Bourdain comments on the Food TV Awards

[hsm]

Tony's rant was a lot more enjoyable to me than the Show, or what little of it I could stand to watch. But I'm more of a fan of snark about a TV train wreck than the actual...wreck, or in this case, dreck.

I chuckled over his Irvine reference, although while the concept is pretty much in keeping with Food Network's programming of Food as Drama or Comedy, the execution, like the food, looks good.

[Andrew Fenton]

Sports fans wouldn't put up with a show about how shoelaces are made when they came to see a football game.

Yeah, the sports announcers ought to be throwing in a few more anal-rape jokes. 'Cuz that's comedy gold, evidently!

edit: Let me be more clear. There's plenty of room for a critique of the Food Network. Lots of people have done that; I'm sure that Bourdain is among them. But I don't buy the notion that a bunch of butt-slamming jokes is somehow speaking truth to power.

Edited April 18, 2007 by Andrew Fenton (log)

[rich]

Has TB become the Imus of the food world?

Gee, I hope he doesn't attend women's basketball games.

[menon1971]

Sports fans wouldn't put up with a show about how shoelaces are made when they came to see a football game.

Yeah, the sports announcers ought to be throwing in a few more anal-rape jokes. 'Cuz that's comedy gold, evidently!

edit: Let me be more clear. There's plenty of room for a critique of the Food Network. Lots of people have done that; I'm sure that Bourdain is among them. But I don't buy the notion that a bunch of butt-slamming jokes is somehow speaking truth to power.

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Has TB become the Imus of the food world?

Gee, I hope he doesn't attend women's basketball games.

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I really hope he does not allow himself to become a caricature, like the rebel figure in a boy band.

[rancho_gordo]

Call me intuitive, but I'm guessing some of you aren't Anthony Bourdain's target audience.

[menon1971]

Call me intuitive, but I'm guessing some of you aren't Anthony Bourdain's target audience.

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What would that be? At this point, based on his reported rant in Miami, the uninitiated.

[Meanderer]

Having read his review of the show, he is not targeting me as a part of his audience. I wish we could know what a Dorothy Parker or Mark Twain would have written had they been around to watch the production. I suspect their reviews would be a bit more subtle in style while containing considerably more wit.

[mizducky]

Well, for whatever it's worth, this latest Bourdain rant has won my heart, and my laughter, simply on the strength of the phrase "fur-bearing catfish."

I relate Bourdain's style to the kind of high-voltage rants practiced by music writers in the punk rock era (a chunk of musical history which I gather is near and dear to Tony's heart as well). It's a style that's always set to 11 (to borrow another rock metaphor, this time from "This is Spinal Tap.") I dunno about anybody else, but this left-over punk rawk grrrl still thinks it rules.

As for the show ... well, I too have been avoiding FTV for some time now, and just the thought of this show will keep me away for another long while. Yeah, this kind of show may seem to be an easy target to take potshots at. But since FTV is obviously NOT getting the message, maybe the target needs to be nuked a few more dozen times.

[Chad]

I relate Bourdain's style to the kind of high-voltage rants practiced by music writers in the punk rock era (a chunk of musical history which I gather is near and dear to Tony's heart as well). It's a style that's always set to 11 (to borrow another rock metaphor, this time from "This is Spinal Tap.")  I dunno about anybody else, but this left-over punk rawk grrrl still thinks it rules.

I'm a big Tony Bourdain fan. I like his writing. But this was weak, a pastiche of past Tony. Even Lester Bangs at his worst was more introspective and thoughtful than this.

Chad

[russ parsons]

i hate to bring this up, but guys, it was free! what the heck?

[lucylou95816]

I enjoy Bourdain's rants, they crack me up. As for the food network awards, it was nice to see that they didn't just hand out a million awards to Rachael Ray for being the most innovative, etc. The concept was okay, but the overall appeal was really quite lame, as Bourdain mentioned, specifically the "red carpet". I got bored about 15 minutes into it, and my boyfriend who was listening to parts, started laughing out loud, saying that they polled fans to vote for the most popular, or most you can't go without appliance, and the winner was a microwave. Give me a break....personally, I use a microwave to heat up water, milk, pizza and make popcorn. Just my opinion. Now my cuisanart or good santko knife, that would be a different story.

