Claudia Greco

That's really lame. yeah, I know, they own it and it's their rights, blah, blah, blah, but . . . just a shady move on their part. They'd still have him if they hadn't chased him off or wanted him hosting people's backyard barbecues. Then again, on the plus side, hopefully I'll get to read Tony's thoughts on this pretty soon once he gets wind of it . . . ← I believe Tony is trying to ascertain to whom the rights will belong after June and, if not him or his original partners (Chris Collins and Lydia Tenaglia, who are STILL his partners). The lawyers are busy, as we speak.

Yeah, with a light time change to 10:30p, instead of 11: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_tb And you think Bourdain's got big brass ones! (It would be nice if FN updated the picture and bio, though).

You know, I'd really have to check about that. I thought he was already done with FN, shot the Ferran "docu-sode", released it on DVD/VHS because he had no other medium for it, but then later aired it as an NR episode - why not? He had it in the can already. The FN issue had been ongoing way before the Ferran documentary - Tony wasn't going to be given an hour time slot, and he wasn't going to be given the budget (or the creative control) to go shoot in exotic locales - FN definitely wanted him to do a variant of Food Nation, all domestic, etc. - so I doubt Tony even had it in his mind to try and get FN to air the Ferran show. If I recall, Tony and his partners felt it important enough to put up their own money, etc. and shoot Ferran, and then try to package it however they could. Which is why it never aired on FN, the DVD came out well before it aired on the Travel Channel as an NR episode, etc.

Is this right before "Decoding Ferran Adria"? Bourdain has balls. ← Not sure what you're asking - the A Cook's Tour issue was ongoing in 2002-2003, while AB was shooting the series. He shot the Ferran Adria documentary/episode in 2005/2006, I think (although it didn't air until much later, as an episode of NR).

Kind of like the "entertainment" segments on his new show? Or his Christmas special? ← No, worse. Like trying to get him to praise food that sucked, and be all perky and vanilla. There was one episode (either Oaxaca? Pueblo?) where he went to the restaurant of a new, young chef, and the food was appalling. But, as Tony was in the guy's restaurant, with family, friends and colleagues of the guy watching in Mexico and NYC, Tony could not bluntly diss the food, so he clammed up. His producers at the time were trying to get him to be all upbeat and cheery and praise the food, and he couldn't - and wouldn't - do it. So he just got very tight-lipped and "non-performing". Being pushed into those of situations made AB very unhappy, as he stated unequivocably. He might do doofy segments now, but at least there by his own choice, and he isn't being made to lie. If the food sucks, if his fixer screws him and messes up the shoot (i.e., Sicily), or if anything else horrendous happens, then that's what we see.

Flay would stand on the cutting board on top of the counter. ← I remember that. Wasn't that in Japan, after some horrible problem on the show? ...vs Morimoto? He has calmed since. :-) ← Yeah.. that was a special Iron Chef "America" that was on UPN or some such. Hosted by William Shatner. I recall Chef Flay caught a lot of heat for that act. I guess it disrepcted the cutting board or something like that. And yes, he is much more calm now . ← He did it twice. One battle was in Webster Hall in NYC (with, God help us, Gordon Elliott hosting!), and Bobby nearly got electrocuted - there were exposed cables on the floor, in pools of spilled water. I think he also had a stove (burner?) problem. He got flack for complaining about it, like he was a bad loser, then got more flack (first, from a visibly pissed Morimoto) for standing on his cutting board at the end of the battle and pumping his fists.He also stood on his board in Japan (although he had no kitchen mishaps there), ticking off Morimoto yet again. But, even if they aren't close buds now, Flay and Morimoto are friendly, at least. There is no raging hatred or rivalry going on.

And, as Bourdain has stated, there were other issues, too - the show's format was too short, his producers were constantly pushing him to do "performing seal" kinds of things, and FN wanted him to do more "barbecues across the backyards of America:" kind of thing, which he refused. So, basically, he took his marbles and left. His antipathy towards FN has only grown, because of their foisting of RR, Sandra, etc., down our throats - compounded with the addition of shows like The Next Food Network TV Star (being rerun as a marathon today, as a matter of fact), and the discontinuance of primo chefs programs (Mario Batali's, being one prime example.)

