Big Cook, Little Cook
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Big Cook, Little Cook is a television series for nursery school-aged children broadcast on BBC television channels (particularly the CBeebies digital television channel). The programme is set in the kitchen of a café, with two principal characters, Big Cook Ben and Little Cook Small. Ben is a full-sized adult, but Small is only a few inches tall (along the lines of Tom Thumb) and rides around on his magical spoon.
The format of a programme generally includes a visit to the café by a nursery rhyme or fairy tale character (such as Little Miss Muffet or Humpty Dumpty). Little Cook tells a story about the visitor, and then they decide to cook the visitor an appropriate meal from Big's Cook's recipe book. One vital ingredient is usually missing from the kitchen cupboards, which gives Little Cook a chance to fly out of the kitchen on his spoon to retrieve the missing ingredient (leading to a video insert of a farm or a factory where the missing ingredient is made or packaged). Activities within the kitchen, such as washing up and tidying up, are accompanied by regular song and dance routines.
Both chefs act in a ludicrously expansive and overblown style, but the show seems intended to encourage children to take an interest in cooking.
The actors, Dan Wright and Stephen Marsh, perform in a stand-up comedy double act, Electric Forecast.
In 2005 they also featured in commercials for Betfair, the broadcaster Channel 4's official sponsor, during the Ashes cricket series, being shown as two-part advertisements at the beginning and end of each break.
Wright and Marsh also have a new series on Sky One called Crash Test Dummies in which they star.
Recent trailers for the programme on the BBC have parodied the Marks & Spencer food advert, featuring the voice of Dervla Kirwan.
Some of the aerial shots as little cook is flying is over the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire.
[edit] Catchphrases
Ben: "Remember to get your grown-up helper to do this bit for you because the oven is hot, hot, hot!"
Small: "Have you cleaned the surfaces?"
Ben: "Yes! Have you washed your hands?"
Small: "Yes!"
Both: "All clean and ready to cook!"
Features several sexual inuendos/suggestive language within the dialogue.
[edit] External links
- CBeebies - Big Cook, Little Cook at bbc.co.uk
- Electric Forecast at Chortle
- Richard Herring's blog on "Big Cook, Little Cook"
