James Barber Dead at 84

[bradm]

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2007/12/02/barber-tvchef-obit.html

Cookbook author and television chef James Barber, who appeared on CBC-TV for 10 years as The Urban Peasant, has died.

I first started seeing Barber on CHCH TV out of Hamilton, on his show "The Fry Pan Man," which was a blast to watch, as he didn't have full set of appliances and pots and such, he had a two-burner Coleman and an old cast-iron fry pan. He didn't even have a sink; he used to rinse things off with a jug of water poured over food into a garbage pail. "The Urban Peasant" took that idea even further, and showed people that you can cook, and cook well, using simple ingredients, easy-to-learn techniques, and your own imagination, especially when it came to substituting ingredients.

His wife, Christina Burridge, says her husband died of natural causes Thursday at home.

"As far as we can tell, James was sitting at the dining room table, he was reading a cookbook, and he had a pot of soup simmering on the stove. So he definitely left this world in a way that he would have wanted to, but I think he would have been pretty upset about the timing," she told CBC News.

Aloha,

Brad

[bouche]

wow. I didn't realize that he was that old.

I don't think that he ever did anything that I ever wanted to try myself, but I guess that's mostly because he wasn't a chef. He wrote a bunch of cookbooks so maybe that's something anyone can do afterall!

I once saw him make Peanut Butter Soup and he mentioned that "the kids will love this soup". Well, I'm sure any kid would like peanut butter soup.

[bradm]

His first cook book, Ginger Tea Makes Friends, is a great read, as it presents short, simple recipes, done in comic book artwork, which is not only illustrative (literally), but makes the directions much more friendly to deal with.

Aloha,

Brad

[PalacePrincess]

nooooooo!! that's so sad.

i loved the urban peasant, my sister & i used to have SO much fun watching it together back in high school. he was always slopping everything all over & he ALWAYS had a glass of wine to drink along with whatever he was cooking. the little sit down to eat the meal section at the end was always so exciting. he seemed like such a nice, jolly man. he was like the mr. dressup of cooking shows. aw, i'm sad he's gone. i didn't realize he was that old either. it sounds like he had a great life though, i'm glad his last years were so enjoyable-sounding.

i always thought his food looked great! i loved how he could make such tasty-looking things by just slopping a bunch of everyday stuff together. i actually tried one of his recipes once, some biscuits he made with sour cream laying around in the fridge & they were fricken delicious!

ahh, james barber, how you spilled & slopped & knocked things over & charmed your way right into our hearts with that great smile.

i hope someone cherished every last bite of that soup.

[shainhouse]

RIP

[Freak By Night]

My favourite quote of his, from his show: "Add water to the sauce while it is simmering. If you don't have any water, you can use beer." He was a great promoter of cooking with booze.

[bradm]

He went the other way, too. I remember one time where he said (paraphrased), "This recipe calls for sherry. Well, I haven't got sherry. If you don't have sherry, you can use white wine. If you don't have white wine, you can use apple juice. If you don't have apple juice, use water. It'll taste different, but it might taste really good, too."

Aloha,

Brad

[MarcO]

I really enjoyed his show growing up and looking back I am sure it was him who got me thinking about food and getting into the kitchen. His recipes were accessible and he didn't get too hung up on the details - it was true home cooking.

Apparently he really was a bit of a lush.

RIP James.

[MarcO]

and looking at the CBC report, I had no idea he was such a freaky looking hippie back in the day!

[Hux]

This guy totally got me into cooking.

I'd haul out a pan and just start throwing stuff in, including of course "a bit of pepper".

He kinda cooked Grateful Dead style - without a net!

[Patchoulia]

This makes me very sad.

I love the Urban Peasant...I especially loved his attitude and it's served me well in cooking...

"If you haven't got wine, use apple juice, if you haven't got apple juice, use water..use what you've GOT!!"

[bradm]

There are only four things you can do to food: bake it, boil it, fry it, and screw it up.

I'd add "serve it raw" to the list, but it's the thought that counts.

Aloha,

Brad

[AdamH]

I never made his food, but I loved when the phone rang during the show and he'd have a fake conversation with someone on the other end.

Or...maybe they were real!

[Rob Not Bob]

The king of the the "Drunk On Cooking Sherry On The Air" capers had to be the Galloping Gourmet, Graham Kerr. Every show had at least one instance of this : "And then we add the wine ... I think this might be a bit much for this sauce :GLURK:" To borrow a bit from Q Magazine , "the Galloping bit might have been a bit much, but given the time he was doing this, anyone hosting a cooking show who wasn't wearing a ballgown was practically a Black Panther."

Anywho, being part-time Food TV addict, I loved the Urban Peasant and his relaxed oven-side manner. I will miss him.