Hardeep Singh Kohli: The Nearly Naked Chef, The Gilded Balloon

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

Known for fleeting small screen appearances, Hardeep Singh Kohli's stock has simmered with the short-lived sitcom Meet The Magoons, another Channel 4 series Hardeep Does, Celebrity Masterchef and BBC's The One Show, from which Kohli was last month suspended for "inappropriate behaviour" towards a female colleague. Tonight, Kohli says he will deal with this issue in the show. But he doesn't, which is a shame as his show desperately needs some flavour.

The Bee Gees's "How Deep Is Your Love" plays before the large-framed performer enters, the pun proving to be the best joke of the show. Once on stage he's straight into the kitchen set to begin cooking a meal as he talks. But the cooking is almost inconsequential, save for the opening interaction he has with the audience, who have brought him food to prepare. They might have wondered why they bothered as, at times, they are subjected to rather patronising treatment. The worst example is when Kohli asks a member of the audience to answer the joke: "What do you call a black man flying a plane?" When she undermines his leaden-footed point on race by correctly answering "the pilot" he admonishes her for ruining the joke.

Somewhere in the mix of anecdotes, some passable gags and a risotto bubbling away, I lost my appetite.

To 31 August (0131-622 6552)