‘THE DOCTOR WHO COOKBOOK’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Let’s Get Cooking with ‘Doctor Who’ Star Reciepes

Sarah Sutton thanked me for the Remy I gave her at ‘Bedford Who Charity Con 6’ in October 2021. 😀

In the Season 23 Blu-ray box set of ‘Doctor Who’ containing ‘The Trial of a Time Lord’, there’s a special feature on Disc 6 called ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. This has Toby Hadoke meeting up with classic ‘Doctor Who’ stars to tackle tasty recipes featured in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’. 😀

Toby met with Janet Fielding and Sarah Sutton, Frazer Hines, Terry Molloy, and Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. I was excited to see ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ and its three bonus recipes in the Season 23 Blu-ray box set. India Fisher herself narrated ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. 🙂

As well as playing Charley Pollard in the Big Finish audios of ‘Doctor Who’, India Fisher is also the narrator for the BBC cookery TV show ‘MasterChef’. Therefore, it’s rather fitting that she should be narrating ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ items featured inside the Season 23 Blu-ray box set.

I was particularly excited to see Sarah Sutton involved with ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ items, as she’s of course my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ companion, both on TV and in the Big Finish audios. It was a lot of fun to see Sarah and Janet interacting with Toby Hadoke on certain recipes. 😀

After seeing ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ items on Blu-ray, I became fascinated about ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ itself. I asked to have it for Christmas in 2019. Thankfully, my Dad was able to get it for me that year. Owning ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ in my house is a real treasure indeed.

‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ is by Gary Downie. For those unaware, Gary Downie was an assistant floor manager and a production manager on the classic ‘Doctor Who’ series. He was also producer John Nathan-Turner’s partner during the making of ‘Doctor Who’ and when this book was published.

The book was first published in hardcover on the 16th of May 1985 and was later published in paperback in 1986. I received the hardcover version for Christmas in 2019. It was nice to have, especially when wanting to cook lasagnes, based on Sarah Sutton’s fantastic recipe in the cookbook.

The cookbook was especially handy for me during the Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2021, as I got to cook not only lasagnes, but also Dalek vegetable soup and I attempted Robert Holmes’ corned beef hash. 😀 I also cooked spaghetti bologneses and referred to Sarah Sutton’s lasagne recipe for help (more on this later).

It helped to cheer me up during the turbulent time that we went through in 2020. Later, at the ‘Bedford Who Charity Con 6’ in October 2021, I met up with Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding and had the cookbook signed by them. This, I’m especially pleased about, since they’re my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ stars.

At ‘BWCC6’, I gave Sarah a cuddly toy of Remy from ‘Ratatouille’, one of her favourite films and is coincidentally about cooking. 😀 Sarah was pleased that I gave her Remy and she even wrote a “Thank you” message when she signed the cookbook. 🙂 Something I’ll always treasure in owning the book. 🙂

Whilst ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ items are enjoyable in the Season 23 Blu-ray box set, they don’t present the book in its entirety. Therefore, in this review, I hope to share what ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ offers and what recipes there are by various classic ‘Doctor Who’ TV stars. 🙂

Throughout the cookbook, there are illustrations drawn by Gail Bennett. She happens to be a fan artist from America and even provided artwork for the ‘Find Your Fate’ series of interactive novels back in the 1980s. The illustrations are very good, since they provide a quirky aspect to the cookbook.

The cookbook of course is divided into sections. There’s a Soups section, an Appetisers and Savouries section, a Main Courses section divided into Fish Dishes, Meat Dishes, Poultry and Game and Vegetarian Dishes. There’s also a Desserts section and a Drinks section in this book.

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SOUPS

For ‘Soups’, there’s Vegetable Soup with Dalek Krotons, a recipe by Patrick Troughton who played the Second Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’. I’ve had a go at making vegetable soup. It’s quite a straight-forward dish to put together and it’s really tasty. The Dalek Krotons were a challenge to make though.

Other soups include Chlodnik (Summer Beetroot Soup), a recipe by Rula Lenska who played Styles in ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’. There’s Courgette (Zucchini) Soup, a recipe by Jon Pertwee the Third Doctor, and there’s Vickissoise Soup, a recipe by Maureen O’Brien who played Vicki in the TV series.

There’s Borscht, a soup recipe by Nicholas Courtney, who played Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, and there’s Nerys’s ‘Kinda’ Soup, a recipe by Nerys Hughes, who played Todd in ‘Kinda’ as well as Rhys’ mum Brenda in the ‘Torchwood’ episode ‘Something Borrowed’. Get the ‘Kinda’/’kind-of’ pun yet? 🙂

The producer John Nathan-Turner also provides his Hawaiian Soup recipe in the cookbook. And there’s the South Western Gallifrey Corn Soup recipe by Ron Katz of the ‘Doctor Who’ Fan Club of America. Producer JNT went to a lot of ‘Doctor Who’ in conventions in America in their heyday.

