Ocean Girl

I too have spent the past several days reading all 31 pages of this topic. Wow! I've clicked on links. Agreed. Disagreed. Chuckled. Grinned. And more importantly, really thought about the topic presented. Even the off-topic topics have made me stop and think about the different view-points. My thoughts (such as they are or what they are worth)...Rick Bayless made a conscious choice by making the commercials for Burger King. I agree that by making the commercial, he does appear to be a hypocrite to his previous endeavors. But it was his choice, made of his own free-will. Just like we have the choice to support his endeavors or to write about him on this website. I didn't know any of his background before reading these pages at egullet. I thought he just did that tv show on PBS which didn't really appeal to me. After seeing the pictures that tana so kindly posted of the sandwich in question, I'm going to take a pass on the sandwich. It too doesn't appeal to me. That is my choice. As far as income-level eating habits.....I'm a single mom with a 14 y/o son. Cooking and food started out as a hobby - then I quickly learned that I gained far greater pleasure cooking for my family, than by spending more money for less-quality at some fast food place. I won't kid you though, I too will get a craving for McD's or Taco Bell (do not throw eggs at me for saying that), but I'm left feeling disappointed and robbed of the chance to have something better made by my own hands. Again though, it's my choice to eat fast food or not. I don't consider it a treat - sometimes, I'm simply too tired from my busy day to deal with working for another hour to get food on the table. I think the most important message that I'm passing on to my son is that he too has choices regarding the food that he consumes. He will more often pass up fast food and ask me to make something from scratch that he loves. And I willingly do it for him when he asks - even if it means stopping at the grocery store on my lunch hour or on the way home to get the ingredients that are needed. Now if I could just get him to not disappear when there are dishes to do! But I think the biggest point that I'm trying to make is that it comes down to choices. Whether it's Rocco making his show on NBC, or Rick Bayless making a commercial for Burger King, or me simply going to the nearest Boston Market to pick up chicken and mac-n-cheese rather than cooking the chicken myself - it's a matter of choice. Aren't we lucky to be able to have so many choices, and be able to agree-with or disagree-with those choices? Perhaps a very simplified opinion compared with others that have been previously expressed here, but it's what I am taking with me after reading so much information. We all make choices in our lives. Some we can live with. Some we wish we had thought out a bit more before making that step.

I love this topic!!! It's very nice to know that I'm not crazy with my cookbook buying sprees! Not that I ever make anything from them (once in a while I do), but I do love just reading them and looking at the pictures! Add my 110 to the tally. You said not to count foodie magazines, didn't you? Too bad.....my count would be well over 300. Hmm...wonder if that makes me a fire hazard?

I too will be sorry to have an end to this thread....it has proven MUCH more interesting than the show ever could have hoped to be. I turned the show on, and five minutes later I was fast asleep. I guess I discovered the best "use" for Rocco's afterall.

I think it would be interesting if Anthony Bourdain entered the picture as a "specialty guest advisor" to Rocco's and helped clean up this train wreck.

You've set your standards way way way too high. Really? Okay.

As a "newbie" poster, but as someone who has silently read all the posts, I have to state the obvious - whether you like the show, hate it, believe it or throw glasses of wine at your tv - you are watching. Doesn't that mean the show has so far been successful? It's drawing your criticisms, and your chuckles. Whether the restaurant lasts beyond the tv show is pretty irrevelant, as NBC wanted 6 shows and didn't they get what they wanted? I agree with so many of the posts - both for and against this show. What was up with the rat's nest hairdos?? I feel myself rooting for Rocco and hoping that his goal of sharing his family's foods/traditions succeeds, even knowing that the odds are against him. Gideon is doing what I'm sure he's being encouraged to do - be whiney and a pain, but he deserved to have his direct supervisor show a little more concern over his on-the-job accident. The nasty customers. Food mix-ups. The list is endless, as I'm sure is the editing of this show to make the viewing more appealing. The botton line is this - it's a tv show (perhaps loosely) based on a real event. When you open yourself up to today's trend of reality tv, you open yourself up to the opinions and criticisms of the masses - whether it's fair or not. The show has made me stop and think about the multitude of details involved with opening up a restaurant (doesn't matter that some of the incidents shown were staged or not). I now wonder if I have what it takes to fulfill my own dream of becoming a chef? I wonder if Rocco truly knew what he was getting into when agreed to all this? Hindsight is a wonderful thing in life! The fact that the show makes me stop and think, and then makes me want to tune in next week to see what happens next - I would have to say it's a success. I can only wish Rocco the best of luck in his endeavors.