Food File - Series 4

Record ID: 120129
  • Title: Food File - Series 4
  • Date: 13th April 1995
  • Summary: This week food to eat, and food that's been eaten; Comedian Jeremy Hardy asks if the idea of colonic irrigation should be flushed down the loo and with 1995 marking the 100th anniversary of the Irish potato famine, Dishing It Up looks at the spud's future, again threatened by blight. Modern royals favour aerobics and alternative therapies to hunting, shooting and fishing. It is rumoured the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York may benefit from having a plastic pipe stuck up their bottom, and a large amount of water swooshed through their colon, but does it really do any good? Jeremy Hardy meets a colonic irrigator from Hampstead who argues for douching out one's derriere. She blames bad ecology in the bowel for head to toe ill health, everything from dandruff to athlete's foot. Jeremy is concerned colonic irrigation may have side-benefits for the more sexually imaginative patient, but she insists such visitors to her treatment centre are the exception, not the rule. Only half convinced of its benefits, Jeremy visits dietary expert, Michelle Berriedale Johnson, who thinks it may be worth a try but it is not a miracle cure. Still wondering if he can rid himself of a badly digested wotsit from 1975 he returns to Hampstead, where a speculum, and some fearsome plastic tubing, help make up his mind. Dr Jeremy Cherfas, passionate potato lover, argues spuds are not dull in this week's Dishing It Up item. Some are sophisticated continentals, some are national treasures. Not only do different varieties have different tastes and textures - Irish lumpers for the eponymous stew, Belle de Fontenay for mayonnaise-coated potato salad - they also come in various colours including red, white and blue for a patriotic plate of mash. There are over 3000 known varieties of potato, but only three are commonly grown in Britain. Such a narrow range is vulnerable to disease. If there were greater biodiversity a blight would not knock out all the species grown. Richard Massey of Marshall's Seeds explains the problems of launching a new variety on a large scale. The problem is bureaucratic and economic. Micropropogation is a cheap way of producing tubers from scrapings of plant material grown in petri dishes, obviating the need to produce approved seeds. Charles Campion's campaign to Save Our Shops (SOS) continues this week with a trip to a long established greengrocer J. Pickles in Bingley, West Yorkshire has been established since 1820 but most of its customers are elderly and the shop is struggling to survive. World in a Stew comes from Portugal. Although the long coastline provides an abundance of fresh fish, salt cod is a popular ingredient. Amanda Ursell meets Edite Viera, author of The Taste of Portugal, demonstrates how this convenience food can make delicious stew along with coriander, tomato, onions and potato. They also wash down Portuguese custard tarts with mandarin liquor.
  • Description:FOURTH SERIES OF THIS VERY SUCCESSFUL INVESTIGATIVE AND INFORMATIVE FOOD SERIES.
  • Broadcaster:Channel 4
  • Collection: Channel 4
  • Genre:Documentary and Factual
  • Producer:Stephens Kerr Ltd.
  • Programme Episode:Episode 5
  • Transmission Date:13/04/1995
  • Rights:On Request
  • Decade: 1990s
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