Food fight!

Channel 4's bold but confusing food season has begun: can't wait.

Bold, because the adverts have been ace. Confusing, because they make the fatal ad-land mistake of leaving the consumer in considerable doubt as to what is being promoted.

But let me focus on the positives.

The lead advert has Gordon, Hugh, Jaime and Heston limbering up for the "food fight".

It has them as caricatures of themselves: Heston the highbrow, Jaime the cheeky cheffy chappy, Gordon the grump, Hugh the holistic hippie.

We see Hugh timing Jaime's chopping skills, Gordon running over Jaime's moped with his SUV and Heston refusing to wear anything but a white NASA developed suit.

It confirms that celebrity chefs have now become sketch show characters.

This is nothing new: Fanny Craddock was truly a stranger than fiction kind of character.

Then there was the boisterous enthusiasm of Keith Floyd, seen here plugging the greatest hits of the Stranglers.



Channel 4 will need more characters next year and there is plenty to choose from.

They could have Anthony zipping up his flies, Delia cooking mildew wearing a sack, or even Nigella, as Private Eye's remote controller naughtily put it, presenting like she has been given "porn star" to act out in a game of charades.