[Jon Savage]

I found it entertaining. Bourdain is always a good read.

[moosnsqrl]

At 45 minutes into the re-run and not having read the blog, my only guess is that TB might have been too easy on them, based on the comments here.

Can I go to the way-back machine and get back 3/4-hour of my life? Why, oh, why do I do it? It's like reading the old "Nancy" comic strip. Train wreck, indeed.

[chefpeon]

Remember, Bourdain was a chef first, writer second. He's very articulate for a chef, and not only that, he's hip on kitchen-speak. I love Tony.

Seeing that picture of Bobby Flay with the Colonel Sanders impersonator......now THAT'S cruelty (to Bobby). I can't believe what a sell-out FN has become. The Rachael Rays and Sandra Lees are there as a link to hooking up with convenience food advertisers if you ask me.

Tony the Tiger at the Food Network Awards is like the cast of Gilligan's Island at the Oscars.

[Andrew Fenton]

Seeing that picture of Bobby Flay with the Colonel Sanders impersonator......now THAT'S cruelty (to Bobby). I can't believe what a sell-out FN has become. The Rachael Rays and Sandra Lees are there as a link to hooking up with convenience food advertisers if you ask me.

Indeed. To think, a commercial network trying to sell advertising space! I'm shocked, I tell ya.

[ThatGrrl]

While I agree that Tony went after some awfully low-hanging fruit, at least someone said something about that monstrosity. Anything that can make him feel sorry for Rachel Ray clearly has a lot wrong with it.

[cowpati]

I haven't watched The Food Network in years, but what the heck are Aaron Eckhart and Catherine Zeta-Jones doing at that awards show?  Do they have a show?  If not, how much were they paid to make an appearance?  Must have been big bucks in order to stoop to something so low (seriously, foodtv awards?  Lame-o)

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oddly enough she is in a new movie to be released in july...NO RESERVATIONS...apparently, they couldn't find an original title for the film.

http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/noreservations/trailer1/

Edited April 21, 2007 by cowpati (log)

[cowpati]

I found it entertaining. Bourdain is always a good read.

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Yes. I enjoyed it, too. Typical AB, ha!

(for those who missed the production, it is on 'now'. and no doubt will be re-played for some time, maybe till the next time. FN does re-peats of re-peats.

[Matcha Eyes]

Bourdain's commentary was quite humourous, as was the Food Network awards awful. But... I find it kind of juvenile for Bourdain to continue his verbal grudge against FN. Yes, I'm guilty of enjoying his fuck-the-food-network shtick, but that will eventually get old. Maybe instead of always acting like a 14 year old girl about what FN is doing, he could try striking out against them in a more constructive way. Like for example, using his celebrity and influence to start his own network with other chefs. This way people might actually be able to view the kind of food-related content other food enthuiasts want to see. I'm sure he wouldn't have trouble finding support. If you can't bring down the beast that is the Food Network, make your own.

[MissAmy]

Eh, it was standard Bourdain. Amusing, over-the-top, cracked out. The... elipses.. were a little odd, though.

[PDC]

As amusing as the rant was, isn't Bourdain bitching about Food Network shooting fish in a barrel at this point? Ok, we get it - Food TV is lowbrow and stupid except of course for (insert your favorite FN host here). Enough already. Food Network isn't going to change because the ratings are strong and it's hugely profitable.

Besides, I think Tony's done a little bit of "selling out" himself - anyone else cringe when they saw him do the promos with the Bizarre Food guy? I wonder what that pitch meeitng was like "Let's take ACT/NR, remove all of the wit and useful information and boil it down to a guy doing stunt eating! And then we'll get Tony to bless the show in promo!"

[jsmeeker]

I still love AB. I really wish he had his own cooking show. I don't think he could do it on FoodTV even if he had not been constantly ragging on them all this time. Maybe on PBS? Fine Living?

Anyway, I think seeing a "Les Halles" cooking show would be great. Just make the stuff from the book. Get Ruhlman as a guest and do some charcuterie and stuff like that. It would be awesome (Ruhlman actually made an apperance on Ming Tsai's show and made bacon or something like that.)

Edited April 25, 2007 by jsmeeker (log)