171 replies to this topic

[rancho_gordo]

On the flipside, can I say how hard/weird/unnatural it is to have a camera focused on you and a big fuzzy mic boom almost touching your face? I give them all credit. I really rate them on whether they know their stuff. I find Alton Brown abrasive but I admire him. I think most Italians would be confused by the stuff Giada DeLaurentis produces. But some of this stuff is about personalities and some of you go for the jugular!

[Trev]

"Throwdown with Bobby Flay"....I agree!

The whole idea is terrible, & Bobby is full of himself - smirking & puffed up when the crowd realize there is a "star" in the crowd. I recall one show in particular, where he was trying to come up with better food than a food cart was serving. No expense was spared on Bobby's part, so there was no way he could have sold the item for the $5 or so that the vendor was charging. How fair is that? It's just a mean-spirited show in my opinion.

I disagree on this one. I like Flay, and seeing some of the food he produces on iron chef makes me realize that when he challenges someone on throwdown he's actually bringing a lot of business to that kitchen. He seems almost appologietic when he wins and doesn't strike me as a poor loser when he doesn't win. I know he brings a stocked pantry with him when he goes on a challenge, but it doesn't always help him as the judges are almost always local and can tell the difference between the real thing and what Flay has made. I also get a huge kick out of his two lovely assistants who always roll thier eyes at him. They're just so 'not impressed' by him. They treat him like he's more of a pain in the ass, but they also clearly get along. I admire Flay and think that in a way he's a very smart television personality with at least two shows that celebrate the average home-chef's talents. It endears him to the public a lot more than someone who talks down to, or simply instructs, the audience, or their guests.

[rotuts]

Im also a big fan of Bobby Flay. I capped and have most of an early show Hot Off the Grill.

I think he really understands how to cook and Ive learned a lot from him. we need to remember these shows are sometimes not just about cooking, but have to have some hooks that are ''entertaining''

I also have most of his other shows.

if you cant entertain, what ever that means, You Are FIred!

I agree that FoodTV is less about cooking for a long time and more about travel and entertainment. thats there model.

I cut the Cable a long time ago, and now have over the air HDTV>

think how small the National debt would be if people realized that 50 - 75 $$ a month was fairly inefficient use for the hard earned $$$


they dumped Sara Moulton, well, she's short, a little wide, and has a type of mid-west vanilla voice.

but she can really cook and if you ignore the rest you can learn a lot!

[annabelle]

I've grown accustomed to Bobby Flay. I dispised him when he was first on teevee. He's constantly clapping his hands and saying "all right!" to the camera (which I know was nerves)in his early shows was awful. I will admit that I want to hide his blue cornmeal and cornhusks from him when he's on Iron Chef. I agree that he's a good loser on "Throwdown", and he has had his ass handed to him a few times.

they dumped Sara Moulton, well, she's short, a little wide, and has a type of mid-west vanilla voice.

Sara quit. She didn't like the direction the network was going in. And though she is a little vanilla, she is not from the MidWest and her husband is a hip-hop promoter.

Edited by annabelle, 26 May 2011 - 12:45 PM.

[Special K]

they dumped Sara Moulton, well, she's short, a little wide, and has a type of mid-west vanilla voice.

but she can really cook and if you ignore the rest you can learn a lot!

Wait, when did we start condemning people who are "short" and "a little wide?" (And yes, she's short, but where does this "a little wide" even come from?)

[rotuts]

No No NO

thats what FootTV did

Not Me!

she has been on PBS

she is superb! if she is 'dull' I dont care she can cook!!!!

now about those "Extra Cups ..."

Gina and Nigella have used them to some effect ....

of course Nigella is a Serious Student of the Low Cut Fuzzzy Sweater!!!!

[kitchensqueen]

Sarah Moultons on and off smile annoys the hell outta me

Is she the blonde that does that "Weeknight Meals" show, or whatever it's called? If I'm thinking of the right one, yeah - she's very plastic-y. Like a Barbie.

[Trev]

of course Nigella is a Serious Student of the Low Cut Fuzzzy Sweater!!!!

seriously, Nigella is the sexiest woman on tv, regardless of the station.

[GlorifiedRice]

Sarah Moultons on and off smile annoys the hell outta me

Is she the blonde that does that "Weeknight Meals" show, or whatever it's called? If I'm thinking of the right one, yeah - she's very plastic-y. Like a Barbie.

I dont know, but every Thanksgiving shed refer to the turkey as The Turkey Lurky

[Werdna]

"Throwdown with Bobby Flay"....I agree!

The whole idea is terrible, & Bobby is full of himself - smirking & puffed up when the crowd realize there is a "star" in the crowd. I recall one show in particular, where he was trying to come up with better food than a food cart was serving. No expense was spared on Bobby's part, so there was no way he could have sold the item for the $5 or so that the vendor was charging. How fair is that? It's just a mean-spirited show in my opinion.

