The very aptly named George Egg is no ordinary comedian …. neither is he any ordinary cook in any sense of the word. Combining a show that contains “nuts, dairy, gluten, comedy and poetry”, far from checking the ingredients on the packaging, the audience spends the next hour in a sense of wonderment, awe and laughter in the presence of this very unique showman.
If anyone reading this remembers the legendary ‘Galloping Gourmet’ of the 1970s - the Australian cook who would combine 3 course meals with very original anecdotes, jokes, and full-on audience engagement with one lucky member invited to sample his undoubtedly delicious fare at the end (with the ubiquitous exaggerated “ooohs and ahhhs” to the camera) George Egg brings the ‘GG’ to mind. His formula may be very different but the warmth, fun and love of his live audience are all there in the mix. Well, the CEMENT mixer to be exact…. Plus we are ALL invited to taste the food.
George sets out to make 3 courses for us to both witness and sample at the end: a vegetarian, fish and meat course, peppered with jokes and each created in a unique way that literally trains us to create full blown meals ‘in situ’. In the case of our 1st ‘veggie’ course, it’s grilled aubergine with tahini dip all prepared “on the train”. With his George Foreman grill very cleverly and hilariously disguised as a 1990s laptop, complete with Apple logo on the lid, George ably shows us how to make a complete course at 95 mph without the need of any conventional cookery implements - or indeed a kitchen. With the help of the convenient train plugs (what else would you use them for?), a salt and pepper shaker cleverly built into a computer ‘mouse’, sesame paste swiftly made in a paper coffee cup to create a delicious tahini (“no one will be suspicious”) and deftly oiled aubergine slices perfectly grilled in the disguised George Foreman - hey presto the first course is made - hopefully without anyone reporting that a laptop in Coach F is overheating.
With other tips such as how to obtain free food from the buffet trolley plus the multiple uses of the train toilet (that far from being the room with the poor reputation is in actual fact “your friend”). Who would have thought that dropping down the baby changer and giving it a wipe makes the perfect worktop for all manner of culinary preparations? ( whilst simultaneously toasting those sesame seeds under the drier!)
After a random poetry intermission that connects food portions with his mum’s Maths Teacher career (why not?) we are then treated to the fun of watching mackerel being cooked on a hub-cap with the additional use of a flame throwing implement, whilst being advised how to keep cool in an overly air-conned Waitrose with the assistance of a rotisserie chicken that you simply toss in amongst the chocolate bars at the till. After another poetry break entitled ‘Washing-up Liquid’ we are presented with a smoking 38 horsepower engine from a 1968 “Yvette” Cooper (“don’t worry” - we are reassured - “most of the carbon monoxide is being filtered off into one of the other venues”) that will proficiently cook slices of chicken before being combined with a home-made caesar salad mix made in none other than a cement mixer.
As with the other dishes individual audience members are invited to enjoy the aroma of each dish while we are given other useful ‘foraging’ advice - from making hot salmon by combining clear security bags with leftovers from the posh seafood and champagne places in airports (“if you can afford to eat there then you can afford to leave half of it”) to making “bible crushed nuts” in your average hotel room…..amongst other titbits.
George Egg gives a unique, warm and zany performance. He is a joy to watch and to listen to - his jokes are witty, insightful and blend perfectly with his outlandish cookery ideas. If you get to Edinburgh in this, the last week of the Fringe Festival, be sure to try and catch him (oh ...and the aubergine dish at least, is delicious!)
Reviewer - Georgina Elliott
on - 19/8/19
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