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APPETISERS AND SAVOURIES

Moving on to the ‘Appetisers and Savouries’ section, we have a Hot Potato Salad recipe provided by producer Verity Lambert. There’s a Chicken Mousse recipe provided by Richard Hurndall, who played the First Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’. It’s good Richard Hurndall gave his recipe for the book.

Janet Fielding, who plays Tegan in the series, provides her Fielding’s Favourite Soufflé recipe. Makes me think of Clara ‘the Soufflé girl’ Oswald when I think of that. 😀 I chatted to Janet about her soufflé recipe at ‘BWCC6’, as it wasn’t in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ for Season 23’s Blu-ray box set.

There’s also the Kipper of Traken recipe provided by writer Johnny Byrne. My Dad likes having kippers, but I don’t know if he would want me to cook Kipper of Traken for him. This is especially when Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Toby Hadoke put it together and it didn’t look very appetising.

Valentine Dyall the Black Guardian provides his recipe Moules à la Gardienne Noire, which is a shellfish dish, I believe. There’s also the Time Lady Tzaziki recipe, provided by Mary Tamm, who played the first Romana in ‘Doctor Who’. Some of these dishes sound rich and maybe aren’t for me.

Philip Latham, who played President Borusa in ‘The Five Doctors’, provides his Borusa Peppers recipe in the cookbook (Seriously?! 😀 ), and there’s Stratford Johns, who played Monarch in ‘Four to Doomsday’, providing his Frogs’ Legs à la Provençale recipe. Yeah, he had to provide a ‘frogs’ recipe. 😀

Janet Fielding also provides her Fielding’s Ocker Balls recipe, which was presented in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ on Blu-ray. Mark Strickson, who plays Turlough, provides his One O’Clock Salad recipe to the cookbook, and there’s Ingrid Pitt providing a couple of Doctor Solow’s Specials. 🙂

Dr. Solow was a character Ingrid Pitt played in ‘Warriors of the Deep’. The recipes include Blinis, which are thin crepe-like pancakes that can have caviar or salmon on it, and there’s a Razumovski Salad recipe. Director Matthew Robinson also gives us his Doctor Who’s Soft Planet Landing recipe.

There’s a recipe by Adrienne Corri, who played Mena in ‘The Leisure Hive’, which is Mena’s Tachyonic Sauce. I hope it won’t split me up into two should I ever try out the tachyonic sauce. 😀 The director Fiona Cumming also provides us with her Snakedance Starter recipe in the cookbook. 🙂

David Banks, who plays the Cyber Leader in ‘Doctor Who’, gives us his Cyberleader Special for Iron Replenishment (which is High in Iron Content apparently). It could explain why he says “Excellent!” a lot. 😀 Frazer Hines, who plays Jamie McCrimmon, provides us his Mushrooms McCrimmon recipe.

Martin Jarvis, who’s been in ‘The Web Planet’, ‘Invasion of the Dinosaurs’ and ‘Vengeance on Varos’, gives us his Croque de Governor or Croque Provençale recipe. Lalla Ward, who portrays the second Romana in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us her E.T.T. (Extra Terrestrial Terrine) recipe in the cookbook. 🙂

Terry Molloy, who plays Davros in the series, provides his Davros Dalek Dip recipe, and there’s Nabil Shaban, who plays Sil in ‘Doctor Who’ and provides his Sil’s Slimy Slurp recipe, which is Frogs’ Legs in Seaweed Sauce. I wonder if Sil has ever visited Paris in his life and enjoyed the frogs’ legs there. 😀

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MAIN COURSES
‘FISH DISHES’

We move on to the ‘Main Courses’ section and we start off with ‘Fish Dishes’. First, there’s a Salmon in Pastry recipe by Roger Delgado, who played the Master in ‘Doctor Who’, provided by his wife Kismet. There’s a Remus Pie recipe, provided by Paul and Andrew Conrad from ‘The Twin Dilemma’.

Or is it Gavin and Andrew Conrad according to the story’s cast list? 😀 There’s the Doctor’s Temptation recipe provided by Colin Baker, who plays the Sixth Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’, and there’s A Master Prawn Curry recipe provided by Anthony Ainley, who also played the Master in the series.

Nigel Stock, who played Professor Hayter in ‘Time-Flight’, provides us with his Hot Spinach and Prawns recipe in the cookbook. There’s also a Meddling Monkfish Chowder recipe by William Hartnell, provided by his widow Heather, I believe. Funny his recipe should involve the Meddling Monk.

