Two Fat Ladies
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| Two Fat Ladies | |
| Format | Cooking |
|---|---|
| Starring | Clarissa Dickson Wright Jennifer Paterson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 24 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC2 |
| Original run | 9 October 1996 – 28 September 1999 |
Two Fat Ladies is a British television cooking programme starring Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson. It originally ran for four seasons, from 1996 to 1999 on BBC Two. The show also appeared on the Food Network in the USA, and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Programme
The show centered on Clarissa Dickson Wright and Jennifer Paterson, travelling the United Kingdom on a Triumph Thunderbird driven by Paterson. Wright rode in the sidecar as they travelled to various destinations, such as an army camp or an all-girls' school, where they would prepare large meals, often with unusual ingredients. Both ladies were very fond of strong flavours, and would often use things like anchovies, garlic, and various herbs and spices quite liberally. The recipes were gleaned from an older time and tradition when ingredients like rendered fat and drippings were used as well as raw eggs and unpasteurized milk products. They emphasized the importance of using fresh ingredients of the very best quality, avoiding supermarkets for farms and roadside markets.
Paterson was a devout Catholic and her uncle, Anthony Bartlett, was a senior aide to the Archbishop of Westminster, and so episodes were filmed at Westminster Cathedral and an Irish convent. While cooking at Westminster Cathedral, Jennifer cooked an original dish, Peaches Cardinal Hume.[1] In the same episode, Clarissa Dickson-Wright demonstrated a bubble and squeak recipe[2] which used 2 ounces of lard, which she insisted was the only fat besides beef dripping that could ever get hot enough to produce the recipe as it should be produced. Similarly, her recipe for buttered spatchcock saw chickens covered with a thick layer of butter, bread and more butter on top of the bread. Recipes such as this led to criticism by some journalists who considered them a bad influence on the British diet.[citation needed] The ladies had a dislike of vegetarians and both would speak quite disparagingly about them in a humorous way; Patterson once said a vegetable sandwich was "Delicious, despite its vegetarian overtones.".[3] In one episode, Jennifer explained that although Kedgeree had originally included lentils, a Colonel's maid who brought the dish back to England got rid of all the lentils. The story won cheers of support from Clarissa who said, "Hurrah! Get rid of all lentils. You've no idea how randy they make vegetarians."[citation needed]
Paterson and Dickson Wright sang their own theme song[4], and Paterson often burst into song during the show, once introducing Apple Pan Dowdy with a verse from an Andrews Sisters song. They revelled in cooking at grand locations. When cooking at Lennoxlove House, Clarissa explained how the Duchess of Lennox had left her estate to her nephew, to which Jennifer declared, "That we should have such aunts!". Much like in a standard double act, Dickson Wright often came across as the more sensible partner.
Both Paterson and Dickson Wright were unconcerned with fat or calories. Paterson also smoked heavily and, at one point, takes the opportunity to go out for a cigarette while a dish cooks in the oven. Most episodes ended with her smoking a cigarette and drinking something alcoholic.[4] In one scene on the grounds at a girls' school, in order to keep the wind from blowing out the lighter, she opens her coat and lights her cigarette in its shelter. Several times references are made to the fact that Dickson Wright, a recovering alcoholic, no longer drinks any alcoholic beverages.
In 1998, the ladies filmed an episode at a Safari Park where Paterson asked if she could take special care of the elephants. This was the last episode she was able to shoot. The close of the show was extended and instead of the usual one minute close, it ran to five minutes. She informed Dickson Wright by telephone that she was feeling ill, and went to see the doctor. She was diagnosed with incurable lung cancer and was hospitalised immediately. The day before she died, she asked Clarissa to take her a tin of caviar but when Dickson Wright arrived at the hospital, Paterson had died. Clarissa said that after Jennifer's funeral, she ate the caviar as a tribute.
