Channel Four's Big food fight

Channel four (here in the UK) are doing a series of TV programs about food, focusing on things that need improving. They have got three of the big names in TV cooking to do the various programs, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsey.. there is an advertising poster down our road which has the three of them all looking either worried or ready for a fight wearing outfits that look like they are about to play paintball or something similar.

There seems to be a bit of a focus on the chicken industry but also programs about junk food, bad diets and similar.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall starts off with three programs about the difference between intensively farmed chicken and free range chicken and his efforts to convince people to change what they buy in one local town. This is called Hugh's chicken run and runs the first half of this week at 9pm. Hugh ends up running his own intensive farm along side a free range one so he is free to show how they operate. Having grown up around both sorts of farming I already have a good idea but I don't think most people in this country do.

This is followed by programs by Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. There is a preview article and a full list of articles here. It certainly sounds like some of the programs might be interesting. If they will tell those of us who already take an interest in what we eat much that is new remains to be seen but many people don't really think about what they eat and certainly if Jamie's school dinners program is anything to go by high profile chefs like these can get people listening in a way more 'normal' people can't.

The cookalong Live with Gordon Ramsey sounds an intriguing idea with the website doing various masterclasses before program where you are meant to cook along with him.