Popular UK show Come Dine With Me is a hit among all age groups but will its mobile app be up to scratch?
Come Dine With Me is a sort of game show in which five random members of the public hold dinner parties for one another. They then go on to bitch incessantly about the host in the taxi home and give their efforts a mark out of ten, the one with the highest score then goes on to win a £1,000 cash prize.
The recipes are often pretty inventive, the banter is amusing and the characters have a strange, eccentric British-ness that makes for interesting viewing. However, the main appeal is the dry humour of the narrator, Dave Lamb, who seems to just constantly take the piss out of every contestant.
If you haven’t seen the show before then I’d recommend watching some of the episodes and clips on the 4OD YouTube channel. Although I’d avoid the Come Dine With Me: WAG’s Special like the plague.
The show has become popular here in the UK and so many of my friends have begun holding their own CDWM-style dinner parties, complete with pre-prepared recipe cards, meal scoring and a cash prize for the winner.
To presumably take advantage of this growing trend, the team behind Come Dine With Me has recently launched a mobile app to bring the experience into your own home.
To be honest, with so many people doing this already I’m not sure if an app is really necessary. But, it does provide everything you need if you want to be super organised and follow the rules, including a way to invite guests, set a menu and score creations.
However, the app is also great for one-off recipes if you’re not feeling dedicated enough to go through the whole dinner party malarkey. There’s a big selection of starters, mains and desserts with instructions, the ability to add all the ingredients you need to a shopping list and a recommendation of which wine to use.
I’m a big fan of recipe and foodie apps, such as Epicurious and Jamie’s 20 Minute Meals so this will be an interesting new addition.
Finally, drum roll please, the app also mirrors the tongue-in-cheek comedy of the show, with a little soundboard of Dave Lamb quotes to accompany your meal. Perfect.
Images via Come Dine With me.
Becca Caddy is a BitchBuzz Tech columnist and freelance writer for Reputation Online, New Media Age’s spin-off publication. You can follow her on Twitter @beccacaddy.