Wednesday's Best TV: The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Chef's Table and Station 19

Thursday's Best TV: Where having her cake means hard graft and craft — and you’ll sure want to eat it
K C Bailey/Netflix

Chef's Table: Pastry - Netflix

A word of warning before we begin: do not press play while hungry. The show begins with a languid zoom towards a plate of freshly baked cookies, piled in stacks five high. Then, as the opening credits roll, a series of near pornographic slow-mos accompanied by Vivaldi: perfect spheres of soft dough, thick layers of sponge slathered with caramelised nuts, smooth white peaks of cream, crumbling biscuit. It means just one thing: Chef’s Table is back on Netflix. Hurrah!

The award-winning documentary series provides an intimate portrait of the world’s greatest chefs, delving into their kitchens and lives to give a glimpse of the drive and creative flair it takes to be a culinary genius. Even if the nearest you get to cooking is opening the Deliveroo app on a hungover Sunday morning, it is entrancing viewing.

The fourth “volume”, which dropped in full earlier this week, is the first themed offering: an ode to all things pastry. Episode one is the only one of the four which stars a woman — a fact met with howls of outrage when the series listings were announced early this year — but what a woman she is.

Baker: Christina Tosi at work at Milk Bar
K C Bailey/Netflix

Christina “force of nature” Tosi is the mastermind of New York institution Milk Bar, a bakery which has spawned an empire and created a pop culture phenomenon. In looks, she is your typical all-American girl, attractive and bright with gleaming blonde hair and perfectly tanned skin. But in recounting her story Tosi reveals a steely determination and terrifying work ethic. “I worked in basements for a decade before I did anything in my life that anyone cares about,” she says. “I did what you need to do to get ahead: show up earlier than everyone else, and leave later than anyone else.”

The story is pure American dream: work hard, win big. Her journey from small-town to world domination is told in a series of chapters, themed around one of her now iconic creations. In Birthday Cake we learn that her family and Virginia home mean everything to Tosi but come to understand why she left it all behind for the bright lights of a lonely New York existence. In Crack Pie, the moment that her flair for the unusual was accidentally revealed for the first time, it become apparent that Tosi’s brilliance lies in her willingness to accept the imperfect. Then, at last, the story of the joyful Cereal Milk Panna Cotta that irrevocably and marvellously changed the course of her life forever.

At work: Chef Christina Tosi in the kitchen
K C Bailey/Netflix

It’s a neat and engaging technique, and watching Tosi prepare each dish is truly a masterclass. But what makes this episode particularly appealing is how it stands apart from the others in the Chef’s Table stable. Compared to other kitchens, there is very little ego on show here. In fact, at one significant moment, Tosi has to be tempted out of a back office role by her mentor with an incontestable deadline. Although her skill set and training is faultless, she is quick to attribute success to others: “It literally took a village to get Milk Bar open”.

Her creations are wacky but real, with an emphasis on food for enjoyment and comfort rather than show. It’s playful cooking.

What becomes clear is how much love goes into each of her desserts — each is made with genuine care, and a hefty dose of humour. But crucially, we’re all in on the joke, together. “You don’t need to have a fine dining multi-course menu to indulge,” she says. “We’re here for you.”

@lucyh_j

Pick of the day

Station 19 - Sky Living, 10pm

The second spin-off from hospital-based Grey’s Anatomy is an action-drama focusing on the lives of the women and men of Seattle’s Fire Station 19.

The lead character of Andrea “Andy” Herrera (Jaina Lee Ortiz) was introduced via a crossover episode of the long-running show.

Here she is plunged directly into the heart of the action when her father, Captain Pruitt (Miguel Sandoval), is asked to name his successor.

By rank, Andy’s fearless boyfriend Jack (Grey Damon) should be promoted, but Andy is the natural leader of the station.

Station 19: Jaina Lee Ortiz as Andy Herrera
Sky

Her ex Ryan (Alberto Frezza) offers words of encouragement and she puts her hat in the ring, while also trying to re-adjust her relationships with the three important men in her life. This tension between the demands of the job and the strain it puts on her relationships looks likely to be the driving force of the show.

There are continuing links with Grey’s Anatomy, too. The fire station is just three blocks from Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital — handy for Ben Warren (Jason George), who swaps his scrubs for a firefighter’s uniform.

Screen time

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story - BBC2, 9pm

Tom Rob Smith’s re-imagining of the life story of Versace’s killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) has now reversed back into his childhood.

This penultimate episode draws parallels with Death of a Salesman and even Apocalypse Now in its bid to find a rationale for Cunanan’s life of violence. It doesn’t quite succeed, as it’s hard to imagine what childhood humiliations might excuse the killer’s actions. It’s best viewed as an essay on the darker side of the American Dream.

So, while Versace’s desire to become a fashion designer is encouraged by his mother, Cunanan’s father Modesto (Jon Jon Briones) is a violent liar, a Filipino immigrant to the US who — for a while at least — manages to con his way to wealth.

International Football Factories - London Live, 9pm

A bit of the old ultraviolence inspired the Juventus ultras to name themselves the Drughi — the Droogs from A Clockwork Orange providing them with style and viciousness icons. You’d forgive Danny Dyer for claiming his gulliver’s a bit off and he couldn’t make it to work, but he continues an Italy tour that’s certainly no Roman holiday.

Spooks - London Live, 10pm

You can tell agent Ros (Hermione Norris) is still in the first flush of enthusiasm for her new job, as she’s prepared to go that extra mile to impress her bosses. Give it a year or two and it’s doubtful she’d be so keen to be held hostage in a foreign embassy.

That said, we can’t be sure that Ros views her situation as a hostage in the Saudi embassy while working undercover with the Saudi royal family to be prime material for contract negotiations with her line manager. Especially as she might not survive the siege.

Isolated and with no reception on her phone, Ros struggles to inform her colleagues about the identity of the gunmen, who it turns out are part of a far-greater deception…

Box fresh

Humans - All 4

The third series of the drama about sexy synthetic robots in a near-future Britain is due to arrive next month. Nashville’s Sam Palladio returns to the cast alongside Gemma Chan. In the meantime, series one and two are available as box sets, and show the android “synths” beginning to develop consciousness, which is never a good idea.

Catch up

On My Block - Netflix

The streaming network’s latest cult hit was released in March, and has done enough to earn a second series. The 10-episode drama follows the school life of a group of teens in inner-city LA, and worked its way to a cliffhanger. But there’s bad news for the coming-of-age drama Everything Sucks, which has been cancelled.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in