It was suggested by the show's producer, Patricia Llewellyn, that the ladies barely spoke to one another off-set.[citation needed] However, in her autobiography, Dickson Wright said that after Jennifer's death, "Our lives were that much poorer."[citation needed]
Besides describing the hosts, the term "two fat ladies" is a bingo call for the number 88. The motorcycle in the programme bore the registration number N88TFL.
[edit] In popular culture
- A February, 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live had a sketch which parodied Two Fat Ladies. Brendan Fraser and Darrell Hammond played them, as they cooked dishes sautéed in pure buttermilk.[5]
[edit] DVD Release
The Two Fat Ladies DVD set was released in the States in July 2008. The Acorn Media UK set includes a 40-minute BBC tribute to Paterson, a pair of sketchy bios of the stars and "six yummo recipes" in a booklet. It contains all 24 episodes across four discs. The show previously was released in Britain as a Region 2 DVD set.[6]
[edit] Episode list
[edit] Season 1
| Episode | Title | Location | Clarissa's Dishes | Jennifer's Dishes | Air Date |
| 1 | Fish & Shellfish | The Shark's Fin Hotel Mevagissey, Cornwall |
|
9 October 1996 | |
| 2 | Meat | Westonbirt School Gloucestershire, South West England |
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16 October 1996 |
| 3 | Fruits & Vegetables | Westminster Cathedral London |
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23 October 1996 |
| 4 | Cakes | Hallaton, Leicestershire |
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30 October 1996 |
| 5 | Game | Lennoxlove House East Lothian, Scotland |
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6 November 1996 |
| 6 | Food in the Wild | Hawkhirst Scout Camp Kielder Forest, Northumberland |
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13 November 1996 |
[edit] Season 2
| Episode | Title | Location | Clarissa's Dishes | Jennifer's Dishes | Air Date |
| 1 | Cocktail Party | The Brazilian Embassy Mayfair, London |
|
29 September 1997 | |
| 2 | Lunch | Vintage motorcycle rally Hesket, New Market (Lakes District) |
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6 October 1997 |
| 3 | Picnic | Male choir in Llandundo, North Wales |
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13 October 1997 |
| 4 | Afternoon Tea | A cricket match Warborough, Oxfordshire |
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20 October 1997 |
| 5 | Breakfast | Black Sheep Brewery Masham, North Yorkshire |
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27 October 1997 |
| 6 | Dinner | 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles Aldershot, Queen Elizabeth barracks, Church Crookham |
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3 November 1997 |
| Special | Christmas | Winchester Cathedral Choir Pilgrims' School, Winchester Hants |
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24 December 1997 |
[edit] Season 3
| Episode | Title | Location | Clarissa's Dishes | Jennifer's Dishes | Air Date |
| 1 | Benedictine Nuns | Kylemore Abbey Connemara, Ireland |
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2 September 1998 |
| 2 | Pony Club | The Cotswolds, Gloustershire |
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9 September 1998 | |
| 3 | The Cambridge Eight | Boat club Cambridge University |
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16 September 1998 | |
| 4 | Barristers at Lincoln's Inn | London |
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23 September 1998 |
| 5 | The Air Race | East Fortune Airfield, Scotland | 30 September 1998 | ||
| 6 | Lock Keepers | Grindley Brook, Shropshire |
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7 October 1998 | |
| Special | A Caribbean Christmas | Chukka Cove Polo Club Good Hope Country House, Jamaica |
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22 December 1998 |
[edit] Season 4
| Episode | Title | Location | Clarissa's Dishes | Jennifer's Dishes | Air Date |
| 1 | Potatoes Galore | Jersey |
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7 September 1999 |
| 2 | On Safari | Knowsley Safari Park Merseyside |
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14 September 1999 |
| 3 | Timber! | Ardnamurchan peninsula Scottish Highlands |
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21 September 1999 |
| 4 | A Day at the Races | Floors Castle, Kelso St. Abbs, Northumberland |
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28 September 1999 |
