Cooking show
History
History
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Until the 1940s, most cooking shows were performed on the radio. The first radio cooking show in the United States, *The Betty Crocker Cooking School of the Air*, debuted in 1924 and featured the fictional character [Betty Crocker](/wiki/Betty_Crocker "Betty Crocker"), voiced by [Agnes White Tizard](/wiki/Agnes_White_Tizard "Agnes White Tizard").

### United Kingdom

One of the first television cooking shows, *[Cook's Night Out](/wiki/Cook%27s_Night_Out "Cook's Night Out")*, aired on the [BBC](/wiki/BBC "BBC") on 21 January 1937\. [Marcel Boulestin](/wiki/Marcel_Boulestin "Marcel Boulestin"), who became famous in the English\-speaking world for his cookery books on French cuisine, demonstrated the preparation of an omelet as part of the 15\-minute program. *Cookery*, which was hosted by [Philip Harben](/wiki/Philip_Harben "Philip Harben") and aired from 1946 to 1951, is considered by [Guinness World Records](/wiki/Guinness_World_Records "Guinness World Records") to be the first cooking show on television. On the show's debut, Harben demonstrated the preparation of lobster *[vols\-au\-vents](/wiki/Vol-au-vent "Vol-au-vent")*.

### United States

In 1940, *Sunday Evening Supper* was produced by [Edward Padula](/wiki/Edward_Padula "Edward Padula") for the [NBC](/wiki/NBC "NBC") station [W2XBS](/wiki/WNBC "WNBC"). *[I Love to Eat](/wiki/I_Love_to_Eat "I Love to Eat")* was a [live television](/wiki/Live_television "Live television") series hosted by [James Beard](/wiki/James_Beard "James Beard") that aired on NBC from 1946 to 1947\. In 1963, *[The French Chef](/wiki/The_French_Chef "The French Chef")*, one of the first cooking shows in the United States, was launched, and it was hosted by [Julia Child](/wiki/Julia_Child "Julia Child"), co\-author of the cookbook *[Mastering the Art of French Cooking](/wiki/Mastering_the_Art_of_French_Cooking "Mastering the Art of French Cooking")*. In 1973, the cooking show *Frugal Gourmet* was launched on [KTPS\-TV](/wiki/KBTC-TV "KBTC-TV"), and was hosted by [Jeff Smith](/wiki/Jeff_Smith_%28chef%29 "Jeff Smith (chef)"), a chef from [Seattle](/wiki/Seattle "Seattle"). In 1993, [Food Network](/wiki/Food_Network "Food Network") launched as a [cable channel](/wiki/Cable_channel "Cable channel") devoted primarily to cooking shows and other programming relating to food.

### Australia

*[The Chef Presents](/wiki/The_Chef_Presents "The Chef Presents")*, one of the first cooking shows in Australia, ran from 1957 to 1959 and was hosted by Willi Koeppen. *[The Jean Bowring Show](/wiki/The_Jean_Bowring_Show "The Jean Bowring Show")*, a cooking show aimed at women, aired from 1957 to 1960\.

### Brazil

The first cooking show on [Brazilian television](/wiki/Television_in_Brazil "Television in Brazil"), *Veja como se cozinha* (English: "Watch How It's Cooked"), first aired from 1951 to 1958 with Marialice Prestes as its host, and then again from 1961 to 1963 featuring host [Ofélia Anunciato](/wiki/Of%C3%A9lia_Anunciato "Ofélia Anunciato"). [Helena Sangirardi](/wiki/Helena_Sangirardi "Helena Sangirardi") hosted *Sirva\-se de bons pratos* (English: "Help Yourself to Good Dishes") in 1956 and *A Alegria de Cozinhar* (English: "The Joy of Cooking") in 1957\. *[Cozinha Maravilhosa da Ofélia](/wiki/Cozinha_Maravilhosa_da_Of%C3%A9lia "Cozinha Maravilhosa da Ofélia")* (English: "Ofélia's Wonderful Cuisine") was hosted by [Ofélia Anunciato](/wiki/Of%C3%A9lia_Ramos_Anunciato "Ofélia Ramos Anunciato") and aired from 1968 to 1998, becoming the longest\-running Brazilian cooking show.

### France

In 1953, [Jean d'Arcy](/wiki/Jean_d%27Arcy_%28t%C3%A9l%C3%A9vision%29 "Jean d'Arcy (télévision)"), a French television director, was inspired by a cooking show in [West Germany](/wiki/West_Germany "West Germany") and brought the idea to France, resulting in the debut of the show *Les Recettes de M. X* (English: "The Recipes of Mr. X"). Hosted by comedian [Georges Adet](/wiki/Georges_Adet "Georges Adet"), it was the first cooking show to air in France, starting in 1953 and ending a year later. *[Art et magie de la cuisine](/wiki/Art_et_magie_de_la_cuisine "Art et magie de la cuisine")* (English: "Art and Magic of the Kitchen"), hosted by chef [Raymond Oliver](/wiki/Raymond_Oliver "Raymond Oliver"), was another one of the first cooking shows to air in France, running from 1954 to 1967\.

### Germany

On 20 February 1953, *Clemens Wilmenrod bittet zu Tisch* (English: "Clemens Wilmenrod Invites You to the Table"), the first cooking show in then\-[West Germany](/wiki/West_Germany "West Germany"), was broadcast, with television chef [Clemens Wilmenrod](/wiki/Clemens_Wilmenrod "Clemens Wilmenrod") presenting recipes for foods such as [Rumtopf](/wiki/Rumtopf "Rumtopf") and [Toast Hawaii](/wiki/Toast_Hawaii "Toast Hawaii").

### Japan

In 1953, , one of the first cooking shows in Japan, was broadcast, with Hatsuko Kuroda presenting [chicken salad](/wiki/Chicken_salad "Chicken salad").

### New Zealand

[Graham Kerr](/wiki/Graham_Kerr "Graham Kerr") was one of the first celebrity chefs to appear on [New Zealand television](/wiki/Television_in_New_Zealand "Television in New Zealand"), when the medium was [introduced to the country in 1960](/wiki/Television_in_New_Zealand%23History "Television in New Zealand#History"). Kerr was later followed by [Alison Holst](/wiki/Alison_Holst "Alison Holst"), [Des Britten](/wiki/Des_Britten "Des Britten"), and [Hudson and Halls](/wiki/Hudson_and_Halls "Hudson and Halls").


Can cooking shows be used as a tool for social change or education?