Harradine: Frantic, Messy, Uninspiring

[BurlyBeaR]

I think it's time to review malcolm harradine's value to the kitchen essentials brand. i have no doubt that mr harradine is a very nice man, he seems it. however his frantic and messy style of presenting just makes everything he appears on air with look totally unattractive.

last night he did the launch of the silicone cookware tsv and it was all over the place. god knows what he was on, but he was almost bouncing off the walls, rushing from one prep area to the next, then to the oven, then squeezing past charlie, then back again. all in the name of showing a lot of unappetising food which looked like it had been prepared hours before. his display of "platters" using the baking tray and that awful plastic "cloche" that this set comes with was frankly laughable. why would you serve a selection of indian snack food on a bright red rubber sheet with a plastic hood over it? nasty. he also had the nerve to show a selection of cakes that had "bought at supermarket" written all over them, and to claim they'd been baked fresh earlier..... anyone for a pork pie?

everything he does has an air of "never mind, it will have to do do....". and pointing at food with the end of a dirty knife, or worse with a nail-bitten little finger is NOT inspiring me to buy. he was fine doing the odd guest slot, knive sharpeners, lock & lock etc but as the face of a major brand someone who looks like they work in a chip shop just doesnt cut the mustard.

malcolm should spend some time watching simon brown who also works on cooks essentials. the two couldnt be more different. simon is calm, efficient, knowledgable and best of all he looks scrupilously clean. i know which one i'd want in my kitchen.

 

[Pinkpussycat]

Didn't see this show Burlz but your description of it is very graphic and I can 'see' all the frenetic chaos going on in my mind's eye lol. Talking of unappetising nails and preparing food, the one who really makes me cringe is that tall skinny woman who appears to be wearing a burgundy coloured Irish and looks a bit witch like....I think she's called Jenny or Jilly?? She was on the EasiYo show with DF the other day and has the most revolting long hooked claws :YIKES: and together with the other one's nasty chavvy huge white extensions, it made me feel quite nauseous. Yes, I do have a thing about nails and anyone involved in the preparation of food should have short very clean nails imho. PC:

 

[barbedwire]

I caught some of this show this morning on the repeat, think you're spot on with your observations tbh. Malcolm (or Magnum PIE as he's known in my house ) does seem like a nice fella but he always looks like he's done everything on the hoof and not prepared as well as he should - plus his food does always look congealed and unappetising - but then I guess if it's been out under the studio lights for three years it will do .

Simon is great, very calm and professional, explains everything well and is a pleasure to watch - well, he wassss a pleasure to watch until I saw him spoon feeding Charlie Brook ice cream in a kind of 'here comes the plane....' type action...kinda put me off a bit now

 

[Pinkpussycat]

he wassss a pleasure to watch until I saw him spoon feeding Charlie Brook ice cream in a kind of 'here comes the plane....' type action...kinda put me off a bit now

Priceless!! I'd have paid to see that. :SUE: PC:

 

[les fritos]

just caught fading minutes of morning show to prove the bakeware is non stick he (malc)folded this piece of what can only be described as a cow pat into a scrunched up mess and said 'see its not sticking now just pop that in the dishwasher' yeah great and the cow pat straight into the bin / toilet -what a joke! there is no point having non stick cookware if the food has to be mangled like that

 

[queenie]

I think the food must be made well in advance before the products come to air,you cant cook all the stuff 'live' in a one hour programme
I think Malcolm is a nice fella and I havent noticed him looking messy to be honest and given some of the products he has to promote I think he does a good job.Never noticed his nails either but think he looks tons better than the woman with so very obvious false nails ...just imagine one of them dropping into cake mixture...nice.
She is very spooky looking to me,Malcolm is much more pleasing to the eye and a genuinely nice fella,some of the other presenters could learn a thing or two from him.
Cut the fella some slack,he's not that bad.

 

[tinaborder]

I think the food must be made well in advance before the products come to air,you cant cook all the stuff 'live' in a one hour programme
I think Malcolm is a nice fella and I havent noticed him looking messy to be honest and given some of the products he has to promote I think he does a good job.Never noticed his nails either but think he looks tons better than the woman with so very obvious false nails ...just imagine one of them dropping into cake mixture...nice.
She is very spooky looking to me,Malcolm is much more pleasing to the eye and a genuinely nice fella,some of the other presenters could learn a thing or two from him.
Cut the fella some slack,he's not that bad.

