Tuesday 15 September 2009

Never mind Swayze: Keith Floyd's dead

Every time I see a celebrity chef on TV, I mourn the absence of Keith Floyd from our screens, and now his comeback is indefinitely postponed due to death. He was a drunken, rude, bossy curmudgeon, on-screen and off. He didn't care about anything other than food and drink, and particularly rejected the tired old conventions of TV cuisine. He had a massive ego and a love of violently arguing with pretty much anyone involved in his career, but none of this matters, because his show consisted of demonstrating that fine food involves love, fun, wine, decent ingredients and passion.

3 comments:

Dan said...

Very sad news indeed - though perhaps unsurprising given his lifestyle.

Strange that he died on the same day that Channel 4 showed a programme about him. It was on last night at about 10.00, and I presume it will be online somewhere. He was interviewed at his previous home in Avignon by Keith Allen. Now Keith Allen isn't to everyone's taste perhaps, though he did get a good rapport going with Floyd that other people may not have managed. It was sad to see Floyd looking so decrepit for a man in his mid-60s, yet he was still pretty sharp, and at one stage referred to most people involved in television cookery programmes as 'cunts'. Gawd bless 'im.

Kate said...

I agree, he was a legend who will be sadly missed. I actually have last's night's programme waiting to be watched on my DVD recorder, so can burn copies, if anyone wants one, for a small fee!

Dan said...

Even more bizarrely - I heard on Radio 4 news that Floyd was actually watching the documentary about himself when he died.