FN is re-running them Tuesday nights at 11p, beginning 1/1/08. I logged onto Food Network's A Cook's Tour page, under feedback, and, while congratulating FN for re-running ACT, also suggested they release it on DVD for those not fortunate enough to remembered to tape the eps when they first aired. Anyone else who thinks it might be a cool idea can fill out the comments on the attached form: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/about_us/t...7_62448,00.html Hey, it would be a nice chunk of change for FN. Maybe even a chunk for Tony. More importantly, we get ACT. I know Bourdain feels NR is vastly superior to ACT - bigger budget, longer running time, more creative control, etc. - but seeing them again on Tuesday night, I can't help but think how good these shows were in their own right, and how Bourdain himself evolved throughout them - not just as a person experiencing the greater world for the first time, but as a writer, culinary ethnologist, and general human being. OK, my 2 cents.

Oh, dear Lord, I'd LIKE to be able to blame the Great Frozen North for Rachael Ray, but I can't. Unfortunately, she's a New Yorker - an UPSTATE New Yorker, okay? Not a Noo Yawhhk City Noo Yawhhker! - and we just have to live with the collectove state shame. The only thing that makes that heinous fact bearable for me is Sandra Lee, who can always take one's mind off the horror of RR with one of her Paxil and Pomegranate Martini-fueled diatribes ended only by a staggering splat into an overwrought tablescape. A little Absinthe and Oxy, anyone?

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Yeah, there's just something rather unnatural about pairing Velveta and chocolate. I'm not sure if the problem was compounded by the addition of caramel, white chocolate and nuts or not. Call me a candy snob, I don't care how many bows you tie on it, or how much red sugar you stick it in, it was an unappealing mess I just didn't want to try. And, if you watched the judges they weren't to eager to try it either. I was, however, interested in trying Tyler's Gingerbread cakes and Robert's Cranberry Clafloutie. ← I have to agree with you both. As messy as it was, I'd eat Tyler's Buche de Noel over one of those fudge-cheese-white chocolate-nuts on-a-stick thingies ANY DAY. PROCESSED cheese? And Paula was PROUD of it! I find Paula annoying. She trash talks every chef she's up against, and occasionally resorts to sabotage and generally being annoying. I don't find her cute or engaging at all. Basically, I want to smack her every time she opens her nasal mouth. BTW, she and Cat were going on about how those two Southern gals were going mop the floor with Irvine and Tyler. Isn't Tyler a good ol' boy, too? Carolinas? I think it would have been more equitable if they had an Iron Chef on each team. Say, Cat and Paula (The Southern Girls) against Flay and a NY pastry chef challenger. ("Hey, Paula Motah-Mouth! We gotcha stick of buttah right HEAH, b****!") I thought the girls won on plating and originality. But I would've black magic-markered that freaking choco-cheese ball. Are they allowed to give NEGATIVE points for a dish? Minus 5 here!

Yep, I watched ALL the episodes aired in the States, way back to the Ishinabe days, before there was the secret ingredient list. And, yes, when they had to fly Morimoto in for a special battle much later on in the series, of course Fuji TV could be expected to utilize him to the fullest. But the three original IC America chefs are all NY-based (except Morimoto, who schleps between NY and Philly), and the original episodes of ICA made no bones about pre-selecting the IC for the given challenger. It was a lot more interesting when the Japanese challengers had to think their way through selecting an IC, and then hope the secret ingredient wasn't a special favorite of the IC, who might have some expertise with it.) Those original scenarios were a lot more challenging and provided a lot more dramatic tension. Hey, I loved it every time the dread Kandagawa/Ohta faction tried to take out Morimoto or Sakai, only to find that their old-school Japanese guy had to work with, say, foie gras. ""Ooooooo! Nan desk'! Say it isn't so!")

