Two Fat Ladies

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 was a BBC Two television cooking program starring Clarissa Dickson Wright, and Jennifer Paterson. It originally ran for four seasons, from 1996 to 1999. The show was produced by the BBC and also appeared on the Food Network in the U.S. and on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Australia. It is currently (January 2012) appearing on the Cooking Channel in the U.S.

Program

The show centered on Clarissa Dickson-Wright and Jennifer Paterson, traveling the United Kingdom for most of the episodes, except for one episode in Ireland and a Christmas special in Jamaica, on a Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle driven by Paterson. It sported the registration N88 TFL - for Two Fat Ladies and had a Watsonian GP-700 "doublewide" sidecar which was where Dickson Wright rode. They traveled to various destinations, such as an army camp or an all-girls school, where they prepared large meals, often with unusual ingredients. Both ladies were very fond of strong flavors, often using anchovies, garlic, and seasonings quite liberally. The recipes were gleaned from an older time and tradition when rendered fat and drippings, raw eggs, and unpasteurized milk products were commonplace. They emphasized the importance of using fresh ingredients of the very best quality, eschewing supermarkets for farms and roadside markets.

Paterson was well accustomed to riding a motorcycle before the show even began. During the filming of the pilot episode, Jennifer Paterson, with Clarissa Dickson-Wright in sidecar, was to drive towards the camera and stop right in front of it, but she became confused by the location of the equipment of the bike and almost ran over the camera man and producer, Patricia Llewellyn. It turned out that everything on the motorcycle with the attached sidecar was the exact opposite of the motorcycle that Paterson usually rode.

Paterson's uncle, Anthony Bartlett, was a senior aide to the Archbishop of Westminster, and so some episodes were videotaped at Westminster Cathedral and an Irish convent. While cooking at Westminster Cathedral, Paterson cooked an original dish, Peaches Cardinal Hume. In the same episode, Dickson Wright demonstrated a bubble and squeak recipe which used two ounces of lard, which she insisted is 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 who considered them to be a bad influence on the British diet.^{[citation needed]}

The ladies had a dislike of vegetarians^{[citation needed]} and both would speak quite disparagingly about them, but in a humorous way; Paterson once said a vegetable sandwich was "Delicious, despite its vegetarian overtones." In one episode, Paterson 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 Dickson Wright, who said, "Hurrah! Get rid of all lentils. You've no idea how randy they make vegetarians." Much like in a standard double act, Dickson Wright often came across as the more sensible partner.

They actively pursued good honest flavors and disparaged people more concerned with each and every gram of fat or sugar in a mouthful. A BBC Producer declared they had a "pornographic joy" of spreading real butter on bread. A sentiment echoed in her autobiography, Spilling the Beans, when Clarissa said that when they were told that their cookbook was a bestseller in Los Angeles, where everyone seemed to live on lettuce and had a dollop of mayonnaise for treats, she said, "They must have been reading it for pornography."

Paterson and Dickson Wright sang their own theme song, and Paterson often burst into song during the show, once introducing Apple Pan Dowdy with a verse from a song by The Andrews Sisters. They reveled in cooking at grand locations, as at Lennoxlove House. Dickson Wright explained how the Duchess of Lennox had left her estate to her nephew, to which Jennifer declared, "That we should have such aunts!"

Personal lives

Both Paterson and Dickson Wright affected unconcern with fat or calories. Paterson also smoked heavily and, at one point, took the opportunity to go out for a cigarette while a dish cooked in the oven. Most episodes ended with her smoking a cigarette and drinking an alcoholic drink. Several times references were made to the fact that Dickson Wright, a recovering alcoholic, no longer drank any alcoholic beverages.

Paterson died of cancer on 10 August 1999, one month after diagnosis. The day before she died, she asked Dickson Wright to bring her a tin of caviar but when Dickson Wright arrived at the hospital, Paterson had already died. Dickson Wright said that after Paterson's funeral, she ate the caviar as a tribute to her friend.

In popular culture

• A February 1999 episode of Saturday Night Live aired a sketch that parodied Two Fat Ladies. Brendan Fraser and Darrell Hammond played them, as they cooked dishes sautéed in pure buttermilk.

Cookbooks

"The Two Fat Ladies" produced four cookbooks which detailed many of the recipes seen in their shows as well as some of their personal favorites. The cookbooks include "Cooking with the Two Fat Ladies", "The Two Fat Ladies Ride Again", "The Two Fat Ladies Full Throttle" and "Two Fat Ladies Obsessions".

DVD release

The Two Fat Ladies DVD set was released in the United States in July 2008. The Acorn Media UK set includes a 40-minute BBC tribute to Paterson, biographies of the stars and "six yummo recipes" in a booklet. It contains all 24 episodes across four discs. The show had previously been released in Britain as a Region 2 DVD set.

