Kitchen Man

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 719, 24 April 1953, Page 15

Kitchen Man

BOUT 15 years ago an Austrian scientist made orthodox cooks jump out of their aprons with an announcement that he had grilled a steak by radio. He put it in cold water, submitted it to ultra-short radio waves, and served it done to a turn of the knob. Man has always loved his victuals, but never before has he been so food conscious as he is today; and that is why there should be wide interest in 13 weekly five-minute broadcasts about cookingnot by short-wave but ordinary kitchen

methods-in 1YA’s Feminine Viewpoint. starting at 10.30 a.m. on Monday, April 27. The man who can gladden thousands of New Zealand stomachs by instructions on how to make all sorts of dishes, from a Cornish pasty to a Yorkshire pudding, is Philip Harben, the BBC’s bearded cook, who has demonstrated frequently before the television cameras as well as in sound, Most of us have suffered at one time or another from the guest who "just adores whipping up a little savoury," uses every ingredient in the pantry and every utensil in the kitchen, and leaves us to fix up the mess. Philip Harben’s reaction to this sort of thing would appear to be one of strong disapproval, for, he says, neatness is vital in a cook. Harben, who looks as much like Burl as Ives, is an example of a man who elected to make his hobby his work. What gives his broadcasts their distinetion is his blend of original ideas, complete mastery of kitchen technique and a spice of showmanship that turns instruction into entertainment. He is the son of Mary Jerrold and the late Hubert Harben, both well-known names on the London stage, and his sister is Joan Harben ("Mona Lott" of Itma). His careet hag been a mixture of kitchen and studio. After working as a stage manager he became interested in photography and then went into films on the direction side. In 1938 he started out as a caterer and cook, and for a time was experimental kitchen supervisor — to BOAC. He now runs his own industrial catering business as well as demonstrating his kitchen hints to British listeners and viewers. ;