'Two Fat Ladies:' Cooking show heavy on humor, calories

March 29, 1998
Web posted at: 1:44 p.m. EST (1844 GMT)

(CNN) -- "Deprivation is out; indulgence is in." That might well be the motto of a less-than-lean British TV import called "Two Fat Ladies," a cookery program that throws out the blandness of calorie-conscious diets and brings in the heartiness of traditional home cooking.

The two fat ladies in question are Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright, who travel about Britain on a Triumph Thunderbird motorbike with sidecar, chasing recipes and cooking up scrumptious meals with a lack of pretension refreshing in these days of superstar chefs.

CNN's Hillary Bowker introduces us to two women who feel that low fat cooking is for the birds

Dietary restrictions -- of any kind -- are anathema to the two ladies, who themselves may well be seen as the best promotion for the recipes they present.

One key ingredient contributing to the show's success is the easy and witty banter that goes with the unpretentious style of presentation and cooking -- it no doubt adds a light touch to heavy recipes.

Another key ingredient of the show is location: "We're never in a studio, you see, we actually take over people's kitchens," Paterson says.

"We go to some really lovely places and they take a great deal of effort finding them," Dickson Wright added.

In the United States, the "Two Fat Ladies" show has aired on the Food Network and ABC. And there is a Two Fat Ladies cookbook, of course.

Related sites:

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• The Food Network's CyberKitchen
  • Two Fat Ladies
    • Two Fat Ladies Recipes
• Rating the cooking shows (10/8/97) - The News and Observer
• Big Buzz Project: The Fat Patrol - TV Guide Entertainment Network

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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