Items6The creator’s order
  1. 1Barefoot Contessa (2002)Barefoot Contessa (2002) 6.6/10 on IMDbFirst aired 30 Nov 2002Ina Garten treats a meal as an occasion the cook should enjoy too, and her Food Network series from the East Hampton barn is the best place to learn which jobs can be done before the doorbell rings. Her famous line that store-bought is fine gives permission to buy the bread or the ice cream and…0
  2. 2Nigella Feasts (2006)Nigella Feasts (2006) 8.1/10 on IMDbFirst aired 1 Oct 2006Nigella Lawson favours generous food and an approach to entertaining that leaves room for appetite and improvisation. The portable feasts and informal meals are particularly useful when everyone will not sit down at once. Take the confidence and practical ideas; the richer dishes still need a menu…0
  3. 3Nadiya's Time to Eat (2019)Nadiya's Time to Eat (2019) 7.2/10 on IMDbFirst aired 15 Jul 2019Nadiya Hussain uses shortcuts, batch cooking and the freezer to reduce repeated work. It is not primarily a dinner-party series, but that makes it helpful for getting routine food out of the way before a gathering. Start here when time is the limiting ingredient and a complicated showpiece would…0
  4. 4Mary Berry Cooks (2014)Mary Berry Cooks (2014) 6.7/10 on IMDbFirst aired 3 Mar 2014Menus are the attraction: Mary Berry builds episodes around occasions such as a kitchen supper, a Sunday roast or afternoon tea. Seeing several dishes considered together is more useful for hosting than collecting unrelated favourites. Choose it when the real problem is deciding what belongs on the…0
  5. 5Delia Smith's Christmas (1990)Delia Smith's Christmas (1990)First aired 15 Nov 1990The six-part 1990 BBC series that taught a generation of British cooks to plan Christmas backwards from the meal. Delia Smith is calm, methodical and unflashy, and the companion book's famous timetable for the last 36 hours before lunch is still the template for a stress-free big day. Some…0
  6. 6Jamie's Easy Christmas (2022)Jamie's Easy Christmas (2022)First aired 6 Dec 2022Jamie Oliver organises this 2022 festive series around accessible Christmas dishes and useful preparation. The seasonal focus makes it a good place to think about a meal with several moving parts. Borrow the planning approach for other gatherings, while treating turkey and other precise cooking…0