Recipes for Love and Murder Series 1 Review

Director: Christiaan Olwagen, Karen Jeynes

Writer: Annie Griffin, Karen Jeynes (Screenplay)

Writer: Sally Andrew (Books)

Cast

• Maria Doyle Kennedy (Wolfwalkers)
• Tony Kgoroge (Blood Diamond)
• Kylie Fisher (Troukoors)
• Elton Landrew (The Forgiven)
• Arno Greeff (Blood & Water)

Plot: Tannie Maria sees food as “medicine for the body and heart”. She envies romance as much as she enjoys cooking and eating. But it’s death that shakes up Tannie Maria’s life, when one of the correspondents to her column is brutally murdered.

Runtime: 45 Minute Episodes 

There may be spoilers in the rest of the review

Verdict on Recipes for Love and Murder Series 1

BEREFT WOMAN (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

Bereft Woman starts when Tannie Maria (Kennedy) loses her job at the local newspaper with her cookery column. She must compete with younger writer Jessie September (Fisher) to write the best answers to personal ads. They both submit responses as Tannie to help people. However, Tannie gets more attached to her letter wanting to help solve a potentially disturbing series of events. she uses her ability with food to help solve the problem, believing food can heal any wounds.

The opening episode shows Tannie evolving from the typical column to create something fresh for the readers. It shows how she wants to find the best in something anyone can pick up and learn and that food can bring people together. Meanwhile, her past might come back to haunt her. It creates a bigger mystery and shows Maria’s ability to make the most of smaller stories. (4/5)

SEX CAKE (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

Sex Cake starts in the aftermath of the murder. Tannie wants to help prove who was behind the crime, while the police conduct their own investigation. Everything gets complicated and Tannie wants to help get the right person behind bars. Meanwhile, she tackles the latest letters helping someone struggling to find love.

This shows us the bond growing between Tannie and Jessie as they use their strengths to deal with solving crimes. It is nice seeing a story running between episodes while also giving us a softer to continue Tannie’s work. This show is doing a good job of building the pairing, expanding the crime and keeping the comfy feeling for the stories told in letters. (4/5)

DO YOU LICK EVERYTHING? (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

Do You Lick Everything? Starts in the aftermath of Tannie and Jessie getting caught at the crime scene. They escape the suspect returning to the scene while another victim is taken and the case becomes more intense. Meanwhile, Tannie’s past connections continue to try and contact her and a new crime from Jessie’s mother gives the pair something new to investigate.

This continues to move the bigger mystery along nicely while showing the community coming together more. It shows the best in the residents despite the crime which has happened. This shows the bigger determination between the pair to solve the crime and food having a connection to larger crime. (3/5)

OPERATION VETKOEK (D. KAREN JEYNES)

Operation Vetkoek sees the community come together to lay the latest victim to rest. Tannie and Jessie continue their investigation into the original crime. However, a visitor distracts from the investigation and causes a stir in the community. Meanwhile, Tanie continues with her letters that solve people’s problems with cookery tips.

This episode slows down the bigger mystery, with it mostly lingering in the background to the events of the episode. It is starting to feel like the series is making the bigger story longer than it needs to be instead of focusing on smaller stories from Tannie’s column. (2/5)

A SHOE MURDER (D. KAREN JEYNES)

A Shoe Murder starts when Tannie and Jessie continue their investigations alone. It follows them learning more about the victim and the people in their lives. Meanwhile, they avoid the office, leaving Hattie to find somebody to talk to. The community continues to try to solve their problems as others try to solve the murder.

This continues the larger focus on the community rather than the bigger murder case. It shows tensions built in the community and the problems Hattie has been facing. This has moving moments for a grieving mother, but struggles to move enough of the bigger picture going on. That includes the mystery of Tannie’s past. (2/5)

BREAKFAST FOR DINNER (D. KAREN JEYNES)

Breakfast for Dinner follows Tannie and Candice following a new lead after the prime suspects escape the hospital. However, it leads them down a dead-end leaving Jessie and Regardt to deal with their romantic tension. Meanwhile, Tannie continues to help the locals with her column.

This continues to build the bigger mystery of the original murder by extending the suspect pool. We get a new victim in the series of deaths connected to it. Elsewhere, Tannie deals with her own traumatic memories and starts to wonder what could happen next in her life. It moves things along at a better pace than the last couple of episodes. The shift to the bigger mystery is important and learning more about Tannie helps us understand her determination to remain silent about her past. (4/5)

ENOUGH SWEET POTATOES (D. KAREN JEYNES)

Enough Sweet Potatoes starts when Tannie deals with something from her past, deciding if she wants to reconnect with an estranged family member. Meanwhile, Jessie uncovers a new clue to the potential murderer. However, it only causes them to reach more dead ends. Elsewhere, Hattie tries to maintain the newspaper’s reputation and the locals want to remove their advertisement.

This episode brings the newspaper team closer than ever as they deal with a threat. The mystery is kept rolling without much unfolding. Meanwhile, the personal lives of everyone involved are what keep this episode moving along nicely. (3/5)

POMEGRANATE JUICE AND VODKA (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

Pomegranates Juice and Vodka continue Tannie and Jessie’s investigation into the murder. Meanwhile, the prime suspects continue to bond as they want more answers from the police. Jessie pushes the limits to how close she will go to solve the case. Elsewhere, we learn more about the police team and their personal lives.

This episode feels delightful for getting to know the community, it shows how food can bring us closer again. However, the bigger mystery seems to take a bit of a step back, causing it to leave little to drag along. Even though the community growing story helps us feel like part of the story unfolding. (3/5)

SCRAMBLED EGGS (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

Scrambled Eggs starts when the police and Tannie start searching for Jessie after her bike is found abandoned on the road. Elsewhere, Tannie dives back into her past and why she ended up in a small town in South Africa. The detectives rush to solve the mystery of who has taken Jessie only to learn that Tannie has discovered who is behind the murder.

This episode cracks up the intensity of the series, putting one of our main characters in peril. Along with Tannie getting to learn more about what is happening. We also learn a lot more about her past and what caused her to escape Scotland in the first place. It leaves us prepared for the final episode and how they will get out of the situation. (4/5)

I ONLY WANTED ADVICE, TANNIE (D. CHRISTIAAN OLWAGEN)

I Only Wanted Advice, Tannie starts as the desperate search for Jessie continues as Tannie faces something about her past. The suspect is still on the run and the race to capture them and solve the murder is running out of time. Meanwhile, Tannie must face her past and why she is there now, which can bring up disturbing memories.

This is a great conclusion to the series, it brings the bigger mysteries to a conclusion and has moments of peril. It shows us what we were built towards and lets everything unfold perfectly. (5/5)

RECIPES FOR LOVE AND MURDER SERIES 1

Recipes for Love and Murder is a cozy detective series. It uses the connection between culinary love to connect to a murder. However, it is more about the one bigger murder and everything that happened because of it. It isn’t a different crime per episode, more a personal column reply that drives the story forward. The show is a couple of episodes too long for the bigger mystery to continue, as some of the episodes do very little to move the story along. We get strong performances and the important will they won’t romance carrying through the series.

Where to Watch

Recipes for Love and Murder Series 1 starring Maria Doyle Kennedy will be available on DVD and digital on 30 September.

Final Thoughts –Recipes for Love and Murder Series 1 has a cozy feel to solving a big mystery.