James May: Oh Cook

Last updated

James May: Oh Cook
Written byJames May
Directed byWill Daws
Tom Whitter
Presented by James May
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of series2
No. of episodes14
Production
Executive producersWill Daws
James May
Tom Whitter
ProducerWilliam Fisher
CinematographyGary Rogers
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time27‒32 minutes
Production companies
Original release
Network Amazon Prime Video
Release13 November 2020 (2020-11-13) 
present (present)

James May: Oh Cook! is a cooking programme hosted by James May and released via Amazon Prime Video in 2020. The programme features May attempting to cook a variety of different dishes, with each episode focusing on a particular cuisine or meal. The show's title is a play on James's catchphrase from previous programmes. [1]

Contents

From 2019, May was involved in producing food-oriented videos for DriveTribe spin-off FoodTribe. [2] In June 2020, it became apparent that May was working on a cookery show with Amazon. [1] Amazon confirmed the show in July 2020, announcing that it would be released alongside a book, titled Oh Cook!: 60 Easy Recipes That Any Idiot Can Make. [3] [4]

In press interviews released alongside the first series, May stated that he would like to film a second series of the programme abroad, saying he would be interested in learning how to cook a "proper American breakfast". [5]

Episodes

During the episodes May is assisted at times by home economist Nikki Morgan, who is kept in a cupboard until her assistance is required. [6]

Series 1 (2020)

No. in
series
TitleOriginal release dateLength
1"Asian Fusion"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:32
James puts a British spin on food from across the Asian continent.
2"Pub Classics"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:32
James attempts to fry the perfect steak for Nikki, cooks his first pie, and creates a fish pie.
3"Pasta"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:28
James ventures into the world of pasta, creating a lasagne, experimenting whether cream should be used in carbonara, and trying to put a twist on alphabet pasta
4"Curry"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:28
James cooks an Indian-inspired feast featuring lamb keema, dal, chapatis, and a raita.
5"Pudding"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:30
James turns his attention to pudding, creating cakes, custards and crumbles.
6"Breakfast"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:28
James focuses on the first meal of the day, looking at dishes from around the world.
7"Roast"13 November 2020 (2020-11-13)0:27
James, having promised the crew lunch, attempts to cook a Sunday roast.

Series 2 (2023)

No. in
series
TitleOriginal release dateLength
1"French Classics"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:33
2"Japanese"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:32
3"70's Dinner Party"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:31
4"Vegan"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:32
5"German"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:32
6"Picnic"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:31
7"Mexican"24 May 2023 (2023-05-24)0:31

Release

Critical reception

The programme has a score of 100% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and a 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon Prime Video. [7] [8]

Michael Hogan for The Telegraph gave the series three out of five stars, saying the show has "unlikely charm" and there was "finally a cookery show for blokes". [9] Lucy Mangan for The Guardian gave the series three out of five stars, saying it was "occasionally charming – and mostly slightly dismal". [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recipe</span> Instructions for preparing food

A recipe is a set of instructions that describes how to prepare or make something, especially a dish of prepared food. A sub-recipe or subrecipe is a recipe for an ingredient that will be called for in the instructions for the main recipe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooking show</span> Television genre that presents food preparation

A cooking show, cookery show, or cooking program is a television genre that presents food preparation, often in a restaurant kitchen or on a studio set, or at the host's personal home. Typically the show's host, often a celebrity chef, prepares one or more dishes over the course of an episode, taking the viewing audience through the food's inspiration, preparation, and stages of cooking.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanny Cradock</span> English restaurant critic, television cook (1909–1994)

Phyllis Nan Sortain Pechey, better known as Fanny Cradock, was an English restaurant critic, television cook and writer. She frequently appeared on television, at cookery demonstrations and in print with her fourth husband, Major Johnnie Cradock, who played the part of a slightly bumbling hen-pecked husband.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James May</span> English television presenter and journalist

James Daniel May is an English television presenter and journalist. He is best known as a co-presenter, alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond, of the motoring programme Top Gear from 2003 until 2015 and the television series The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime Video from 2016 to 2024. He also served as a director of the production company W. Chump & Sons, which has since ceased operating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raymond Blanc</span> French chef (born 1949)

Raymond Blanc OBE is a French chef. Blanc is the chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the Good Food Guide. He is entirely self-taught, but has himself taught or employed other chefs including Heston Blumenthal, John Burton-Race, Michael Caines, Paul Liebrandt, and Marco Pierre White.

Hilda Elsie Marguerite Patten,, was a British home economist, food writer and broadcaster. She was one of the earliest celebrity chefs who became known during World War II thanks to her programme on BBC Radio, where she shared recipes that could work within the limits imposed by war rationing. After the war, she was responsible for popularising the use of pressure cookers and her 170 published books have sold over 17 million copies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Martin (chef)</span> English chef and television presenter (born 1972)

James Martin is a British chef and television presenter, best known for his television work with the BBC and ITV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Berry</span> English food writer and television presenter (born 1935)

Dame Mary Rosa Alleyne Hunnings is an English food writer, chef, baker and television presenter. After being encouraged in domestic science classes at school, she studied catering at college. She then moved to France at the age of 22 to study at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school, before working in a number of cooking-related jobs.

Ching-He Huang (Chinese: 黃瀞億; pinyin: Huáng Jìngyì; Wade–Giles: Huang2 Ching4-i4;, often known in English-language merely as Ching, is a Taiwanese-born British food writer and TV chef. She has appeared in a variety of television cooking programmes, and is the author of nine best-selling cookbooks. Ching is recognized as a foodie entrepreneur, having created her own food businesses. She has become known for Chinese cookery internationally through her TV programmes, books, noodle range, tableware range, and involvement in many campaigns and causes.