I disagree on this one. I like Flay, and seeing some of the food he produces on iron chef makes me realize that when he challenges someone on throwdown he's actually bringing a lot of business to that kitchen. He seems almost appologietic when he wins and doesn't strike me as a poor loser when he doesn't win. I know he brings a stocked pantry with him when he goes on a challenge, but it doesn't always help him as the judges are almost always local and can tell the difference between the real thing and what Flay has made. I also get a huge kick out of his two lovely assistants who always roll thier eyes at him. They're just so 'not impressed' by him. They treat him like he's more of a pain in the ass, but they also clearly get along. I admire Flay and think that in a way he's a very smart television personality with at least two shows that celebrate the average home-chef's talents. It endears him to the public a lot more than someone who talks down to, or simply instructs, the audience, or their guests.

Throwdown is the show that made me like Bobby Flay. The free advertising on national tv for tasty non-chain food. And he does not try to win IMO. He goes in there and makes his own, upscale version of whatever the food is. Then they have the regulars judge it. More often than not, the locals win because they like the food they have been eating more than some foo-foo experiment that Bobby did. The locals get to look good, win quite often, and no shame if they loose to some famous dude. We get some interesting spin on a favorite, close-ups of the original dish. All win.

[ellevan]

I just thought of two more PBS shows I can't stand -

"Christina Cooks" - she has this guy with her for half the show serenading her on guitar about her cooking. Weird.

"Joanne Weir's Cooking Class" - her personality and manner of speaking just grate on my nerves. She's talking to grown adults like they're three year olds - "Okay, so now to get this bell pepper cooked- - have you ever eaten a bell pepper? - we have to cut it into strips with this knife. You've seen a knife like this before, right?". Drives me insane - it's the kindergarten teacher voice or something...

I agree with both of your choices. The guitar guy is odd, and her food is boring. Joanne Weir creeps me out, it must be her voice.
Also, anything that involves Bobby Flay. Everyone should try goggling "I hate Bobby Flay" quite hilarious results!

[chezcherie]

On the flipside, can I say how hard/weird/unnatural it is to have a camera focused on you and a big fuzzy mic boom almost touching your face? I give them all credit. I really rate them on whether they know their stuff. I find Alton Brown abrasive but I admire him. I think most Italians would be confused by the stuff Giada DeLaurentis produces. But some of this stuff is about personalities and some of you go for the jugular!

couldn't agree more, rancho gordo. having done a few on camera segments myself, i no longer have that deer-in-headlights feeling i had the first few times, but it is indeed hard/weird/unnatural, and to make it look otherwise is a skill.

[GlorifiedRice]

Christina Cooks IS the WORST!

Shes MESSY, the food is gross, she actually truly believes that all the eggs at the mkts would have turned into chickens had
us horrible carnivores had not put them in the refrigerator...@@

And she USED to say "a pinch of salt to close the vegetables shut." What does that mean?

[kitchensqueen]

Oh yeah, Bobby Flay is just awful! He just seems so snotty and pretentious.

[gfweb]

I don't mind Flay. He's just an Irish smartass. He means well I think.

Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

[ellevan]

Christina Cooks IS the WORST!

Shes MESSY, the food is gross, she actually truly believes that all the eggs at the mkts would have turned into chickens had
us horrible carnivores had not put them in the refrigerator...@@

And she USED to say "a pinch of salt to close the vegetables shut." What does that mean?

Christina Cooks is the only cooking show that has actually found a way to make me less hungry. So I guess I could use her show as a dieing tool. Too bad I think her show may be canceled....darn.

[kitchensqueen]

Christina Cooks is the only cooking show that has actually found a way to make me less hungry. So I guess I could use her show as a dieing tool. Too bad I think her show may be canceled....darn.

Fear not, it stills airs on PBS, in Chicago at least. Your dieting plan could work.

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Wow, you all make me so glad I don't have a television.... On the rare occasions when I have a chance to see cooking shows (often while waiting to have my visa renewed), I'd have to nominate Canal 4's "Cocinando Con Maria" - first of all, I'd have to get over the fact that she's cooking almost exclusively with Nestle pre-packaged ingredients, and then I'd have to overlook the low-cut evening dress she's wearing while frying things (!), and after that I'd have to ignore that she's corrupting traditional recipes. Gnnnnn.

[emmalish]

I agree. It was dreadful. I seem to remember a time when he wasn't on with her, and it was a pretty good show then. But maybe I'm just thinking of her cookbooks, which seem to be all hers.

I've never seen Cooking with John and Caprial, but I vaguely remember watching a show called Cooking with Caprial – all I remember about it is that I kinda liked it.

