Yeah, he's a cornball and not very instructional. Ever see the Two Fat Ladies? If you're into lard and organ meats this is for you! I think one of them passed away. I used to love Justin Wilson on PBS and I grew up watching Julia. K
If I'm not watching sports, I'm watching food network. Good Eats is by far my favorite show. Alton Brown is an effing genius, and funny too.
I figure one of the best jobs in the world has to be a host for Food Finds, Best Of, $40 A Day, etc. You get paid to go around the world and eat great food.
I wish Food Network still showed "The Thirsty Traveller". That dude got to travel all over the world, get loaded on everything from beer to champagne to uzo and more and then eat.
Worst show(s): Anything with Emeril. Anything with Sara Moulton. I acually love "HOt off the Grill:. But I find Bobby Flay an annoying prick. And Jacqui Malouf is a toothy whore. But Flay's food is creative. Mario Batali is worlds apart from Emeril & Flay. Mario's no entertainer, but the guy knows food. And the guy can really cook. Mario's a James Beard winner, something I don't think neither Emeril nor Flay's ever been awarded. "Best of . . ." is good. So is "Cook's Tour".
I love Cook's Tour because Bourdain is such an arrogant tosser. It makes for much more entertaining television than a mugging fool like Gordon Elliott.
I would have really been able to challenge them. here's some dialouge: "Well, let's take a look in the pantry......uh, well.....some really old raisins, a jar of salsa, some canned peaches.....and that's it! OK, we've got to go."
He may come across that way, but I have a friend who works for him at Les Halles and says he's a great guy, and a great guy to work for.
I can see that. There was one episode where he went through Mexico with a guy that works for him, and they seemed to get along pretty well.
Have you ever read Kitchen Confidential? He loves those guys - the mostly Mexican/Salvadoran/Guatemalan kitchen crew who have been working for him all over NYC for years. He explains in that book why, for instance, most Italian head chefs would never hire Italians for their crew, and why he almost totally avoids culinary school graduates - particularly Americans and French - to work his line. From reading that book, I was surprised he got a show on Food Network at all, as he positioned himself as a sort of anti-Emeril or anti-Flay.
In the hardcover edition of KC Bourdain expressed his total hatred of TV cooks, especially Emeril. Then, in the softcover, he added a foreword that said he was too harsh on them, and he heard from people he respected that Emeril could really cook. Whether he's being honest or he was sucking up to get the TV job is your call.
I was told that, if I read it, I'd never want to go to another restaurant. I have no desire to get to that poart of my life. Awesome avatar, btw.
Um, maybe, but I doubt it unless you're exceptionally squeamish. More likely you'll just shy away from things like ordering fish on Mondays, which may be advice worth heeding Thanks on the avatar.
Good Eats rules, and someone else brought up America's Test Kitchen from Cook's Illustrated (which isn't on the Food Network but rather PBS so it's not technically eligible for this thread...) -- I find America's Test Kitchen appealing because they have the science desk, the equipment corner, etc. similar to how Alton Brown brings in the nutritional anthropologist and goes to Bed Bath & Beyond for equipment, etc. Food geek heaven. My favorite Good Eats moment was in the Ham episode, when Alton was describing how to get the salt out of the country ham by soaking it in water, using Barbie dolls and action figures to represent the salt, the water, and the cell membrane.
I think the host of America's Test Kitchen is the very definition of "food geek". Which is a good thing.
I haven't really watched the food network that much, but the first time I saw East Meets West he was making good simple food that made me hungry as hell. Salt-crusted prime-rib roast with Garlic and Wasabe mashed potatoes. I watched a few more episodes however, and ran across a cookbook of his in the library, and its mostly fancy-schmancy stuff that I can't afford and I don't have the patience for. Oh, and one time somebody was making Thai wontons...mmm. Might have to make a run to the grocers right now.
like good eats, jaime oliver, iron chef, anything w/ ming tsai, mario and bobby and a cooks tour i hate emeril. he's on way too much def top 5
I like $40 a day, because I'm also a Travel Channel geek- so this is kinda the best of both worlds. I've also seen some episodes of Olivers Twist, the fact that the show is shot on actual film makes the food look even better than the rest of the shows. I hate Emeril, and he's on half the time. I don't know what they do to the studio audience, they must hand out vodka or wiskey before they go on air.
I like: Sara Moulton, A Cook's Tour, Good Eats, Iron Chef, Jamie Oliver, Best Of, Unwrapped and (some of) Melting Pot. I hate: Rachael Ray (shove that bottle of EVOO up your 37 year old pseudo-adolescent crack, biatch. - *Giggle, Giggle* - No, I don't care what your grandpa or nana did with EVOO, you $40 a day cunt) Also, you don't need to bundle all of your ingredients in your arms to make a two foot trip to your *giggle, giggle*, prep surface. Your recipes suck, and what the F is up with the garbage bowl? You ought to rename your show from "30 Minute Meals" to "30 Minute Meals, 90 Minute Cleanup"; Barefoot Contessa (what the F is this about?); Tyler Florence (There's something about you, don't know what it is, but you are ANNOYING - maybe it's because you are so goddamned sweaty.); Martha - You are played out and you know it. David Rosengarten - Be thankful you were cancelled two years ago, cause I gots two barrels to unload on both of them chins, you fucker.
Best shows are Good Eats and Unwrapped. Also like Molto Mario and $40 a day. Worst shows are the Food Network Axis of Evil: Emeril, Martha Stewart and Sarah Moulton. Plus Top 5 (although it would be much better with a different host) and the Survivor guy's show.
Why no love for Sarah? (A question not just for you, quicksand, but for any of her detractors). I mean, at worse she's innocuous, as opposed to the likes of Emeril or that English wanker who's always showing off for his paid friends -- those guys aspire to being merely annoying, and that's the best they can hope for. Martha Stewart, of course, is the apotheosis of evil as far as anyone with a TV show.
She's an annoying bitch. Her "creations" are knock-offs from her mentor Julia Child. Zero creativity. Does she have her own restaurant? Does she even cook for one? Have you ever watched her show??? That motherf 'er couldn't even cook. At best, she's a pastry chef. Those who can - cook. Those who can't - edit food magazines.
Good Eats Mario does Italy $40 a day (best when in Europe) Oliver's Twist anything with pizza. ---shows I hate 1) Emeril 2) Sarah Moulton...just annoys me. 3) Bobby Flay shows I'm hungry