Questionable Skills of Cooking Show Hosts on Food Network

[Evo]

This channel cracks me up.

Could they possibly have more people hosting cooking shows that have no background in cooking? :rofl:

Bobby Flay, high school drop out that is dating the producer's daughter. This classless idiot has no place in the cooking world.

Emeril Lagasee. As his former boss at the New Orleans restaurant warned the new restaurant up north he escaped to (since it appeard, IMHO, that his lack of food knowledge and cooking skills were ending his career) that Emeril can't cook, but he loves to shmooze.

Rachel Ray, you've got to be kidding. I'd love to see her prepare a consommé, much less explain what it is. :rofl:

Most of the "food personalities" have no culinary education, have no idea what they're doing, their scripts are handed to them and they plow through what their kitchen assistants have placed on the set along with teleprompters telling them what to do and say. Put in a real kitchen with no assistants or scripts, these people couldn't boil an egg.

 

[G01]

Rachel Ray, you've got to be kidding. I'd love to see her prepare a consommé, much less explain what it is. :rofl:

The thing that annoys me about Rachel Ray is that she constantly takes words with three syllables and drops one, making a non-existant two syllable word. It's very annoying! Delicious--->Delis, etc.

I also don't think she could prepare a "consom," either.

 

[Evo]

The thing that annoys me about Rachel Ray is that she constantly takes words with three syllables and drops one, making a non-existant two syllable word. It's very annoying! Delicious--->Delis, etc.

I also don't think she could prepare a "consom," either.

:rofl: What ever happened to the PBS shows with people that actualy knew how to cook? People are growing up with no clue how to get around in a kitchen and why certain things are necessary and as a result how and why you can and cannot make certain substitutions. They don't understand the basic science behind cooking, and yes, cooking IS science. Do you know why key lime pie isn't a slimy liquid?

 

[G01]

:rofl: People are growing up with no clue how to get around in a kitchen and why certain things are necessary and as a result how and why you can and cannot make certain substitutions.

My friends have a roommate that doesn't understand why people have recipes. He thinks he can just mix anything together and have it taste good. For instance, he made pasta once and said stuff such as, "OK now some onion powder. Oh yeah I'll toss a little wine into the sauce. Awesome, now a couple of tablespoons of cajun seasoning. This is going to be some great pasta sauce!":yuck:

 

[FredGarvin]

I hate to say it, but Bobby Flay has had his own, very well to do restaurants. I can't stand the guy, but he has the chops to have his own show. Plus he married the hot ADA from Law and Order SVU. Look up his bio on wiki.

 

[Cyrus]

You should merge this thread with my thread. I did mention Rachel Ray and said she should work at McDonalds. Heres to cooking with Lidia on PBS!

I remember one episode she was lobster fishing on her boat in the mediterranean with her family. She says, if you don't like kiling things then don't cook lobster. She then smashes its head with a mallet and boils it in a pot. :rofl:

 

[binzing]

Cyrus, to comment your pic, I must use the words of Borat. "High Five!"

 

[turbo]

:rofl: What ever happened to the PBS shows with people that actualy knew how to cook? People are growing up with no clue how to get around in a kitchen and why certain things are necessary and as a result how and why you can and cannot make certain substitutions. They don't understand the basic science behind cooking, and yes, cooking IS science. Do you know why key lime pie isn't a slimy liquid?

One (sometimes) exception is Alton Brown's show. He does explain the science behind cooking, including how brining can transfer water to meats, how to make cookies chewy vs crunchy, etc. If you can get past the hamming and silliness, his shows often have some handy information.

As for the rest of them, I wonder what they could do in a real kitchen with available ingredients. I'd love to have Bobby Flay show up at my door for a "Throwdown" cook-off to prepare hot sauces to see if he's got any chops. Yeah, he's got a line of hot sauces, but regardless of whose name is on the label, I've never found any commercially-produced sauces that could come close to mine in quality (not just heat). There are a lot of compromises that have to be considered in commercial production, and I doubt that Flay has much of a hand in that, aside from go/no-go assessments of the products.