I'd say cut him some slack too! The Witch Woman Jilly is far worse with her long nails (sorry, but how does she wipe her ar*e with those?) and scary red wig - she is truly awful. Malcolm is a nice bloke!

 

[LE lover]

I'd say cut him some slack too! The Witch Woman Jilly is far worse with her long nails (sorry, but how does she wipe her ar*e with those?) and scary red wig - she is truly awful. Malcolm is a nice bloke!

she reminds me of mystic meg

 

[Almerinda]

I caught some of this show this morning on the repeat, think you're spot on with your observations tbh. Malcolm (or Magnum PIE as he's known in my house ) does seem like a nice fella but he always looks like he's done everything on the hoof and not prepared as well as he should - plus his food does always look congealed and unappetising - but then I guess if it's been out under the studio lights for three years it will do .

Simon is great, very calm and professional, explains everything well and is a pleasure to watch - well, he wassss a pleasure to watch until I saw him spoon feeding Charlie Brook ice cream in a kind of 'here comes the plane....' type action...kinda put me off a bit now

Magnum PIE, CG that made me snort out loud!!!! I am still laughing as I am writing this. How daft am I??

 

[Almerinda]

Now that I have stopped laughing....

Just wanted to say how much I hate to see the amount of food that they waste when demonstrating knives, chopping boards etc. It all gets smooshed into a messy pile and there is no way that all those vegetables and pieces of fruit will get used. Makes me cringe.

 

[Love A'kin]

Just wanted to say how much I hate to see the amount of food that they waste when demonstrating knives, chopping boards etc. It all gets smooshed into a messy pile and there is no way that all those vegetables and pieces of fruit will get used. Makes me cringe.

I'm the same. I hate wasted food. It just feels so wrong to me. ( Caused by childhood indoctrination about starving babies in Africa probably! )

The only time I ever really shout in my house is if somebody wastes food. I can't bear it.

 

[Jasper]

simon is calm, efficient, knowledgable

I agree.

and best of all he looks scrupilously clean.

I beg to differ.:tongue2:

 

[jellybaby]

I don't like Mr Harradine - he always reminds me of the sort of 'chef' that would drop something on the floor, blow it clean, and then plate it up and serve it, and then look at you like you were mad if you complained about the hair on it

 

[tvshopper]

Like most here, I'm not sure of the 'chef' credentials...he looks like the kind of bloke you see 'in store' demonstrating to the gullible the latest gadget and how it will make your like easier and save loads time but really is just plastic tat.

And that sloppy way of presenting! Now that is EXACTLY like the demonstrators you see at the Ideal Home Exhibition; of course they need to be like that cos they're trying to get through 'x' number of demos a day to shift as much stuff as possible, and you can forgive them for that, but as said here - you don't want to see it on tv.

I can rather picture him though, selling meat out the back of a white van...


tvs

 

[calico]

Like most here, I'm not sure of the 'chef' credentials...he looks like the kind of bloke you see 'in store' demonstrating to the gullible the latest gadget and how it will make your like easier and save loads time but really is just plastic tat.

And that sloppy way of presenting! Now that is EXACTLY like the demonstrators you see at the Ideal Home Exhibition; of course they need to be like that cos they're trying to get through 'x' number of demos a day to shift as much stuff as possible, and you can forgive them for that, but as said here - you don't want to see it on tv.

I can rather picture him though, selling meat out the back of a white van...


tvs

I'm sure I've heard him say he does demos at exhibitions like the Ideal World. I think a few of tv shopping channels guests go round doing them - the Bamix bloke on IW does it too.

 

[louise66]

The only problem I have with Mal - and this could be a misunderstanding on my part - is that once he said he wasn't a chef, now he says he is. But otherwise, I like him; he can be a bit OTT, but that's his job. Credit where it's due, I sent him an e mail via his own website, and received an extremely helpful and friendly response.
I much prefer him to Simon Brown; the fact that he presented in a generic sense on other shopping channels does, I feel, detract from his expertise in the cooking field, whereas Mal can be relied upon for his experience in this area.