There’s a Dalek Bake with Exterminate Topping recipe provided by John Scott Martin, who was a veteran Dalek operator in ‘Doctor Who’. And there’s a recipe called Sole Suzanne provided by Faith Brown, who played Flast, one of the Cyrons (which one, I don’t know) in ‘Attack of the Cybermen’. 🙂

Mat Irvine, a visual effects designer in the classic ‘Doctor Who’ series, gives his Pirate Paella recipe in the cookbook. John Stratton – yes, the actor who played Shockeye of the Quawncing Grig in ‘The Two Doctors’ – gives us his Coley Anorexique recipe. Thankfully, it’s a fish dish, not a human dish. 😀

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‘MEAT DISHES’

In the ‘Meat Dishes’ section, there is a recipe supposedly provided by Nicola Bryant, who plays Peri in ‘Doctor Who’, which is Hamburgers in Mushroom Sauce. I don’t think that would be a recipe provided by Nicola, considering these are beef hamburgers and she’s known for being a vegetarian.

Heather Hartnell, William Hartnell’s wife, provides us her own recipe of Beef Mustardis in the cookbook. 😀 Peter Purves, who plays Steven Taylor in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us with his Doctor Ooh’s Fillet Steak recipe (Seriously? Doctor Ooh?! 😀 ) and there’s Mark Strickson’s Turlough’s Rolls recipe.

Sarah Sutton, who plays Nyssa in ‘Doctor Who’, is the highlight for me in this cookbook with her Lasagne recipe. I must have made Sarah’s lasagne recipe countless times and still enjoy making them. I showed Sarah photos of my lasagnes when I saw her at ‘BWCC6’ in 2021 and she was very impressed.

Nicholas Courtney provides us with his Steak Diane recipe, Fiona Cumming provides us with her Castrovalvan Kebabs recipe and Ingrid Pitt provides us with her Zraza recipe. Brian Hodgson, who worked at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop, provides his Gammon Gallifrey recipe in the cookbook. 🙂

Lynda Baron, who sang in ‘The Gunfighters’, played Captain Wrack in ‘Enlightenment’ and played Val in ‘Closing Time’, provides us with her Wrack of Lamb recipe (Seriously? ‘Wrack’ of Lamb? 😀 ). Once again, Terry Molloy again provides us fans with his Davros’ Ribs of Revenge in the cookbook. 🙂

Nerys Hughes gives us her ‘Todd’ in the Hole recipe (I’m giving up commenting on the puns now 😀 ) and writer Robert Holmes provides us with his Corned Beef Hash recipe. I had a go at making Robert Holmes’ corned beef hash recipe. It didn’t go very well. 😀 I tried my mum’s corned beef recipe instead.

Writer Terrance Dicks gives us his Shobogan Stew recipe and writer Johnny Byrne gives us his Spiced Rib of Baanjxx recipe. There’s also Mouffatta’s Moussaka recipe provided by director Peter Moffatt, and there’s the Shockeye Moussaka recipe provided by…John Stratton. Oh dear! A fleshy recipe! 😀

Sarah Hellings, who directed ‘The Mark of the Rani’, provides her Rani Steak Casserole recipe. That’s three times I’ve come across Sarah Hellings so far. First ‘The Mark of the Rani’, then ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’, and the ‘Location Location Location’ documentary in the Season 22 Blu-ray box set.

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‘POULTRY AND GAME’

Going into the ‘Poultry and Game’ section, there’s a Lucknow Spiced Chicken recipe provided by director Waris Hussein, and a Duck à l’Orange recipe provided by Leonard Sachs, who played Borusa in ‘Arc of Infinity’. I can’t help think of duck courses in the ‘Fawlty Towers’ episode ‘Gourmet Night’.

There’s a Chicken Chaplet à la Dodo recipe provided by Jackie Lane, who played Dodo in the TV series. There’s a Grilled Breasts of Chicken à l’Azmael recipe provided by Maurice Denham, who played Azmael in ‘The Twin Dilemma’. Amazing how these recipes are named after ‘Doctor Who’ characters. 😀

Speaking of which, there’s the Romulus Apricot Chicken recipe provided by Paul Conrad, and Dick Mills, who is responsible for the sound effects in ‘Doctor Who’, provides his Krotonised Khonice recipe. Beryl Reid, who played Briggs in ‘Earthshock’, provides her Briggs’s Poulet à l’Orange recipe. 🙂

Michael Gough, who played the Celestial Toymaker in ‘Doctor Who’, Hedin in ‘Arc of Infinity’, and Alfred in the original ‘Batman’ movies ( 😀 ) provides his Celestial Chicken or Paradisical Peacock recipe in the cookbook. 😀 Dave Chapman of video effects also gives us his Chicken Boogaloo recipe.

And Dinah Sheridan, who played Chancellor Flavia in ‘The Five Doctors’, provides us with her Chancellor Flavia’s Chicken Favourite recipe in the book. I must admit, I like eating chicken, but I don’t know if I can put together these exquisite chicken dishes. Maybe I should try them someday. 🙂

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‘VEGETARIAN DISHES’

There’s then the ‘Vegetarian Dishes’ section, which has the Aubergine Mac recipe, provided by Jacqueline Hill, who played Barbara in ‘Doctor Who’ as well as Lexa in ‘Meglos’. There’s also the Viennese Cabbage recipe provided by Peter Moffatt, and there’s the Casserole à la Chessene recipe.

