The River Cottage Treatment

Did anyone catch Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's new show, The River Cottage Treatment, tonight?

I thought it was excellent. This was a complete departure from the format of his previous shows, but still the same enthusiastic Hugh. He took a group of people who loved fast food - in tonight's case, cheap joints of chicken as served at your local greasy takeaway - and showed them how he raised, killed and cooked his own chickens in a bid to convince them that factory farmed hens were not a "good buy" - for them or for the chickens.

It was fascinating to see how it gradually dawned on the group that the £2.99 hen bought at the supermarket or the plate of chicken nuggets was not only inferior tasting, but not that much cheaper than the economic use of a whole free range or organic bird, from making kebabs from the breast meat to cooking up a chicken soup from the carcass and a few bits of veg.

What did you think?

Comments

[FactoBrunt]

Yeah, I caught it - it was brilliant. It similarly dawned on me about supermarket produce a year or so back, and now I can't wait to afford a smallholding where I can raise my own animals. Since I read that Tesco and the big supermarkets were putting pressure on the Soil Association to lower the standards for organic produce, I'm trying my utmost to never step inside their doors again. It's about time someone made a show that showed people where their food comes from. Don't know if you caught It's Not Easy Being Green, but that roused me in the same way :)

[Podchef]

If only the BBC channel here in the States were any BBC, but BBC Amercia. . . .I can't wait until the DVD is pressed!

[Andrew]

I'm a long time HFW fan, I have most of the DVD's and just bought his new book which so far has been very interesting but I'm afraid last nights show just didn't do it for me.

Personally, I liked the old format, the glimpse of the country life that was, with a little effort accessible to us all (I'd love to be able to barter like Hugh used to). In this latest series we had to sit through Hugh showing us around yet another large farm that he has bought with the proceeds of his Books, Articles and DVD's - the River Cottage logo splashed over everything, including, Aprons, the pot of Yogurt he used in his Naans through to the door of the boat in the final shot. The simple life has certainly turned out to be a money spinner, but good for him (did that sound like sour grapes, it wasn't meant to!

Most of us know that Organic Chickens and Livestock are kept in better conditions and taste far superior, although I think it's important to note that just because it says Organic on the label it doesn't guarantee better flavour. It was good to see Hugh at least give a nod to the fact that many families up and down the country just cannot afford the Organic ingredients he promotes. I thought that the final person to give up Chickens because they were cute was a weak way to leave that argument but there you go.

All in all I was sad to see my favourite program on TV become nothing more than an advert for River Cottage brand products but Hugh is right we as consumers are responsible for the state of the birds, the problem is that if we can make what little money the most of us have go a little further in a supermarket, then we will, especially as we have few local producers and even fewer local outlets to show us the difference. We let the supermarkets get this powerful because, let's face it most people just don't care and two for one's are a powerful purchasing device.

[Richard Boyd]

It just shows how most people have bought into what the large corporates wanted them too. Can’t think, don’t know, why bother to try… Very scary,

Show me a farmer who likes Tescos?????!!!! Sure, they are a very savvy company but would you eat anything from a Tescos supermarket? Like meat or vegetables, yukkkkkk.

HFW is the antithesis of what modern Britain is all about and thank fuck for that.

[Jess]

I like Hugh, I really do,but I agree with the comments here. It's all about Hugh and his franchise these days.

On the wider issue of Tesco v Common Sense, I'm afraid Tesco always wins. Hugh's programme isn't the first to air pix of suffering animals or chemical food farming. The truth's been out there for years. It's there for anyone who cares to look. But still they keep buying £2.99 chickens and fresh french beans in January. The urban British, I'm afraid, care neither how their food is produced nor – to my even greater astonishment – how it tastes. Only two things matter: a) what it looks like, and b) the price.

[John Curtin]

Didn't see the show but reflecting Jess's comment I'd recommend reading Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma. Even though he writes about the US food chain and is preaching to the converted if you care about food and how it is produced there's plenty of information to help choose wisely about what we buy and from whom.

[Paul]

Hey, just surfed in; but I have to agree that the show was a great change and nice to see people finding out more about the organic option.