I disagree on this one. I like Flay, and seeing some of the food he produces on iron chef makes me realize that when he challenges someone on throwdown he's actually bringing a lot of business to that kitchen. He seems almost appologietic when he wins and doesn't strike me as a poor loser when he doesn't win. I know he brings a stocked pantry with him when he goes on a challenge, but it doesn't always help him as the judges are almost always local and can tell the difference between the real thing and what Flay has made. I also get a huge kick out of his two lovely assistants who always roll thier eyes at him. They're just so 'not impressed' by him. They treat him like he's more of a pain in the ass, but they also clearly get along. I admire Flay and think that in a way he's a very smart television personality with at least two shows that celebrate the average home-chef's talents. It endears him to the public a lot more than someone who talks down to, or simply instructs, the audience, or their guests.

I'll just say "ditto" to all of that.

My vote for worst food (not necessarily cooking) show has to be all the travel-type shows. I really don't want to just watch someone eating a meal and making nummy noises. The only show of this type that I've liked is Alton Brown's Feasting on Asphalt, because it was informative and interesting (and I love Alton). I hate that this seems to be the trend on FN now.

My vote for worst cooking show... wow, so many options. I hate the big personalities that FN seems to be pushing these days. They all just seem to be trying too hard. Guy Fieri, The Neelys, Bitchin' Kitchen, Paula Deen. I've never had the displeasure of seeing Sandra Lee. I kinda want to for the horror factor.

[GlorifiedRice]

BTW Steven Raichlens show is very informative about BBQ, but I get the impression that hes a neat freak
and BBQ and Neat Freak dont mix and he always seems awkward on his own show.

[Special K]

Just thought of another one: I used to really enjoy Michael Chiarallo's cooking shows, but I quit watching Easy Entertaining (I think it was called) when he added the "Michael Rants" segment. The one that pushed me over the edge was the rant about the mustard splorting out of the container. I mean, really! I'm sorry, I konw this is shallow, but for such a good looking, seemingly (I had always thought) easygoing guy, he looks and seems ugly and irrational when he's ranting. I don't want to see Angry Michael!! It just spoiled it for me. Now I can't think of him without visualizing that angry scowl.

[kitchensqueen]

BTW Steven Raichlens show is very informative about BBQ, but I get the impression that hes a neat freak
and BBQ and Neat Freak dont mix and he always seems awkward on his own show.

I actually like this one a bit - his recipes are really good. But yeah, he's totally OCD. And I hate the way he says the word "cilantro" - he'll say the entire sentence like a normal human being, and then use this bizarre fake-Spanish accent to say that one word. It drives me up the wall...

[rotuts]

However in his later shows, not the first ones in the East where he Ran His BBQ College, he has some tasty stuff.

he's a little Stiff. but he is a master of many things including BBQ Desert!

[rotuts]

Well no one likes Christina

for reason: that Guitar guy? did he cook?

that being said if you move down from her "show" and see "cookng" she had some interesting Veg cooking.

a billion years ago she had a 'Man Show' dont get me wrong on this Ive forgoten

but she has a 'manly' what ever that is Bean Soup cooked in a pressure cooker.

I make this all the time with my own variations but I got from her show puting the beans in the pressure coooker

works well for me..

the guitar guy well who knows?

[pennbrew]

Hands down the worst "cooking" thing I've seen is Mr. Food. This syndicated 2-3 minute segment used to appear on the local news. All his "recipes" were of the type "a bag of frozen this and a can of cream-of-that soup". He always ended the spot with a very cheesy-sounding "Ooooooo, it's so GOOD!"

[kitchensqueen]

Hands down the worst "cooking" thing I've seen is Mr. Food. This syndicated 2-3 minute segment used to appear on the local news. All his "recipes" were of the type "a bag of frozen this and a can of cream-of-that soup". He always ended the spot with a very cheesy-sounding "Ooooooo, it's so GOOD!"

Oh yeah - he's totally creepy! Hearing him say "Ooooo, it's soooo GOOD!" literally makes my skin crawl. And to think, tons of people out there "cook" from his "recipes". What a strange world we all live in.

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

Christina Cooks is the only cooking show that has actually found a way to make me less hungry. So I guess I could use her show as a dieing tool. Too bad I think her show may be canceled....darn.

Fear not, it stills airs on PBS, in Chicago at least. Your dieting plan could work.

It still airs in the SF Bay Area too (KQED Create), late at night. I watch just to mock her when I have nothing better to do.

[CDRFloppingham]

No disrespect to the original poster but I find this kind of post silly.

What one wants to watch on TV is intensely personal.