That recipe is provided by Jacqueline Pearce, who played Chessene in ‘The Two Doctors’ and is well-known for playing Servalan in ‘Blake’s 7’. There’s a mysterious recipe called ‘?‘ provided by producer Barry Letts, which is from Venus and has ingredients of Blim Tree Worms and Grated Snadge. Ugh!!!

Not sure I want to try that one. 😀 There’s a Cauliflower Cheese recipe provided by Elisabeth Sladen, who played Sarah Jane Smith in ‘Doctor Who’, and there’s another recipe by Jon Pertwee, which is a Poached Egg Salad. Matthew Waterhouse, who plays Adric, gives us a recipe in the cookbook. 🙂

That happens to be Mushroom Pancakes in Hollandaise Sauce. Louise Jameson, who plays Leela in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us her recipe of Leela’s Savage Savoury. Thinking about all these recipes provided in the cookbook so far, I wonder if anyone has tried them all to find out what they’re like. 🙂

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DESSERTS

After ‘Main Courses’, we come to the ‘Desserts’ sections. This has recipes like director Fiona Cumming’s Planet of Fire Pudding recipe, Maureen O’Brien’s Rhubarb Chumbly recipe and Heather Hartnell’s Special Chocolate Chumblies recipe. Wow! ‘Galaxy 4’ was more popular than I thought. 😀

Cyril Luckham, who played the White Guardian in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us with his Guard’s Pudding recipe. Nicola Bryant provides us with Peri’s Pineapple Cheesecake recipe. This is a recipe I believe Nicola Bryant would provide in the cookbook instead of that Hamburgers in Mushroom Sauce recipe.

Lynda Baron once again provides us with an Ephemeral Pudding recipe and director Matthew Robinson provides his Doctor Who’s Fruit Bombs recipe. Liza Goddard, who played Kari in ‘Terminus’, gives us with Kari’s Star Tarts recipe. When did Kari, as a space pirate, make desserts? 😀

The ‘Doctor Who’ Appreciation Society of Great Britain, coordinated by David Saunders at the time this book was published, provides us with their Rum Pudding recipe. The Conrad Twins from ‘The Twin Dilemma’ also give us with their Twin Surprise recipe. A ‘surprise’ that has pears and ice cream.

Peter Capaldi’s Doctor would say “Never eat pears!” if he found out about the Twin Surprise dessert recipe. 😀 Laurence Payne, who was in ‘The Gunfighters’, ‘The Leisure Hive’ and ‘The Two Doctors’ provides us with his Apricots à la Dastari recipe. He played the character Dastari in ‘The Two Doctors’.

Patricia O’Leary, who was a production assistant on ‘Enlightenment’ and ‘The Two Doctors’, gives us her recipe of Camera Script Ice Cream. Look, I appreciate a lot of these recipes are meant to have fancy names for ‘Doctor Who’ readers to enjoy, but the names do get sillier as we go further in this book.

Sarah Sutton provides us with a desert recipe, which is for Brandy Sponge Cake. I admit, it’s taking a while for me to get around to baking Sarah’s Brandy Sponge Cake recipe. Hopefully, I’ll get around to it soon, but I prefer chocolate desserts as opposed to sweeter desserts and ones that have brandy in them.

Writer Johnny Byrne gives us his Melkur Surprise dessert recipe. According to the author’s note, this is Nyssa’s favourite pudding. 😐 John Leeson, who voices K-9 in the TV series, provides his Brown Bread Ice Cream dessert recipe. And Terry Molloy provides us Davros’s Extermination Pudding recipe.

Sarah Lee, who was JNT’s secretary at the time, provides us with The Original Sarah Lee Gâteau recipe. Caroline John, who played Liz Shaw in the TV series, gives us her Chocolate Fudge Cake recipe (I’ll return to this later on). And Heather Hartnell gives us another Chumblies recipe in the book.

I assume this Chumblies recipe is more fruity and is without chocolate this time. 😀 Carole Ann Ford, who played Susan in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us with her Apple Thingy recipe, and Ian Marter, who played Harry Sullivan in ‘Doctor Who’, provides us with his Nautical Pudding recipe in the book.

George Baker, who played Login in ‘Full Circle’, provides us with his Decider’s Dessert recipe ( 😀 ). Apparently, Alazarians didn’t just eat water-melons. 😀 Dinah Sheridan provides us with Chancellor Flavia’s Favourite Syllabub recipe, and Nicholas Courtney provides us with his Coupe Nick recipe. 😀

Dick Mills provides us with his Pavlova Perfection recipe (I’ve tried pavlova, so I know what that tastes like and it’s quite delicious) and Sarah Hellings provides us with her Winter Fruit Salad recipe. I’m pretty amazed by how many desserts are in the desserts section of ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’.