I hate to say it, but Bobby Flay has had his own, very well to do restaurants. I can't stand the guy, but he has the chops to have his own show.

Owning a chain of restaurants says little about his ability to cook, though. He may make executive decisions about what to add to the menu or delete, and what suppliers to use for meats, vegetable, spices, etc, (though, really, that should be the decision of his restaurant managers who can monitor the suppliers day-by-day) and he may pop into see what's going on from time to time, but he's not doing the cooking in those restaurants. If you pay attention, it's pretty hard to screw up a steak-house type restaurant.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Bobby Flay, high school drop out that is dating the producer's daughter. This classless idiot has no place in the cooking world.

wha? ok Emeril and Ray are obvious hacks, but Bobby can cook. I've watched many Iron Chef episodes with him and he usually makes and presents some very tempting dishs. He nearly always wins too. His restaurants may not be quality and he might be an ass, but he personally knows his way around food and a kitchen.

 

[Evo]

wha? ok Emeril and Ray are obvious hacks, but Bobby can cook. I've watched many Iron Chef episodes with him and he usually makes and presents some very tempting dishes. He nearly always wins too. His restaurants may not be quality and he might be an ass, but he personally knows his way around food and a kitchen.

Ok, maybe he can cook, but Morimoto had a conniption when he stood on the cutting board at the end of the Iron Chef challenge.

The question that came up at another food forum is if Flay can cook anything that doesn't have blue corn in it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Ok, maybe he can cook, but Morimoto had a conniption when he stood on the cutting board at the end of the Iron Chef challenge.

The question that came up at another food forum is if Flay can cook anything that doesn't have blue corn in it.

Yeah I remember that and I agree it was very classless. However, I still think he is head and shoulders above Emeril and Ray. Maybe that doesn't say much :)

I like anthony bourdain though. I love his shows and books!

 

[Evo]

Yeah I remember that and I agree it was very classless. However, I still think he is head and shoulders above Emeril and Ray. Maybe that doesn't say much :)

I just wish the Japanese Iron Chef hadn't ended, that was some incredible cooking.

 

[Evo]

I like anthony bourdain though. I love his shows and books!

I love him. I've just found that guy that has the show on bizarre food, but all he does is eat.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I love him. I've just found that guy that has the show on bizarre food, but all he does is eat.

Yeah andrew is great too, very interesting show. Nothing like watching someone eat pig brains with side of salmon ice cream! I tivo it.

 

[Cyrus]

I just wish the Japanese Iron Chef hadn't ended, that was some incredible cooking.

That show was amazing, and it was class all the way. The Amuri-kan version has some Japanese guy that does Karate...I somehow find that really offensive, and I am not even Japanese. They don't open their eyes wide and round and say 'hi america' on the Japanese version.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8258118611801394473&q=iron+chef+america&total=50&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

quite different from the US version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8258118611801394473&q=iron+chef+america&total=50&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

:yuck:

 

[fourier jr]

This channel cracks me up.

Could they possibly have more people hosting cooking shows that have no background in cooking? :rofl:

Bobby Flay, high school drop out that is dating the producer's daughter. This classless idiot has no place in the cooking world.

Emeril Lagasee. As his former boss at the New Orleans restaurant warned the new restaurant up north he escaped to (since it appeard, IMHO, that his lack of food knowledge and cooking skills were ending his career) that Emeril can't cook, but he loves to shmooze.

Rachel Ray, you've got to be kidding. I'd love to see her prepare a consommé, much less explain what it is. :rofl:

Most of the "food personalities" have no culinary education, have no idea what they're doing, their scripts are handed to them and they plow through what their kitchen assistants have placed on the set along with teleprompters telling them what to do and say. Put in a real kitchen with no assistants or scripts, these people couldn't boil an egg.

