched him for years and I am having a huge ball! If TV were like this today, I'd be as addicted as some of my friends are! Almost every episode is stuffed with quotable quotes that should be mantras for anyone with a passion in their life and Chef stretches vocabulary to the fullest! Interspersed with the broad rants we find beautifully prepared foods and gastronomic incredulity. Obviously, I'm loving this.

Watching one or two episodes per day, I can't help but notice how formulaic the episodes are but I don't see this as a detriment. Janice Wakes Gareth In Bed. Chef Berates Underling. Chef Forced To Admit Fallibility. Previous Situation Reappears. The combination of Chef's ultimate sense of fairness and self-awareness with his singular obsession with food allows us to venerate him despite his penchants for murder, dismemberment or torture.

I'm watching on my laptop so I am able to rewind to be sure I catch every word when laughter chops off a line or when the accents seem too unfamiliar. (The laugh track, if it is one, sounds authentic, not canned.) I hit pause and savor the look of finished dinners before they are sent out of the kitchen (something I greatly enjoy) and I freeze and relive the immediate joy the hired help feels when sampling the day's cuisine. I admit, I take photos when presented with beautifully prepared food and one of the small pleasures in my life is when I encounter a morsel that does not want to be swallowed, but wishes to rest on my tongue like a floating pillow of flavor! I don't consider myself to be biased, only that I am relating to Chef! One bad point about watching with a laptop on my belly is that the screen bounces when I laugh!

Chef, in case you are unaware, is a megalomaniac. "Here in my kitchen I have ultimate and terrible power." Each character relates to this epic leader with a sense of trepidation and respect. Everton, for the most part is able to maintain a blank facade when spattered with, "In a sanely ordered, civilized society, anyone making runny mayonnaise would be tortured to death slowly in front of a warmly applauding audience," but his is clearly a façade. His stoicism begs us to watch his character, even while in the background, and appreciate his own inner story and to value his strength. The same is true for the other characters, whose dialogue consists mainly of, "Yes Chef." We commiserate with the knowing looks exchanged by Pierce and Otto and we anticipate greatness in Lucinda's future. Lola and Janice are both gems and watching the episodes in order allows us to appreciate each character in a way I was unable to when I stumbled across the show on television. We are treated to a delicious sense of behind the scenes chaos of kitchen work!

Season Two, a Sunday marathon, takes place two years down the road. Le Chateau Anglais is fully staffed now, bursting at the seams with a full compliment of new people with only Everton and Janice remaining! For the record, the computer isn't bouncing on my belly as much.

It's very odd. This is a different series than the first season and I'm enjoying it but it is no longer due to delight in the characters or the appreciation of food. While I don't dislike the new characters, I don't really approve of them either. The writers are going for a more human touch all around, so the story lines are taking precedence. The new staff has lost its sense of regard for my hero as well as the camaraderie: the we're-all-in-this-together, suffering-under-a-brilliant-master angle. Where warm Lucinda appreciated her position and her rise with a confidence in her abilities Alice must have `arrived' in the interim. She's a haughty bitch who thankfully vanished after two episodes. The new drunk sous chef's recovering alcoholic-can't-I-have-one-drink schtick quickly becomes dull and Alfonse the sommelier is eye candy without Lola's passion for reveling in the beauty of the cuisine in her place of employ. Crispin has a contrived background so his place under a taskmaster has no real stakes. Donald has issues that Chef actually gives credence to (a sign of his humanity and maturation?) and Debra rolls her eyes in outright disrespect and fumbles quail as if she's never encountered livestock in its freshly deceased state. I don't care for Debra! Despite the shift, I'm still finding the show compelling in another warm and fuzzy way. Some of the minor characters have picked up Chef's speech patterns, so the sharp observations are preserved, but not as much of the material has my jaw dropping at the audacity of it all. It also changes dynamics when many of the kitchen staff believe they are Chef's equals, spewing diatribes. Chef has always had some regard for the people around him, but his edge is softened. He goes out of his way to be more sensitive and the shift is still agreeable.

Ho dog-Season Three-I've never seen these episodes and I'm wavering. I'm beginning to look at the progression of this series as I view artists...their art changes, evolves, becomes something else over time but it is difficult and confusing to watch Season Three. The restaurant is now owned by a rich but crass businessman and staffed with his pampered daughter, a new Gustav and stalwart Everton. A ghastly Los Angeles stereotype rounds out the staff. Blame the director, the writers, and the actress, but I see Savanah as a gratuitous character that severely drops the quality of the series.

Very little food preparation takes place and NO food is being savored, but the staff wipes down a lot of counters while banal insults are bantered about as they are in lame American sit-coms, to the raucous approval of the now-nightmarish laugh track. Gone is any remnant of background interplay that so intrigued me before.

The gist of this season is that Janice has left Gareth. Out of the blue, she has had enough of his idiosyncrasies so now, instead of dealing with food, the show deals with relationships. Rene has dumped Everton for the hot Italian waiter who seems to have replaced Alfonse as eye candy, and then changes boyfriends as others change shirts while Everton pines. Cyril hungers, yearns, for Savanah, slavering at the window while she performs LA tai chi in the garden and Savanah shakes out her hair and sends herself flowers to make oblivious Gareth jealous. Oddly, at one point, I thought he was falling for her!

We're straining for story and the sensitive parts of the first few episodes were touching and wonderful because we have come to love Chef and Janice but the forced parts (Cyril singing naked on a table, Gareth marching though the halls nude) are beyond the pale. Audacity has devolved into vulgarity. This is obviously a more physical season. Formerly, Chef might take a header and come up with a pithy remark, a missing crayfish in hand. Now he throws himself backwards into the arms of his fellows, thrashes and feigns heart attack. He takes the microphone from the piano man and becomes the Chateau lounge lizard, serenading applauding patrons while staff gapes approvingly through a window, serving utensils in hand. Some of the physicality is funny but again much of it is too broad and insincere. I felt sorry for the actors I've enjoyed forced to caper and mug this way.

So the insipid acting and banality are appalling me and then suddenly and astoundingly, Gareth's wonderful father appears and with the breeze of his Jamaican self, we are swept back to familiar, welcome territory. We are laughing again, feeling warm. We have been won back then wham! We revert to the simply horrible Savanah subplot and my interest flags as the acting degenerates to lows unseen beyond the worst of high school musicals and then, out of nowhere we meet Everton's Aunti Clarice! Also Jamaican, the woman sincerely humbles Chef, charms everyone and whines at the wedding of her daughter at the Chateau. Rochelle has appeared, Chef's counterpart, who owns a successful chain of Jamaican take-aways and an old romance is rekindled. Suddenly there is dramatic tension; stakes rise and acting standards are again what they should be. I ignore a bit of over the top passion and think that not so far down, I do like this series. But mostly, I'm incredulous.

Oh, and for a few insights into the food preparation, watch the extras!