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DRINKS

Finally, we have the ‘Drinks’ section. This contains The Doctor’s Chocolate Malted Medicine recipe by Fifth Doctor actor Peter Davison. 🙂 Peter wrote “Try this!” when he signed his Chocolate Malted Medicine recipe in my copy of the cookbook at ‘BWCC6’ in 2021. I hope I will try out his recipe soon.

I’m sure this is the milkshake recipe Peter demonstrated during his ‘Saturday Night at the Mill’ interview back in 1981. 😀 Nicola Bryant provides two drink recipes in the cookbook – Perpugilliam’s Purple Punch and Nicola’s Nectarine Cup. How come both drink recipes weren’t all made by Peri? 😀

Cyril Luckham provides us with his White Guardian’s Wine Cup recipe and director Fiona Cumming provides us with her Enlightenment Lemonade recipe, Sarah Lee provides us her Sonic Screwdriver recipe in the book and producer John Nathan-Turner provides us his ‘No Comment’ Nectar recipe. 🙂

The book ends with Nicholas Courtney providing us with The Brigadier’s Banquet, which is what he would provide if he invited you to one of his dinner parties. The menu includes Borscht au Brig Cher, Saumon Fumé Écossais (Stewart Clan), Le Filet de Boeuf Diane (Femme Du Brig), Légumes de la Saison (Printemps), Coupe Nick (Sorbet), Café Grecque, Vin Rosé de Californie (Convention Location San Jose) and Chocolats (Aprés Huit). Nick Courtney in ‘French Fields’ comes to my mind. 😀

If you permit me, I would like to share what I would provide in my menu for a dinner party from ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’. For starters, there would be Vegetable Soup with Dalek Krotons by Patrick Troughton. For the main course, there would be Lasagne by Sarah Sutton. And for dessert, there would be Chocolate Fudge Cake by Caroline John. I hope I’ll make that three-course meal someday.

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‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ has been a great treasure to uncover following my discovery of it in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ items in the Season 23 Blu-ray box set. I’ve relied on this book to help me cook lasagnes as well as my spaghetti bologenses. I’d like to thank Sarah Sutton for this. 🙂

The latest ‘Doctor Who’ cookbook can’t be as good as the 1985 one by Gary Downie. I enjoy cooking lasagnes and spaghetti bologneses now and again for my family and me, especially before we watch a film like ‘Ratatouille’. 🙂 I’m looking forward to cooking my next lasagne meal from the cookbook. 🙂

I leave you now with a special ‘Doctor Who’ recipe that I’d like to add to the cookbook. Enjoy, and as Janet Fielding wrote when she signed the cookbook for me, get ‘cooking along’! 😀

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Billy Walker’s Spaghetti Bolognese

Serves 3 to 4 people

Ingredients:

6-8 oz spaghetti (2 oz per person)
1 onion packed and sliced
453g of minced beef
1 large tin tomatoes
1 19ml level tablespoon of tomato purée (paste)
1 beef stock cube
1 vegetable stock cube
Salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon of vegetable/olive oil
Grated cheddar cheese

Method:
First, you need to prepare the bolognese meat sauce. Peel onion and then chop into small pieces. Melt 1 tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil in a large frying pan and then fry the onion slices for 5 to 7 minutes until brown and soft. Then place the fried onions into a bowl.

Wash the frying pan and then add 1 tablespoon of oil. Fry the minced beef for about 15 minutes until it is cooked right through – the meat is all brown. Drain out the fat. Place the minced beef into a large saucepan. Add the following ingredients to the meat: fried onions, tomatoes, tomato purée, beef and vegetable stock, salt and black pepper. Stir until everything is absorbed into the meat and then bring to the boil. Then simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

To prepare the spaghetti, place 6-8 oz of spaghetti chopped into small pieces into a saucepan of boiling water. Cook for about 9 to 11 minutes. Drain the spaghetti. On plates, place spaghetti first and the bolognese meat sauce on top. Serve with grated cheese. Perhaps enjoy your meal with garlic bread and a glass of Shloer – preferably red or white grape.

Trivia Note:
This meal was served by Billy Walker to Nyssa in the TARDIS in ‘Part One’ of the ‘Doctor Who’ story ‘Junglos 4198’. He was taught how to cook by his cousins on the planet Earth in Churchwood Street, Cardiff in the 1950s.

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‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ rating – 10/10

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‘THE DOCTOR WHO COOKBOOK REVISITED’

Please feel free to comment on my review.