Giada de Laurentiis, Laura Calder, Anthony Sedlak, Rob Rainford? When Rainford talks about what he's cooking he sounds like Tim Allen talking about tools on Home Improvement, except Home Improvement is supposed to be funny. Sedlak has his cooking show because he won a Food Network contest. It was all about image & personality & being telegenic. They all probably do know a thing or two about cooking (literally) but I would say being telegenic is at least as important. I think I've picked up the formula so maybe I could even have a cooking show. First they make up a theme or anecdote (friends just coming over straight from the gym, hosting some local volunteer firefighters, dishes using nuts & chocolate, etc). Of course 20mins cooking only 3 dishes is hardly enough to cover anything thoroughly & for anyone to learn anything from. It sure isn't a substitute for working through a quality book (not Company's Coming, for example). Anyway they get a recipe (probably) out of a book, make it, tell the viewers how tasty it looks as it's cooking, tell stories about cooking with grandma, then when it's done take 1 bite & enthusiastically tell the viewer how delicious it is, regardless of how it looks or tastes. If someone can do that well enough they can have a cooking show like these other "celebrity chefs", that's about all there is to a cooking show as far as I can tell. As the closing credits roll, the guests tell the host how delicious it is also, in case people were skeptical earlier.

& what about Giada's Weekend Getaways or Rachael Ray's Tasty Travels? I don't know what those shows are even doing on the Food Network. If there were a travel network that's where they would belong. I don't know what I'm suppoosed to get out of watching someone eat on tv; those ones are even more pointless than the ones where people cook something. (Giada is really good lookin though :!) )

I like the Iron Chefs (original & America) & Throwdown! w/Bobby Flay because they have people who are actually good at what they do, and it's usually worth stealing ideas from them. I also like Heston Blumenthal's In Search for Perfection, since he's actually a chef & his show is all about using molecular gastronomy to perfect 'ordinary' dishes (fish & chips, steak, pizza, etc). Not all the things he does could be done at home but it's still interesting to see what the secret is to perfect fish & chips, for example. The secret is frothy batter almost like whipped cream that has lots of bubbles & structure to make it crispy when it cooks. That's why beer is used but Blumenthal went farther & used a CO2 canister & sprayed his batter into a bowl before dunking the turbot or whatever it was. Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares is good too.

 

[Evo]

That show was amazing, and it was class all the way. The Amuri-kan version has some Japanese guy that does Karate...I somehow find that really offensive, and I am not even Japanese. They don't open their eyes wide and round and say 'hi america' on the Japanese version.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8258118611801394473&q=iron+chef+america&total=50&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

quite different from the US version: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8258118611801394473&q=iron+chef+america&total=50&start=10&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

:yuck:

You're making me cry cyrus.

 

[Cyrus]

oops wrong Amerikun version, here he is blackflipping in all his glory for his people!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvokX0_TGH8&feature=related

Edit: woops, that Japanese link was wrong too, It should have been this:

 

[Cyrus]

Hey look, its bobby flay standing on a cutting board screaming like an idiot. The Iron Chef TORE into him HAHAHAHA. Look at flay all mad he lost, wa wa waa...

 

[Evo]

I can't even watch the American version, it's nowhere near the class show that the original Japanese was, they shouldn't be allowed to use the name, IMO. It has none of the appeal of the original.

 

[Moonbear]

I don't mind Rachel Ray having a show. She's annoying and I can't personally stand watching her (or more accurately, listening to her talk, between her grating voice and overuse of acronyms), but she also is honest enough to make it clear over and again that she's NOT a chef and doesn't consider herself one (not like others who claim to be a chef with no cooking skills...my brother-in-law falls into that category too). She isn't trying to teach people to cook gourmet meals, she's trying to teach people who don't cook just enough to make simple, reasonably nutritious homemade meals. I like that goal. Of course, for those of us who know how to do it, there's not much to get out of the show, but there really are a lot of people who think you need to spend all day cooking to make a homemade meal, and she's showing them that you don't. It's really no different than the stuff they used to cook on the PBS shows.

I thought Emeril did have actual credentials as a chef. Of course, he's mostly a businessman now. You don't have to be good in the kitchen to run a restaurant; afterall, he's not the one doing the cooking when he owns multiple restaurants, he has chefs in each of them who do the actual cooking, and the quality is dependent on what the chefs can do. His shows used to go into more of the theory behind the cooking, but that was years ago. Now that he's made his name, and is clearly aging, he seems to be resting on his laurels. I doubt he could keep up in a real working kitchen anymore...he moves too slow...but that could also be because he slows down for the cameras to see what he's doing.