While the IC Japanese chefs had NO inkling whatsoever about the secret ingredient, I've known for a while that the IC Americzan chefs are given a short list ahead of time of what the secret ingredient might be - which always annoyed me thoroughly. Then, too, in the beginning, the challengers always had the ICA chef they'd be going up against (I guess so the IC could fit all the tapings into his busy schedule), which REALLY ticked me off so much, I've refused to watch it until the TNIC competition. (In Japan, all the chefs were brought in on a Sunday morning, and they taped several episodes back to back. Even if only, say, two IC Japan chefs were selected for battle, all four came in and were prepared to tape. All day.)The IC Japan set was completely broken down after the taping and rebuilt every week, with the gas lines, etc., being re-laid weekly (!!!) It was damn near stadium size, which is why they had the electricity of a live audience, and ICA is so flat - a small studio atop the Chelsea Market, home to FN. That, too, really kills the energy of ICA for me. Plus, unlike the energetic and inquisite floor reporter Ohta and color commentator "Fukui-san", Kevin Bruach never seems to do his homework and find out anyrthing about the more exotic ingredients. Hey, if you know in advance that they're going to use, say, natto, then find OUT about the freaking natto! What are it's properties? How is used? What's it made of? What makes it hard to handle? Brauch is large useless and clueless. Either get a real food floor reporter, or send Alton down on the floor. And, as much as I respect Alton, he really does have to learn to pronounce ricotta. It really is NOT "ree-COAT-ah", anymore than "AL-ton" is "AWL-ton." (That, and Gordon Ramsay's "riz-ZOTT-o" and "PIE-lah" for paella drive me wild.)

I know the ICs have to plan their dishes and cook totally on the fly, but I truly wish FN would post some of their recipes, if they manage to retain/codify one. If something looks outstanding, I try to take notes while the chef is preparing the dish, but you know how hit-or-miss that can be. I would love to have been able to replicate some of the dishes on TNIC.

Ruhlman discussed both the judging process as well as his own ethics at great length on the Ruhlman blog (in the October archives, The Next Iron Chef). Actually, knowing Symon might have hurt Symon, in the beginning, since it was Ruhlman, the judge most familiar with Symon's food, who called him out on borrowing a recipe from his pastry chef's repetoire. And, BTW, ALL of the judges know Symon. And a lot of the chefs are buds with each other - Symon with Besh, Symon with Cosentino, Aaron with - Besh, I think? At this level, everybody knows everybody, a good hand full are buddies, and, you know, no one went home with his or her career ending because they didn't win a reality TV show. So no need to feel duped or dissed or anything but - HEY! WE GOT OURSELVES A WICKED COOL NEW IC! FUNNY! SOULFUL! CREATIVE! And can he cook, or what? (He resembles Morimoto a lot, personality-wise, to me - not only does he think outside the box, foodwise, but the boxes Symons thinks out of aren't rectangular to begin with. Funny, mischievious man with a good sense of humor, like Morimoto. He just SOOOO camera-ready! (Although I loved Besh, too, and think he was just as deserving.)

While I haven't yet been to an Elements gig (I'm heading for Degustibus on 11/29), my friends and fellow bloggers have told me, in words and pictures, that you can expect Ruhlman to talk AND take questions (of a culinary/technique nature) throughout the cooking demos, and then to take further questions and sign books afterwards. Ruhlman is also doing stop-bys at nearby Borders, etc., for additional book signings and to meet his fans and blog readers after his demos. At just the book signings, he is, of course, either reading bits from his book or discussing topics from it, signing books and answering all questions - and, apparently, occasionally getting surprised by celeb drop-ins, such as his friend Chef Cosentino (!) He is reportedly also trying to get his publisher to add more dates, based on the tons of pleas from his blogging fans. This, from a fellow blogger and friend on the West Coast: http://profumoprofondo.com/2007/11/11/meet...ichael-ruhlman/ and her hubby: http://skawt.org/blawg/

I don't think he was snubbed. I think he is really leaving, and, just to underscore that, he is really busy. Elsewhere. But I do think he was invited.

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There were a series of shows filmed France in which each of the 3 Japanese ICs competed at least once. I don't believe these shows were ever shown on FTV. The Japanese IC was Nakamura who preceeded Morimoto. These shows were IC events and very similar to what we saw Sunday. In the Japanese version each IC talked about their relationship with food, we saw them shopping in various locations around France (not necessarily Paris) and then they cooked in the Chariman's Chauteau, which was not unlike the American Ambassador's residence. If you've seen some of the old Japanese IC segments the NIC episode from Sunday really kind of did harken back to them. ←

How do you feel about the Professional Chef and McGee?

Well, you never know - Tony might add more stops to his book tour.

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Two more Bourdain gigs have just been added to the Calendar.

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