Customer Reviews

Chef, Vol. 1 [VHS]

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Lenny Henry stars in this three episode video by the BBC. It is a comedic, culinary circus that brings the word "perfection" to the forefront. "Chef" is a hilariously sarcastic, unbelievably pompass man. But we love him because he is the best chef in all of Europe. And his fearsome, bumbling kitchen crew just love to hate him. Especially Everton, the lowest rank in Chef's kitchen who can't seem to do anything right. Chef's standards are ridiculously high, which only provides comic turns any time he makes his usual demands. These episodes include some of the funniest writing I have heard since "Faulty Towers". Savor them all as I did, but be sure to have your dictionary on hand for some of Chef's more complicated insults. He is a perfectionist in the art of criticism too. You have got to love that British Humor! "Chef!" is laugh out loud hilarious!

These first three episodes are the best of all the series. The final episodes (not available on video, as far as I know) after Chef's wife left, were dreadful. It was at that point the show Jumped the Shark, if you know what I mean.

They poured everything into the first series and this video is just great. We meet Chef Gareth Blackstock, his wife Janice, and the Michelin two-star restaurant Le Chateau Anglais. We find out what an unpleasant man (but a brilliant chef) Gareth is, then that the restaurant is in finacial difficulty and Chef must reduce kitchen and staff expenses. Then the restaurant goes into receivership and must be sold. Meanwhile, Chef has hired an unsuitable trainee chef (an old school mate) in order to save money.

So Gareth and Janice decide to try to buy the restaurant, which requires them to bow and scrape for the bank manager. At every turn, Gareth loses his temper and unleashes remarkably coherent and witty tirades at just about everyone. The only person who can stand up to him is his wife.

These are very funny episodes, much in the tradition of Fawlty Towers. And as an added bonus, you get to find out quite a bit about French cuisine and the restaurant business.

I love this series... it's one of the best that BBC has ever made. The shame is, however, that they haven't released a DVD of the full series. I don't think they are aware of the popularity of this product.

I have always thought Chef! to be one of the funniest sitcoms period. It strikes me as strange that the BBC has not seen fit to release all of the episodes, let alone on DVD (where they belong!) Lenny Harry is a god of comedic timing and posseses an uncanny ability to play the ever-seething straight man. The writing is top-notch; if there is a bit of a weak link here, it is the fact that the rest of the cast, while excellent in thier own light, can't keep up with the lead!

This show is certainly an equal to the older classic british comedies (monty python, fawlty towers, blackadder). Gareth Blackstock (Lenny Henry) is the most vicious and foulmouthed employer possible, but his dialogue is undoubtably one of the major turn-ons about this show. This is a must for any fan of British comedy, or comedy in general!!!

Caught these episodes on PBS in my area and fell in love with the venom that Lenny Henry spews out to the employee's in his kitchen. I never thought I would find a show to rival Fawlty Towers for quick clever dialogue but Chef does the trick. The closest that American comedies get is MASH.

The only sad part is that this is all of Lenny Henry most Americans will ever see. He is right up there with John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders, Rowan Atkinson, hell anyone who is breathing, as the funniest person alive.

He is also helped by a great supporting cast. The actors who play Janice, his wife, and Everton, his whipping boy, are perfect. It is a great introduction to a great show. The second season was better though, just to see Gaston, the recovering alcoholic sous chef.

I can only repeat the sentiments of most people here. I LOVE the show, I love Lenny Henry's wit! Why havent they put all the shows on DVD? I search every two weeks hoping to see something new released for Chef!

I first caught Chef! on BBC late one night, and immediately fell in love with the show. Since then, I have hounded down the 2 videotapeas available from BBC, and hunger for more. For once, a Black leading man really leads the show - Lenny Henry is at once intelligent, witty, sarcastic, talented, handsome, and even romantic (these moments are very fleeting) in his portrayal of Chef. I don't know how many times I will be able to watch my tapes before I wear them out. Why aren't there more tapes out there????

Chef is one of my favorite BBC comedies. I have only one complaint - where's the DVD? I'll wear this VHS tape out *far* too quickly.