For their infamous reputation of having a rather average food culture, the Brits sure do have a lot of celebrity chefs. In a way, their lack of enthusiasm in the kitchen is probably the main reason for this. These chefs started their TV careers by showing off their own unique style of cooking on screen, but have now evolved into culinary evangelists, striving to show the British public that they can cook and eat well. There is also this new wave of social awareness we are now seeing more and more in these programs, especially within the last few years. It's not just about the food these days, it's about where it comes from and how it gets delivered to your plate. > continue reading

Working from home can be a monotonous task. Unless the project is amazingly compelling, I find it hard to keep motivated on any design task. There is however one method that usually keeps me going and that is having some kitsch TV show running in the background. A lot of people work to music; I use bad television to do the trick. This technique allows me to zone-out during most of the program and stay focused on my work, while at the same time being distracted periodically with some tasteless entertainment (thus breaking the monotony previously mentioned). CSI Miami is pretty good; Walker, Texas Ranger is even better; I foolishly tried Law & Order: Special Victims Unit but could never get any work done; but for the last couple of months I've been totally fixated on a French program called Intervilles. > continue reading