Channel Four announces its new season today and with yet more food programmes on the menu, we could be forgiven for thinking that cookery shows are the new property programme - no need to change the title either, location, location, location works just as well.
The channel has Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall joining forces for a two-week season of programmes challenging viewers to think before they eat, according to MediaGuardian.
Think Jamie's School Dinners but for the entire nation, and with an apparent emphasis on chicken: Oliver is lined up to do Jamie's Fowl Dinners, which will take a look at the realities of industrial chicken production, while Fearnley-Whittingstall will challenge supermarkets in Hugh's Chicken Run - something he's already tackled on the River Cottage site with his Chicken Out campaign.
I'm sure they will all be paid a small fortune for the programmes, but there's no doubt in my mind that the three care about food and about diet so on balance, it's fairly worthy I guess (although I am beginning to have celeb chef fatigue). But will this really make a difference to our diet? I'm thinking the kind of people who watch these programmes are - generally speaking - the kind of people who already think about their diet. But I could be wrong.
For his part, Ramsay will attempt to get the entire country cooking at the same time with his show, Cook-a-Long-a-Gordon Live. I'm assuming it's chicken? We'll be there, Gordon, we'll be there, webcams at the ready.
