Too many celebrity chefs

If there's anything England has a surplus of, it's celebrity chefs. Here, they're a dime a dozen. For starters, there's the infamous Gordon Ramsay. To be honest, I was a big fan of Gordo back home. I watched Kitchen Nightmares every week, rushing home from doing the groceries to get back in time to catch the start. But here, he is so over-exposed, I'm not at all fussed if I miss an episode or three. And the whole cheating on his wife thing didn't help either.

Then there's Jamie Oliver, possibly the MOST annoying celebrity chef on TV, constantly popping up in ads for Sainsbury's. At least shows are on only once or twice a week, but ad breaks are around every 15 minutes - not so lovely jubbly.

For a while, I found Hugh Fernley Whittingstall quite entertaining with his River Cottage program. It was really refreshing to see a chef who was doing something for the environment and making the most of seasonal fruit and veg. And some of the dishes were so unusual, I just had to keep watching to find out what he would cook next: squirrel offal skewers, manish water made with the head of a goat and goat offal...hmm...detecting a pattern here?

And then there's Heston Blumenthal, the chef famous for making ridiculous things such as hot ice cream. I find his strangely clinical approach to cooking a bit off putting, but I did enjoy his take on historical feasts. The things people ate in Victorian England, Tudor England, etc. were weird enough, seeing Heston's take on it was even more interesting. Still, I'm not about to rush off to his restaurant.

But wait, there's more...Ainsley Harriott, Lloyd Grossman (I cannot stand this guy, he is sooooooooooooo annoying), that guy on Masterchef, etc etc. There are just so many cooking shows, celebrity chefs are multiplying faster than rabbits. Somebody stop them before they take over the world!

Missed 'Heroes' for the first time ever

Ok, I wasn't going to say anything, but I'm having trouble getting over it. Yesterday, I ditched 'Heroes' in favour of a documentary about Japan's obsession with fish. Yes, a DOCUMENTARY ABOUT FISH! It's crazy, I know. I used to watch 'Heroes' religiously; during the first season, almost every episode seemed like a cliffhanger. Sure, season two was short, but I didn't think it was as bad as other's have said. Season three; things were slowly grinding to a halt and now, season four has completely lost me.

Ever since the show first started, I wondered how it would stop itself from turning into an X-Men rip-off, and I think they did a pretty good job of it...until now. I'm no X-Men fanatic, but I've seen enough of it to know that this season of 'Heroes' is pretty much the plot from the last X-Men movie. Rounding up mutants and removing their powers sounds rather familiar...Next thing you know, Magneto's going to show up to lead the resistance.

And the characters...I don't think I even want to get started on the characters. Suffice to say, it's time to wipe the slate clean, blow them all up and start again. And no more painting the future!

Top 10 desserts

Ok, now that I'm dieting (and not to mention, skint) I've been missing my desserts! I used to go out after work almost every day and get a sweet bun or slice of cake from BreadTop, but now all my desserts are home-made, if I have any at all! Since being here, I've had plenty of trifle, but here's what I really miss!

Top 10 desserts
10 - Mango pudding
9 - Anything from Savoy Cake Shop
8 - Chocolate fondant from Beard Papa
7 - Coconut pudding (the kind you get at yum cha)
6 - Gelato (any flavour)
5 - Cream puffs (from Japan, ideally, but Beard Papa is ok too)
4 - Mango pancakes (the kind you get at yum cha)
3 - French crepes with fresh strawberries and ice cream (the only shop I know that served real French crepes closed down...but France actually isn't that far away now...hmm...)
2 - Spanish churros dipped in melted chocolate
1 - Freshly cooked egg tarts (the ones with flakey pastry you get at yum cha)