Since I’ve reviewed ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ itself, we might as well talk about ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ documentary on Disc 6 in the Season 23 Blu-ray box set. This is the second time I’ve seen the special feature, since I prefer watching the bonus recipes of the cookbook a lot more. 🙂

We start off with an introduction given by Toby Hadoke at his home. There’s also narration provided by India Fisher herself. It’s funny when India kept saying that Toby Hadoke was 45 years old and he told her to stop it at one point. I’ve kept count and India has said Toby is 45 years old three times. 😀

The first recipe to check out is Janet Fielding’s Ocker Balls. 😀 It was fun to see Toby visiting Sarah Sutton’s house with Janet Fielding already there. It’s intriguing how the background to Janet’s Ocker Balls recipe was revealed. It’s a posh Australian seafood recipe filled with Philadelphia cream cheese.

There are smoked oysters, prawns (shrimps) and black lumpfish roe in the recipe, making it very fishy. I’m not sure I’d readily go for Janet’s Ocker Balls recipe, as I’m not keen on fish delicacies. But I wouldn’t object to trying out the Ocker Balls to see whether Janet, Sarah and Toby really liked them.

Things did get a little rude when Janet, Sarah and Toby were making ‘ball’ jokes whilst making the Ocker Balls. 😀 Janet also puts Toby in his place when he almost tries to run the kitchen. 😀 I like how Sarah is sensible when she’s negotiating with Janet about what tasks need to be done in the kitchen.

I could point out that Sarah swore during the moment where Janet nearly held a knife at her chest whilst in the kitchen. But Sarah did swear momentarily in a ‘Mawdryn Undead’ blooper, and she used the ‘bloody’ word when on her panel at ‘Pandorica 2015’ in Bristol, so I shouldn’t be that shocked. 🙂

But then, Janet should have been more careful with that knife. 😀 The camaraderie between Janet, Sarah and Toby is pretty evident when watching them cook Ocker Balls. I wish they were in the kitchen in my house for where I’d cook a lasagne or spaghetti bolognese for them. It’d be a lot of fun. 🙂

We go back to Toby Hadoke’s kitchen where he talks about William Hartnell’s Meddling Monkfish Chowder, provided by widow Heather. I like how Toby makes references to William Hartnell in the cookbook, especially since he’s the one who started it all by playing the First Doctor in ‘Doctor Who’.

Toby then goes to see Frazer Hines at his house, and they make Mushrooms McCrimmon. It’s funny how this recipe came about, since Frazer reveals he’s not a good cook and he gave the author Gary Downie a recipe to play with to be included in the cookbook. It’s a recipe he hasn’t cooked before. 😐

So, basically, this is the first time that Frazer Hines has cooked Mushrooms McCrimmon in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. It was fun to see Frazer Hines and Toby Haoke share banter and jokes with each other as they were making the recipe in Frazer’s kitchen, which must have been fun.

The end result does look rather creamy. According to the cookbook, Frazer recommends the Mushrooms McCrimmon recipe for beginners. Rather than as a starter, he suggests that it should be a lunch course. He even suggests that Mushrooms McCrimmon can be served on toast. Yum-yum! 😀

Should I ever try out Frazer Hines’ Mushrooms McCrimmon recipe, I would like to have it on toast. Mind you, I’m not sure about adding in the anchovies, since that happens to be a small, common forage fish. A lot of the recipes in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ documentary are fish-focused.

There’s also the recommendation of slicing an avocado pear in half and filling the halves with Mushrooms McCrimmon. I’m not sure if creamy mushrooms and avocado pears go well together compared to creamy mushrooms on toast. Despite that, this could be a very intriguing recipe to try out.

Back at Toby’s kitchen, he gets to talk a bit about Jackie Lane and her Chicken Chaplet à la Dodo recipe. Apparently, the cookbook lied to us when it said ‘Jackie Lane was born and raised in New York’. But at least Gary Downie did get a proper quote from Jackie on how she feels about cooking. 🙂

Toby Hadoke’s third celebrity visit is at Terry Molloy’s house where they get to make Davros’s Extermination Pudding. I like how it turns out that Terry has a copy of the cookbook itself and it’s signed by Gary Downie. So, they may have gone by Terry’s copy, not Toby’s copy, on this occasion. 🙂

I like how according to the illustration, it’s implied that Davros made his Extermination Pudding out of Dalek goo, connecting to ‘Resurrection of the Daleks’. It’s also implied that Davros, despite having one hand, has a Dalek to help him use a whisk to make the whipped cream for the dessert. Clever. 🙂

Despite calling it an 80s recipe, Davros’ Extermination Pudding does seem to be a very tasty dessert, especially with the sliced bananas, raspberry jam, and whipped cream to make it. I’m not sure I would have chopped nuts on top since I’m not keen on nuts, but having ice cream on it seems good.