The Grand Tour is a British motoring television series, created by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and Andy Wilman, made for Amazon exclusively for its online streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and premiered on 18 November 2016. The programme was conceived in the wake of the departure of Clarkson, Hammond, May and Wilman from the BBC series Top Gear and was originally contracted with 36 episodes over three years.

<i>Britannia</i> (TV series) Historical fantasy drama television show

Britannia is a British historical fantasy drama television series created by Jez Butterworth and Tom Butterworth. The show was the first co-production between Sky UK and Amazon Prime Video and stars Kelly Reilly, David Morrissey, Zoë Wanamaker, Mackenzie Crook, Nikolaj Lie Kaas, and Eleanor Worthington Cox. It first aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK beginning 18 January 2018 and on Amazon Prime Video in the US beginning 26 January 2018. The first series aired on Epix beginning 2 August 2020. Pop songs were used as theme music for the three series to date: Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man", his "Season of the Witch", and "Children of the Revolution" by T. Rex. In March 2023, the series was cancelled after three seasons.

<i>The Final Table</i> Cooking competition Netflix show

The Final Table is an American cooking competition and reality television series hosted by food writer and critic Andrew Knowlton, and filmed in Los Angeles, California for Netflix. The first season was released on November 20, 2018. It features twelve international teams of two professional chefs each competing to create elevated dishes based on the country chosen for each episode. The first round is judged by a three-person panel—a food critic, and two culturally significant citizens, all representing the episode's country—assessing each team's interpretation of their chosen nationally significant dish. Interspersed among the cooking activities are video packages featuring the culinary biographies of the contestants.

<i>Alex Rider</i> (TV series) 2020 British spy thriller television series

Alex Rider is a British spy thriller television series based on the novel series of the same name by Anthony Horowitz. Adapted by Guy Burt, it stars Otto Farrant as the eponymous character, who is recruited by a subdivision of MI6 as a teenage spy to infiltrate places that others are unable to. The series is Amazon's first scripted British Amazon Original series. The show is jointly produced by Eleventh Hour Films and Sony Pictures Television, and is the second screen adaptation of the novels, following the 2006 feature film version of the first novel, Stormbreaker.

<i>James May: Our Man in...</i> Travel documentary series hosted by James May

James May: Our Man in... is a travel documentary television series hosted by James May and released via Amazon Prime Video. Each series follows May as he travels a country and undergoes various local activities.

<i>Living on the Veg</i> Television show

Living on the Veg is a British vegan cookery programme that first aired in 2020 on ITV. It is hosted by the cookery writers and bloggers Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, a duo known as BOSH!. Each episode features a series of recipes cooked by Firth and Theasby, and a guest who talks with the hosts about food and their work. It is produced by produced by Rock Oyster Media and distributed by Cineflix Rights. Living on the Veg is ITV's first vegan cooking programme.

<i>Beat the Chef</i> British TV series or programme

Beat the Chef is a British television cooking game show broadcast by Channel 4 and hosted by Andi Oliver. The series features contestants preparing a home-cooked family recipe, while professional chefs Mark Sargeant, Frederick Forster and Clodagh McKenna make the same recipe in an upscale restaurant version. The two dishes are then judged by a panel of food critics including BBC Food Programme presenter Leyla Kazim. The series premiered on 27 May 2019. In 2022, the series was embroiled in controversy by continuing to employ Mark Sargeant after a jury in the U.S. ruled that he sexually assaulted an American woman in Germany. After the allegations were made public episodes featuring Mark Sargeant were not broadcast with repeat episodes from the previous series broadcast instead.

<i>Clarksons Farm</i> British television documentary series with Jeremy Clarkson

Clarkson's Farm is a British television documentary series about Jeremy Clarkson and his farm in the Cotswolds. The series documents Clarkson's attempts at running a 1,000-acre (400 ha) farm near Chipping Norton in West Oxfordshire. Described by Clarkson as "genuine reality television", the series has received positive reviews and has been praised for raising public awareness of the British farming industry on the international stage. The first series premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 11 June 2021.

<i>The Devils Hour</i> British thriller television series

The Devil's Hour is a British drama thriller television series created by Tom Moran, and executive produced by Steven Moffat through his production company Hartswood Films. The series consists of six episodes, and premiered on 28 October 2022 on Amazon Prime Video. In November 2022, the series was renewed for a second and third season.

References

  1. 1 2 Kanter, Jake (16 June 2020). "Amazon Working On Cooking Show With 'The Grand Tour' Star James May". Deadline. Archived from the original on 12 December 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  2. Radu, Mihnea (24 January 2020). "James May Reviews Cheese and Eggs on New FoodTribe Channel". autoevolution. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  3. Kanter, Jake (30 July 2020). "Amazon Confirms Plans To Serve Up Cooking Series With 'The Grand Tour' Star James May". Deadline. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  4. Marshall, Rosie (30 July 2020). "James May confirms his new cooking show will be on Amazon". FoodTribe. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  5. Cremona, Patrick (13 November 2020). "James May would like to go abroad in a potential second series of Oh Cook!". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  6. "Oh Cook! - James 'Captain Slow' May Has A Cooking Show!". Goggler. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  7. James May: Oh Cook!: Season 1, archived from the original on 13 September 2021, retrieved 2 April 2021
  8. "Watch James May: Oh Cook - Season 1 | Prime Video". www.amazon.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  9. Hogan, Michael (13 November 2020). "James May: Oh Cook! review: boozy, un-PC and unpretentious – finally a cookery show for blokes". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  10. Mangan, Lucy (13 November 2020). "James May: Oh Cook review – will this be a culinary car crash?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.