Am I the only one who found Chefs success with women quite baffling? I honestly don't want to be rude about the actor but he wasn't very good looking and the character was completely charmless and miserable. I could see Simone having an affair with him because with her there was probably a Lady Chatterly appeal about their relationship but the idea that he was the village rake who seduced all these women just didn't seem believable to me.
shareI think it was due to the fact that most of the women in the village were bored and looking for at least some degree of adventure and/or risk in their lives. Life in the village moved very slow, very little ever happened (at least before Danny Kavanagh moved there anyway) and after a few years of it I imagine most would be clambering over themselves for a little excitement. Chef was a tough, rugged and devil-may-care indiviudal, the only of his type in the village, and so a few of the women saw him as their outlet from their boring lifestyle. That's the way I saw it anyway.
shareI suppose I can see that. Like I said I never questioned Simone having an affair with him but I still find some of his conquests a bit hard to believe like that young blond who worked in the kitchen.
shareI think the point of his character was that he had no redeeming features. If he looked like Bradd Pitt then women viewers would be attracted to him and men would think 'well, i can understand...'
But as it is, he is hated by all viewers - he is there to be disliked. He also represents the man that threatens all men - by taking away their wives, partners and daughters.
Could a man like him have so many conquests? Believe me, I've seen men like him in action.
Was the "donkey"-like size of his manhood not surely a factor? It seemed to be well-known around the town and, adding this to the 'bored women' hypothesis, surely a reason he was so succesful with the ladies.
In small towns, word spreads quickly and all that.
I like the way the character is so evil and shows no remorse. He doesn't remotely give a damn about anyone (with the exception of his son) but himself. The fact that he has caused so much pain and suffering to people aswell as breaking up marriages just gives him a kick and encouages him to do it more; a good line to show this was when the teacher caught simone and chef together, chef quite arrogently walked out to confront the teacher and said "smashing" and as the teacher went to hit him with a shovel he quite arrogently said "now that could seriously damage you health". Also how did his wife put up with it for so long? I know she got her revenge in the end but she had put up with it for years that she eventually had seen that the only way she was going to stop him and his evil ways was by doing what she did.
sharethe cooler king - I know men who are known to be very well-endowed but aren't that successful with women so I don't think that explains it though I don't remember it being said he that hung except sarcastically by Simone.
jonathon - I agree he's a great villain. Very believable as a nasty piece of work and sociopath (maybe?). I like that they never tried to redeem him or have him turn nice. I just didn't get that he would have so many women.
My wife recently saw "The Lakes" for the first time and said if we were ever to move to a quiet village like that where nothing happend and it was boring then she would consider seeing chef, so there is definatly something about him that women see. Basically someone like Chef in a small village provides some excitement away from boring village life and adding that his manhood is rather large (which would have been spread round the village over time) then women would be throwing themselves at him.
BTW - Who is that blond that we see Chef with towards the end of series 2? We hear that her name is Maggie but she is uncredited?
There are women whom are just easy plain and simple. The guy does not have to be good looking or have a great body. But simply have a way with words.
share