Toby enjoys it when Terry talks like Davros at times. I do too. 😀 Apparently, after having a third helping of the dessert, it’s when Davros makes his move and strikes. But the cookbook suggests that shouldn’t matter since you ‘might as well go the whole way’ and ‘Eat your way to extermination’. 😀

I should note that you are to keep the bananas in their skins when you cook them in the oven. I didn’t know you could eat bananas in their skins since I’ve always peeled the bananas when I eat them. But I suppose the raspberry jam and whipped cream disguises that whilst you’re enjoying them. 🙂

Returning to Toby Hadoke’s kitchen again, I liked it when he makes a tribute to Richard Hurndall, the actor who played the First Doctor in ‘The Five Doctors’, with his Chicken Mousse recipe. Apparently, Richard Hurndall sent a letter to Gary Downie with his recipe attached, and Toby shows us the letter.

The fourth and final celebrity visit for Toby is at Nicola Bryant’s house. Colin Baker is also there at Nicola’s house. I liked it when Toby got to meet up with the two ‘Doctor Who’ stars. Nicola clearly loves her two dogs. They get to meet Toby at the door, and I’m reminded of the ‘Pets in Time’ book.

Nicola and Colin get to make two recipes with Toby in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. The first is Peri’s Pineapple Cheesecake…oh wait! It’s not Peri’s Pineapple Cheesecake. Apparently, Colin is allergic to cheese and doesn’t care for cheesecake. This is the very first time I discovered that fact.

So, instead of making Peri’s Pineapple Cheesecake, they make Doctor Please Cake. It was funny when India Fisher became confused whilst narrating this segment of ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. I don’t blame her. This is especially when the recipe’s not given to her in the cookbook. 😀

Apparently, Doctor Please Cake is made with maple syrup and has cashew nuts and dates in the filling. It was funny when Colin put his hand on the blender and Nicola switched on the ‘ice crush’ setting. Colin looks funny when reacting to the shaking of the blender. Colin can be over-dramatic at times. 😀

The end result looks nice, easily making you think that it is cheesecake when it’s not. I’m reminded of the fungus that looked like beef in ‘The Green Death’. I liked it when Nicola presented with a ‘This is What I Made Earlier’ version of the Doctor Please Cake, reminding me of ‘Blue Peter’s presenters.

The last recipe to check out in ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ is by Colin Baker, which is the Doctor’s Temptation. Apparently, it’s a Swedish dish, according to Colin Baker. It does seem nice, especially with layers of sliced potatoes and onions as well as the anchovy fillets and lots of cream. 🙂

I found it funny when Toby Hadoke read Colin Baker’s biography in the cookbook and Colin points out that the biography is by Gary Downie and it’s wrong is some places. Apparently, Colin didn’t do any ‘performances in court’ while training to be a solicitor. It’s an embellishment by Gary Downie. 😐

It was funny when Nicola tried to put on the toque (chef’s hat) on Colin’s head and it doesn’t quite fit. Halfway, Colin ends up putting the toque on Toby’s head instead. When Colin did wear the toque, he insisted that people say “Yes, chef” when he gave out instructions. So, you better remember that.

Whenever you cook something in the kitchen with Colin Baker and he’s in charge, always say “Yes, chef.” 😀 I like that Toby nicely layered out the sliced potatoes and onions in the buttered dish, even if Colin told him he didn’t have to do that. I do it like that with layering a lasagne before it goes in the oven.

I’m pleased Colin Baker made mention of John Nathan-Turner by saying that he kept ‘Doctor Who’ as a TV show alive by having ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ published out there for fans to enjoy. Colin, Nicola and Toby seemed to enjoy the Doctor’s Temptation. The breadcrumb layering seems nice.

The documentary ends with Toby Hadoke cooking William Hartnell’s Meddling Monkfish Chowder. There’s also a trailer for three bonus recipes, which are on Disc 6 of the Season 23 Blu-ray box set as well as on the ‘Doctor Who – The Collection – Doctor Who Magazine 40th Anniversary Disc’ on DVD.

It’s been nice to revisit ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’. 😀 There’s clearly fun in the making of these delicious delicacies with Toby Hadoke interacting with Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding, Frazer Hines, Terry Molloy, Colin Baker and Nicola Bryant. The delicacies also seem to be nice to check out.

I doubt I can cook recipes like that, especially in how the ‘Doctor Who’ stars cooked them, but I’m glad this documentary and its three bonus recipes have made me aware of ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook’ by Gary Downie. I certainly enjoy referring to it whenever I make Sarah Sutton’s Lasagne.

Apparently, ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ won the Best Factual Entertainment and Features award in 2020. And the Season 23 Blu-ray box set was released in 2019. Sarah Sutton told me she has the award in her kitchen when I interviewed her at the ‘Newcastle Castle Con’ back in July 2022.

‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ rating – 10/10

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‘THE DOCTOR WHO COOKBOOK REVISITED: BONUS RECIPE – KIPPER OF TRAKEN’

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I love the three bonus recipes from ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ documentary, all with commentary by India Fisher. They’re better than the actual documentary. 😀 The first bonus recipe has Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding with Toby Hadoke cooking the Kipper of Traken, which is a recipe provided by writer Johnny Byrne. 🙂

I concur with Sarah, Janet and Toby. I don’t think having the Kipper of Traken is a good idea, since it didn’t look appetising in the final result, despite not having left it in the fridge for four days. I’m surprised they didn’t have a ‘This is What I Made Earlier’ version of the recipe from four days before.

Johnny Byrne is of course the writer of ‘The Keeper of Traken’ and the creator of Nyssa. I like how Toby points out that fact to Sarah and Janet when talking to them in the kitchen. It was interesting and amusing how Nyssa took the recipe with her before escaping Traken, according to the author’s note.

It was amusing to see Sarah telling Janet off to be careful whilst preparing the Kipper of Traken dish in the kitchen. That’s just so Sarah, isn’t it? 😀 She even tells Toby off for making sure the ‘salad dressing’ jar is tight shut. Janet tells Sarah “Ah, you English! You’re such wimps!” Steady on, Janet! 😀

I agree that Johnny Byrne must have done the Kipper of Traken recipe for the pun-making. You know, ‘Kipper’; ‘Keeper’ and such? 😀 It was intriguing how Toby encouraged the viewers to try the recipe out, despite saying it’s not ‘the best of the bunch’. Janet advises kids not to try it at home.

‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited: Bonus Recipe – Kipper of Traken’ rating – 10/10

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‘THE DOCTOR WHO COOKBOOK REVISITED: BONUS RECIPE – DALEK SOUP’

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The second bonus recipe from ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ has Frazer Hines with Toby Hadoke cooking some Dalek soup. Well, actually, it’s Vegetable Soup with Dalek Krotons. Get it? Dalek Krotons – garlic crotons. 😀 It’s a recipe provided by Second Doctor actor Patrick Troughton. 🙂

I enjoyed the banter shared between Frazer and Toby in this item. Frazer makes Toby cook the soup whilst he reads from the instructions in the cookbook, which wasn’t what Toby planned. 😀 I enjoyed the jokes they made whilst cooking. The ‘dice’ joke made by Frazer to Toby is my favourite in this. 😀

It was intriguing to hear the anecdotes shared by Frazer to Toby about Patrick being a war hero, though Patrick never ‘talked about the war’. It wasn’t a done thing. It was also intriguing that Patrick may have cooked a meal for Frazer once – or rather, it was his lady Bunny in a house in Richmond. 😀

During the cooking of the broth, Toby and Frazer are shocked about adding a floury paste to the soup. They’re not happy about this and it does seem like an odd thing to add to the soup. But it does look nice in the finished result when they pour the soup into a bowl and add the Dalek Krotons to it.

I liked it when Toby and Frazer tested the Vegetable Soup with Dalek Krotons themselves in the kitchen. They seemed to really like it. Thank goodness for that! I thought they wouldn’t like it for a moment. It does look like a really good dish served in the winter. Since this review, I’ve cooked the soup a couple of times. 🙂

‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited: Bonus Recipe – Dalek Soup’ rating – 10/10

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‘THE DOCTOR WHO COOKBOOK REVISITED: BONUS RECIPE – LASAGNE’

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The third bonus recipe from ‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited’ is my favourite of the lot and, in my opinion, the best! 😀 It has Sarah Sutton and Janet Fielding with Toby Hadoke cooking Lasagne. This is a recipe provided by Sarah Sutton herself. I was very excited when I saw this special feature.

As already established, Sarah is my favourite ‘Doctor Who’ companion and best friend at conventions. So, it was lovely to see that Sarah added a recipe to the cookbook herself. She could have easily called it ‘Nyssa’s Lasagne’ rather than ‘Luvic’s Lasagne’ or ‘Lazar’s Lasagne’, as Toby suggested.

Seeing Sarah cooking the lasagne with Janet and Toby’s help was inspirational. After seeing this special feature, I cooked my own recipe Billy Walker’s Spaghetti Bolognese, which I cooked a while back. I enjoyed cooking again and it’s thanks to Sarah’s Lasagne recipe that gave me that inspiration.

I took down Sarah Sutton’s Lasagne recipe in a notepad from the special feature before I had the cookbook for Christmas in 2019 and enjoyed cooking it myself. 😀 I enjoyed it when Sarah shared what her life was like commuting in London and sharing a flat in Chiswick. Janet regarded Sarah on her cake-baking skills highly.

It was amusing when Sarah was onto Janet again with her cheese grating. 😀 Janet even threatened Toby with cheddar cheese in Sarah’s kitchen. 😀 The final result in the lasagne dish looks delicious. Seeing the lasagne makes me want to eat it myself. I’m very pleased I’ve cooked lasagnes since then.

‘The Doctor Who Cookbook Revisited: Bonus Recipe – Lasagne’ rating – 10/10

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