I have no idea what Bobby Flay does. I've seen his shows and am not terribly impressed.

You can't necessarily judge anyone's cooking ability from those shows though. They have to cater to the audience, and if they have more viewers when they dumb down the show, then that's what they'll do.

The WORST one, though, that makes me queasy to watch, is that Almost Homemade show. :yuck: It's basically, "Take this pre-processed, frozen food out of a box, and add a sprinkle of fresh parsley for garnish and you can fool your friends with no tastebuds into thinking you made it yourself." :yuck: It's the complete opposite of what Rachel Ray is trying to do with her show, which is to get people away from that crap food. It's horrible, it's an entire show about how to take food out of a box and heat it up.

 

[Contrapositive]

Rachel Ray drives me up the wall. She is just way too happy. :grumpy:

I love Alton Brown. Good Eats the only show that actually teaches you how to cook. Half the time on Emerald or whatever, they tell you the ingredients but not the quantity. Alton is always discrete and straightforward. I also like how he integrates lots of science into his show.

 

[Evo]

I watched an episode of American Iron Chef the other night. At the beginning Alton Brown was explaining how they had just replaced the regular stove top with a high tech infrared cook top that cooks at a very high heat. Well, the secret ingredient was steak. It was a disaster. Apparently the only heat setting is INFERNO. Everything was burning, apparently there is no way to control the heat. The chefs were being burned by the flames. I guess they should have tried the stovetop before installing it. I won't be surprised if that thing gets yanked.

 

[turbo]

Is there no normal cooking on US TV? This is crap! I would love to begin a cooking show around meals that normal people could prepare for their families and could make into family favorites. My grandmother and my mother were wonderful cooks who could make miracles. I try, and sometimes fall short, but still I try.

 

[Evo]

Is there no normal cooking on US TV? This is crap! I would love to begin a cooking show around meals that normal people could prepare for their families and could make into family favorites. My grandmother and my mother were wonderful cooks who could make miracles. I try, and sometimes fall short, but still I try.

There is no normal cooking on tv, at least not on the Food Network, they are only into hype, they care more about peppy, perky tv personalities than the cooking. Cooking takes a backseat to what they consider "entertainment". Since I haven't been feeling well, I've been watching tv. It's bad.

The only decent cooking shows seem to be on PBS.

 

[Werg22]

My favorite on Food TV is Jimmy Oliver. And Rachel Ray once competed in Iron Chef, she must know how to cook, maybe not better than you Evo, we all know you are a world class chef, but still. And I don't understand the purpose of this thread. Are you mocking these people or are you criticizing them? And it seems as though you are trying to give yourself an air of superiority by throwing the name of a French dish. All in all, this thread comes off as blatantly ill-willed.

 

[Evo]

My favorite on Food TV is Jimmy Oliver. And Rachel Ray once competed in Iron Chef, she must know how to cook, maybe not better than you Evo, we all know you are a world class chef, but still. And I don't understand the purpose of this thread. Are you mocking these people or are you criticizing them? And it seems as though you are trying to give yourself an air of superiority by throwing the name of a French dish. All in all, this thread comes off as blatantly ill-willed.

It is ill willed. The Food Network could have been a great venue for serious chefs and instead it's a circus. For people that really know how to cook, it's a disappointment. But as I said, it's focus is entertainment, not cooking.

 

[Moonbear]

I think I've picked up the formula so maybe I could even have a cooking show. First they make up a theme or anecdote (friends just coming over straight from the gym, hosting some local volunteer firefighters, dishes using nuts & chocolate, etc). Of course 20mins cooking only 3 dishes is hardly enough to cover anything thoroughly & for anyone to learn anything from. It sure isn't a substitute for working through a quality book (not Company's Coming, for example). Anyway they get a recipe (probably) out of a book, make it, tell the viewers how tasty it looks as it's cooking, tell stories about cooking with grandma, then when it's done take 1 bite & enthusiastically tell the viewer how delicious it is, regardless of how it looks or tastes. If someone can do that well enough they can have a cooking show like these other "celebrity chefs", that's about all there is to a cooking show as far as I can tell. As the closing credits roll, the guests tell the host how delicious it is also, in case people were skeptical earlier.

