Do you enjoy whodunits set in a quaint town? I’m talking about offerings of a similar ilk to BBC Brit’s crime dramas “Midsomer Murders” and “Father Brown”.
If you answered yes, then “Recipe for Love and Murder”, which is based on best-selling South African author Sally Andrew’s acclaimed mystery novels of the same title, will whet your appetite.
Set in a fictional South African town called Eden, it centres on Tannie Maria (Maria Doyle Kennedy), who, through her culinary finesse, spreads love along with her knack for crime-solving.
Despite being guarded due to her unsettling past, she’s started warming up to the townsfolk, like Kylie Fisher (Jessie September), an intrepid journalist and editor Hattie Wilson (Jennifer Steyn), at the “Klein Karoo Gazette”, where Tannie Maria writes a regular agony aunt column.
Before the new season dropped on M-Net, I had a delightful video chat with Doyle Kennedy.
“When I was asked to play Tannie Maria - I mean I was asked to audition, I wasn’t offered it straight away - I had just finished another big show. I was reading a lot of scripts and many of them were about serial killers and the intricate and horrendous ways they dispose of women and it was just starting to make me angry.
“And then these scripts came through email. I was so relieved something that it was tender and charming. When I responded positively to it, then they sent me all of this information in extraordinarily beautiful landscapes.
“And I had never been to South Africa before so it was all new to me. All of this colour and countryside. And then I realised that I really wanted to do it,” she said in her unmistakable Irish drawl.
Of course, at the time, things were a bit different with the discussions happening during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She added. “There was no meeting with people, so it was a lot of self-taping, which is kind of staid really but it is what people do all the time.
“I didn’t just read the scenes to the camera, I got my husband to film me in the kitchen. I really went for it and almost made a little short film, snapping cinnamon sticks and pretending to smell them.”
Completely invested in the character, it was a no-brainer when she landed the role.
She shared: “When I got to do it, I fell in love with Tannie Maria. She is quite different from me. She is kind of awkward, a little eccentric, and quite emotionally damaged.
“We learned in season one that she came through a very abusive relationship. And then she kind of ran away and never really dealt with that.
“You know someone once described friendliness and helpfulness as the sunny side of control. That’s kind of the way she was. She was helpful, volunteering to do things constantly to keep people at bay.
“She lived on her own on the outside of town. She didn’t invite people there until she became close to Kylie and Detective Khaya Meyer (Tony Kgoroge).
Doyle Kennedy added: “She holds on to her eccentricity and guardedness but also you warm to her and care about her. She began to trust again and, in season two, we are building on that.”
On her character finding love, she teased: “With Khaya, we see that they are trying to get something going at the beginning of season two. I can’t say too much about that.
“But you see that she is a middle-aged woman who is still very incredibly innocent in many ways.”
Given the show’s title, it’s safe to say that food is a powerful trope throughout the series.
She laughed: “There’s recipes, fabulous food and some unusual goings-on to solve. Probably the biggest thing is that in season one, we set up this town and you got to know this town full of oddballs and, in season two, you can get to know them. All of the peripheral characters begin to achieve some kind of depth.”
The first episode kicked off with a deadly fire that gutters several homes while an unfaithful wife searches for her missing husband.
Meanwhile, Hattie throws her hat in the ring for the town’s mayor but she’s got some stiff competition.
And Tannie Maria is forced to confront her past when he late husband’s sister and husband show up trying to nullify his will and throw her behind bars for his death.
Knowing her, she probably has the perfect recipe to deal with her prickly uninvited guests. .
∎ “Recipes for Love and Murder” season 2 airs on M-Net (DStv channel 101) on Thursday at 8pm.
Similar crime dramas you might enjoy:
“Return to Paradise” (BBC Brit)
This “Death in Paradise” spin-off series set in an Australian coastal town sees spiky detective Mackenzie Clarke (Anna Samson) return home - and she soon encounters murder and mystery.
Of course, she returns under not-so-friendly conditions as she ruffled a few feathers when she left for London’s Metropolitan Police.
She returns home to take a break from her career hanging in the balance after a case went south. While awaiting her fate, she starts assisting with solving cases in Dolphin Cove.
She also needs to repair the shattered bond with her ex Glen Strong (Tai Hara) who is currently a forensic pathologist with the local police department.
“High Potential” (Disney+)
This star-studded crime drama centres on Morgan (Kaitlin Olson), a single mother with three children. She works as a cleaner for the Los Angeles Police Department. But one night, after accidentally dropping a few files on the floor, she rearranged the evidence board.
Her IQ of 160 means she has a knack for picking up on details that will go unnoticed by the most seasoned detective.
While Detective Karadec (Daniel Sunjata) is sceptical about her talents.
But his reservations are overruled by Selena (Judy Reyes), the head of the LAPD's Major Crimes Division who offers Morgan a consultant position.