I have noted that the eGullet crowd TENDS

1. To love: Julia Child, Jacques Pepin, and several other PBS "celebrities" (Lydia)

2. To hate: Rachel Ray, Sandra Lee, Bobby Flay

Here's why I don't like this kind of post:

1. It has been done many, many times before
2. There is no wrong or right.

a. There is the element of time. Julia was ahead of her time in ~1965. That being said, "The French Chef" is not appealing to me in 2011.
b. Some of us who are more advanced home cooks may look to TV for things other than learning now to cook an egg or a leg of lamb (we have mastered these).
c. What's wrong with some cleavage or a pretty face (or a good looking guy for the ladies)?

[kryptos1]

It is getting tougher to watch many of the shows on TV. Hosts/Producers are so obsessed with showing off a new tip or trick like a prerequisite to even have the show. Most of the information is pointless and its just following a few recipes from there. FN reminds me of MTV.

My least favorite shows:
- Everyday Exotic, Cooking Network. Having watched a few episodes, I quit watching after watching this one: Everyday Exotic Fail. Anyone who has used seschuan peppercorn would find this steak completely repulsive. Maybe I am being shallow having only watched a few shows but someone should have stopped this one from being aired.

- Rachael Ray. This show stank of a bunch of Food Network TV execs selecting a show to throw a ton of cash in just to get high ratings and high return on investment so they could hire more TV personalities. Seemed to work for them. Maybe its Emeril's fault for being charismatic and when he faded they needed something new. At least he actually worked in the food industry with a good sized presence.

[Heartsurgeon]

without a doubt the WORSE show ever..."SPAIN, on the road again" with Mario Batali, Mark Bitmann,Gwyneth Paltrow and Claudia Bassols

here is link to a clip from the show, where Mario smells Claudia's feet, with Bitmann watching..I kid you not.

Mario smells Claudia's feet

here are my original posts about this abomination of a food show (enjoy!)


vain
self-indulgent
narcissistic
not a good cooking show
not a good travel show
not a good show...period
it's a show about celebrities...being, well, celebrities....
why Paltrow is on the show is anyone's guess (makes Batali look even porkier than he is, and that's saying alot).
i guess she has screen cred (she's the biggest celeb of the bunch).
lord take me now....
i watched another episode tonite, and it was WORSE!!!!
basic story line...
mid-life crisis/middle aged/paunchy guys drive around
spain with two younger, hotter women.
the guys act all-knowing
the "girls" giggle and act seductive
it's gross.
they had the women naked or near naked (taking a shower in a bikini, soaking in a hot tub)
while the guys went out bar hopping together, eating tapas.
vague overtones of homosexuality
and Batalli...my God man, learn some self control...gnawing at tapas with your pork-pie fingers and then giving the saliva seasoned dregs to Bittman (who dutifully gobbled them down).
Bittman is an insufferable know-it-all (kinda like a culinary Chuck Schumer), and Batalli looks like he's one bite away from exploding.
It's actually a morbid experience watching Batalli killing himself...a culinary snuff film
where the murder weapon is food.....
Trapped into watching another episode...
Just sad...
Highlight of the episode was watching Bittman/Paltrow/Bassol take a nap...
I kid you not...
They teased me briefly when they talked about barfing after eating a big Churro...
Paltrow, Bassol and Bittman hurling could have really made the episode special, and changed my feelings about the entire series ("a gritty show about dark underbelly of epicureanism")
But alas, no "feeding the cat".....
I'll watch a show if it provokes outrage...nothing beats shouting deprecating remarks at the TV (al la Ignatius J. Reilly)...
But this...this has descended into boring and sad...
"there are quite a few giggles in each and every episode'
those sounds aren't giggles....
they're the sounds I make when I'm having sleep apnea....
Watched another episode out of self-loathing....
The Large One and Chuck Shumer eating cheese and drinking cider in a stone hut....
that's all I can remember about the episode....literally.....so unmemorable, that i can not even summon up outrage..
Flipped by another episode last nite....
El Lardo and the thin one eating breakfast, having an insipid conversation...
Burning a bunch of seafood on a barbeque grill and watching El Lardo shovel it down his piehole, while the thin one picks at thin seafood with her thin fingers...
I used to want to visit Spain...
This show has killing that desire completely..

A morbidly obese dude and an anorexic together on a food show...
who thought this show up????
The only bright spot is Bassols...she is smokin hot...
Get rid of El Lardo, the thin one, and Chuckie Shumer, and LET BASSOLS HAVE HER OWN SHOW. That could be an excellent show..
this is a niche TV program which is aimed at food masochists.
it is quite possible the worst form of entertainment i can recall seeing, since the movie Eraserhead.
It is a food show that makes a person want to stop eating. It stars an inexplicable collection of people, including an anorexic, someone who needs a gastric bypass, and Chuck Schumer's twin sibling (not meant as a compliment).
The only bright spot is Claudia Bassols (complete hottie). Why exactly she is on the show, other than for hottiness, is however, an utter mystery.