When I am at the dentist a television hovers over the chair allowing me to distract myself from procedures. I almost always choose cooking shows. Lately instead of watching the news I have been viewing season after season of the “Great British Baking Show” with the original cast pictured above. Why on earth am I spending time looking at other people cook?
After thinking about this question for a while, I still have only a partial answer, but thought I would share what I know right now. Cooking shows are calming. Other people do the heavy lifting of grocery shopping, storage, cutting, dicing, measuring and mixing. I sit back and watch them. I imagine that I have an elf getting everything ready for me and I know I would be an outstanding cook in that situation!
Cooking shows promote a can-do attitude. Although they occasionally make mistakes or cut themselves, the cooks carry on. Curiously it doesn’t translate for me into an “I can cook this same dish.” Rather it seems to increase my general sense of optimism. I certainly need that both at the dentist and in the American political climate.
Cooking shows are utterly predictable. In the case of the “Great British Baking Show,” each week one baker will get the “star baker” award and one will leave the show. At the end of the season the three bakers left will compete for the prize. A grand picnic of family, friends and all the eliminated bakers celebrate as the winner is announced and handed a large bouquet and a glass plate. In other cooking shows each episode ends with a smiling cook and a tempting display of cooked food. I am calmed by this predictability in a country where I never know what will happen next with my “leaders.”
Having binged on cooking shows the only question left is “what’s for dinner?” Take-out maybe?
Saved By Words 
Over here, it is called The Great British Bake Off, and is immensely popular. My wife loves it!
Mary Berry, the elderly lady pictured above, also has her own cooking programmes, and she is something of a cookery institution here.
I prefer her solo shows, as she is so relaxed and natural.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b09tysvz/episodes
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks. I will look for more of her.
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Our grandson came in second in the Johnson & Wales University version of Iron Chef last year. We watched the streaming video. Restful? No way! But it was glorious fun.
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The competition shows like that don’t calm me. What a joy to have him doing so well in culinary college.
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Nathaniel loves to cook.
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Even though I’m not much of a cook, one of my favorite TV shows is Chopped. I like the judges, and I also pick up a few tips from the chefs. As far as the dentist goes, I haven’t had one yet with a TV.
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Chopped is fun, though they always go to commercials right before the lid comes off.
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Haha, I love the “take out” once in a while. when you won’t have to prepare something but just sit back and relax.
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Now all sorts of places will deliver. Really lazy of me if I went that way.
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I tell myself it’s because there is not much on TV in the summer except reruns, but Master Chef is my guilty pleasure.
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Isn’t it funny that we feel guilty over some tv choices. I wonder what we think we are supposed to be doing. Reading Chaucer?
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When I was younger I did watch cookery shows but for a very long time now I’ve avoided them. Once again it is all about celebrity; the contestants want to be celebrities too! Sorry, not my cup of tea!
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I don’t like that type at all either.
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I am a fan of cooking shows for much the same reasons as you, Elizabeth, although I don’t get the opportunity to watch them at the dentist!
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I never had the tv until the present dentist. It is very helpfully distracting.
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I don’t watch the news anymore. I used to chastise those that didn’t, now I am one of them.
Cooking shows are calming. Your right about the content being better.
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I now feel more patriotic reading history books than watching the chaos on tv.
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I find British programs over all calming Elizabeth. The Brits really get it right in that aspect.
Blessings,
Jennifer
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I get it. I have nature segments at my dentist. I have to get a crown replaced this week. I think I’ll use headphones and audible this time. Or maybe they’ll switch to different animals. I’ve memorized these.
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I would switch to audible too.
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I despise take-out so cooking is always my preference. I am a big fan of the British Baking shows.
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I am glad for a fellow follower of the British.
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Baking is very calming, Elizabeth. I bake to relieve my work stress and I remember my mom’s oncologist telling me, while she was having her treatment, that they recommend cooking and baking to cancer patients.
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That is fascinating. I hadn’t known that about cancer patients and cooking. Good advice.
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