Episode list

Season 1

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's Dishes	Jennifer's Dishes	Air Date
1	Fish & Shellfish	The Shark's Fin Hotel Mevagissey, Cornwall	Crab, corn & coriander fritter Gigot of monkfish rosemarin with anchovies	Fish pie Scallops with leeks	9 October 1996
2	Meat	Westonbirt School Gloucestershire, South West England	Beef à la Will Moreland Chicken breasts with walnut aillade	Roast "Hedgehog" (meatloaf) A.N.'s slow shoulder of lamb	16 October 1996
3	Fruit & Vegetables	Westminster Cathedral London	Bubble and squeak Stuffed artichokes	Tomato summer pudding Beanz meanz Fitz Peaches Cardinal Hume	23 October 1996
4	Cakes	Hallaton, Leicestershire	Ginger bread Danish apple & prune cake	Galette des Rois aux amandes Chopped walnut & coffee cake	30 October 1996
5	Game	Lennoxlove House East Lothian, Scotland	Partridges with cabbage Pheasant and pickled walnut terrine Duntreath roast grouse	Rabbit with anchovies and capers Medallions of venison with blackberries	6 November 1996
6	Food in the Wild	Hawkhirst Scout Camp Kielder Forest, Northumberland	Muttachar (spiced eggs) Onion soup with Stilton Trout from the Luau	Shooter's sandwich Frittata with tomatoes, onions & basil	13 November 1996

Season 2

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's Dishes	Jennifer's Dishes	Air Date
1	Cocktail Party	The Brazilian Embassy Mayfair, London	Blini (with sour cream and caviar) Prawns in mackintoshes (Gambas in gabardinas) Brazilian bean fritters (Acaraje)	Portuguese cod cakes (Bolinhos de bacalhau) Devils on horseback	29 September 1997
2	Lunch	Vintage motorcycle rally Hesket, New Market (Lake District)	Clam chowder Robert May's salmon	Loin of pork stuffed with cèpes or truffles Chantal's stuffed tomatoes	6 October 1997
3	Picnic	Male choir in Llandudno, North Wales	Welsh lamb pie Mitton of pork	Tartine from Provence Creme vichyssoise glacee	13 October 1997
4	Afternoon Tea	A cricket match Warborough, Oxfordshire	Queen Alexandra's favourite sandwiches Rigo Jancsi's chocolate slices	Gentleman's savoury delights (shortcrust) Fresh fruit tartlets	20 October 1997
5	Breakfast	Black Sheep Brewery Masham, North Yorkshire	Corn griddle cakes Huevos rancheros	Devilled kidneys Kedgeree Jugged kippers	27 October 1997
6	Dinner	1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles Aldershot, Queen Elizabeth barracks, Church Crookham	Turbot with watercress and pickled walnuts Beef with chestnuts, pears and almonds	Coq au vin Stuffed quail with white wine	3 November 1997
Special	Christmas	Winchester Cathedral Choir The Pilgrims' School, Winchester Hants	Swedish red cabbage Christmas pudding ice cream bombe	Mousse of the egg Roast goose with pate and prune stuffing	24 December 1997

Season 3

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's Dishes	Jennifer's Dishes	Air Date
1	Benedictine Nuns	Kylemore Abbey Connemara, Ireland	Broad beans with dill Tomato tartlets	Lobster and mayonnaise Raspberry and strawberry shortcake	2 September 1998
2	Pony Club	The Cotswolds, Gloucestershire	Pork with clams Chocolate crème brulée	Welsh rarebit soufflé Pete's Pommy Pommes	9 September 1998
3	The Cambridge Eight	Boat club Cambridge University	Rabbit Isabel Asturian bean and sausage soup	Peas with lettuce Cheese and honey pie	16 September 1998
4	Barristers at Lincoln's Inn	London	Swiss chard with garlic and anchovies Salmon mousse with cucumber sauce	Beef in pastry Strawberry Breasts	23 September 1998
5	The Air Race	East Fortune Airfield, Scotland	Venison Pastie Chocolate egg snowballs	Roasted salmon with scallops in a mustard butter sauce Red peppers stuffed with aubergine purée	30 September 1998
6	Lock Keepers	Grindley Brook, Shropshire	Burnett's Woodcock Quercyan apple cake	Soused herrings Hoppin' John	7 October 1998
Special	A Caribbean Christmas	Chukka Cove Polo Club Good Hope Country House, Jamaica	Rice and peas Jerked suckling pig	Pumpkin Soup Spiced bun Rum Punch	22 December 1998

Season 4

Episode	Title	Location	Clarissa's Dishes	Jennifer's Dishes	Air Date
1	Potatoes Galore	Jersey	Portuguese fish stew Chocolate Pye	Boeuf Stroganoff Crème Pierre le Grand (chicken soup)	7 September 1999
2	On Safari	Knowsley Safari Park Merseyside	Devilled Poussin Chillis stuffed with goat cheese, and tomato salsa	Lamb in filo pastry Apple pandowdy	14 September 1999
3	Timber!	Ardnamurchan peninsula Scottish Highlands	Watercress mousse Trout baked in sea salt with beurre blanc sauce	Poule au pot Grilled peaches and cream	21 September 1999
4	A Day at the Races	Floors Castle, Kelso St. Abbs, Northumberland	Green beans with Roman mustard Barmbrack with rhubarb	Hot buttered crab Stuffed baked codfish with a tomato sauce	28 September 1999

External links

• Two Fat Ladies at the Internet Movie Database
• Two Fat Ladies at TV.com
• Two Fat Ladies at Cooking Channel: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/two-fat-ladies/index.html