Graham Kerr’s Gathering Place,” the newest show from a veteran of TV cooking, has all the trappings you’d expect from a “Galloping Gourmet” who used to flourish a ladle one minute, then leap over a couch the next. In addition to the requisite modern kitchen, there’s a grand piano (and who would want a kitchen without one?) and a cozy dining nook for enjoying the finished dish.
Kerr is as jaunty as ever and, as in his previous programs of late, he emphasizes healthful eating. “Gathering Place” focuses on comfort foods and finding creative ways to give these traditionally fat-laden dishes reasonable counts on calories, fat and the like. Examples include hoppin’ John, Brunswick stew and jambalaya.
Kerr is brave enough to spend most of the show actually cooking. He risks a bit of tedium (no way is chopping potatoes ever going to make exciting TV) for the educational payoff: By the end of a program, viewers should be able to make the dish.
Kerr’s guests, a rotating lineup of chefs, food experts and representatives from various branches of the health-care field, also are a plus. On one show, the discussion focuses on body image and eating habits–pertinent if uncommon topics for any cooking series.
We have one gripe. We could do with less of that public television specialty: shots of the Awed and/or Approving and/or Thoroughly Entertained Audience Member.
———-
“Graham Kerr’s Gathering Place” airs at noon Saturdays on WYCC-Ch. 20. (Note: The station may appear on a different channel with some cable services.)