Oh, and don't forget you're supposed to tell them at the end that that they can find the complete recipe in your cookbook so they too can make that tasty dish if they buy your book.

Their cookbooks are also probably the ones that dumb down all the instructions. Instead of telling someone to simmer something, it probably reads, "place pan on low heat until small bubbles form in liquid."

 

[Moonbear]

And Rachel Ray once competed in Iron Chef, she must know how to cook...

Why do you assume that? If you saw the show, she was paired with a real chef, not permitted to cook on her own.

The point is, if you didn't know how to cook, you're not going to learn from the Food Network. And if you know how to cook and wanted to improve your cooking, you're still not going to learn from the Food Network. Really good chefs aren't on their network, they're in the kitchen of a great restaurant serving delicious food, and probably don't look good enough to be put on a camera. The Food Network has a bunch of people who look pretty on camera who may or may not be able to cook, but certainly who don't teach anyone anything about cooking when they do their shows.

 

[ZapperZ]

I actually like the Food Network, but not all of its content, obviously.

I don't watch any Emrill shows. I find him too overbearing and too showy, without a lot of things to learn from. I also don't watch Iron Chef America. I find that to be a pale comparison with the original Iron Chef, which was campy and certainly was exotic.

The programs that I do watch are Giada's Everyday Italian (and her Weekend Getaway), Good Eats, The Secret Life Of.., Easy Entertainment, and Unwrapped. I think these shows have not only content about food preparation techniques, but also the historical and cultural connections. For me, learning about the social aspect of food is almost as fun as the food itself. I get more appreciation for the food, especially the exotic ones, even if I don't find them too appetizing. You have at least a degree of respect on why such-and-such is eaten and part of some culture's diet. I love those kinds of stories about food.

Also, I tend to lean towards less "foo foo" type of food and more towards rustic, "ma-and-pa" types. That's why I don't care that much if someone has formal culinary training. I know of many short-order cooks who don't have any kind of formal training that can run rings around some of these so-called chefs in terms of techniques.

This is why the Food Network is one of my "staple" TV channel.

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

I enjoy Bobby Flays throw-downs, and I adore Paula Dean, and Alton Brown. I have borrowed many of their cooking tips. I've also enjoyed Diners, Drive in and Dives, some of my favorit places to eat are little mom and pop joints.
I did give Sandralee, Giada and Rachael fair viewing time, and will still watch Giada's show from time to time. More so to figure out how she eats so much pasta and stays thin.
I'm with Moonbear on the Rachael Ray voice, aagghhhhh it makes me nuts to hear her talk.

 

[Evo]

I think these shows have not only content about food preparation techniques, but also the historical and cultural connections. For me, learning about the social aspect of food is almost as fun as the food itself. I get more appreciation for the food, especially the exotic ones, even if I don't find them too appetizing. You have at least a degree of respect on why such-and-such is eaten and part of some culture's diet. I love those kinds of stories about food.Zz.

Do you watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel? I LOVE HIM! He really talks about the culture and the history and how to eat the food.

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/bizarre-foods.html

 

[ZapperZ]

Do you watch Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel? I LOVE HIM! He really talks about the culture and the history and how to eat the food.

http://travel.discovery.com/tv/bizarre-foods/bizarre-foods.html

Yup! I love that show. I also used to like Anthony Bourdin when he was doing something similar. Now he's doing way too much preaching in his No Reservations show.

Zz.

 

[rewebster]

I've had a hunger for baklava lately--I think its part of the cabin fever I've been going through in the last few days.

http://candiedquince.ca/wp-content/baklava04.JPG

 

[Werg22]

When it comes to pastry, I tend not to like the rustic stuff... I never liked baklava for that reason. Then again it's very hard to find good pastry here in NA, so baklava might be on top of many other things. :S