I really wanted to like Two Guys Catering

[pax]

I really liked the premise. I am not put off by alternative looks, in fact, if I met those two guys at a party I'd talk to them over some stiff in a suit...

But man I just want to take the lot of them and march them off to the showers.

And the amount of finger dipping and reusing a tasting spoon makes me shudder.

And for two guys plighting the proverbial business troth, there is a lot of "mine is bigger than yours" that goes on that's getting old real quick.

Grow up, guys, and do what real men do.....buy some damned hair nets. You're squicking me out.

[divalasvegas]

I watched most of it and may watch it again, but what jumped out at me was that they seemed to be trying to mimic the relaxed and amusing banter and mood of Duff and crew on Ace of Cakes, a show I like and watch often. However, there was just something so forced and fake about it, and I'm really quite over all of the phoney manufactured conflict on a lot of so-called reality shows.

And yes, a couple of hairnets wouldn't hurt either.

[Doodad]

And after seeing that guy in the pot and the posing.....no thanks. I gave them a chance as well. There is no way that food does not have hair in it.

[hummingbirdkiss]

funny I was reading this then I noticed this thread...

http://foodnetworkaddict.blogspot.com/2007...ng-tonight.html

have not seen it but it is not sounding very tempting!

[Porthos]

I'm generally seriously board with reality food shows and this new offering didn't have any hook or twist to make me want to watch another episode. I watched part of one episode and all of last night's episode. Count me out. The single biggest thing that got my attention was the "manufactured" tension. The feeling I kept getting what that they were playing to the camera, as in play-acting, instead of being documented doing what they do. As a contrast I enjoy Dinner: Impossible but some of the conflicts on that show seems staged also. However, with D:I there is enough going on menu and food-prep wise to hold my interest.

If the "2 guys" company can make a living catering that's a good thing, but they'll have to do it without me viewing their efforts.

[Michael Havelka]

Well... I have been lurker for a while but I just had to post about this show. Frankly I cannot believe that this show ever made it through the rather difficult process of show selection. Like other posters I really wanted to like the show but it is rough to watch, for just about anyone.he

The key thing that amazes me is that they chose to film the most dull and boring events ever. The food is uninspired and insipid. It almost makes me wish for a Rachel Ray rerun (not quite).

cHEERs

[SundaySous]

Haven't seen the show, pax's comment:

And the amount of finger dipping and reusing a tasting spoon makes me shudder.

Reminded me of some Floyd on France episodes where I could not help but notice Flyod uses his finger to taste then adjusts the sauce and uses the same finger to re taste. I couldn't help but think if not for the camera one of those Chefs would of cut said finger off.

[divalasvegas]

Though I didn't see these two guys do this yet (give them time) I've often seen chefs/cooks on tv do something totally nauseating to me and that is to taste using the spoon they're cooking with and then shake whatever is left in the spoon back into the pot. Can someone, anyone please tell me wtf is up with that!? Ick.

[hummingbirdkiss]

Though I didn't see these two guys do this yet (give them time) I've often seen chefs/cooks on tv do something totally nauseating to me and that is to taste using the spoon they're cooking with and then shake whatever is left in the spoon back into the pot. Can someone, anyone please tell me wtf is up with that!? Ick.

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I would not do that at home if I was the only one eating out of the pot

saliva is where the digestion starts ..dont put that in my food please

that settles it I am not watching this show..thanks!!!!

[divalasvegas]

Though I didn't see these two guys do this yet (give them time) I've often seen chefs/cooks on tv do something totally nauseating to me and that is to taste using the spoon they're cooking with and then shake whatever is left in the spoon back into the pot. Can someone, anyone please tell me wtf is up with that!? Ick.

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I would not do that at home if I was the only one eating out of the pot

saliva is where the digestion starts ..dont put that in my food please

that settles it I am not watching this show..thanks!!!!

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Exactly! And, like you, I don't do that even I'm the only one eating the finished product. I got this good habit from my mom who would always say that using the same spoon to both cook and taste with would "sour the pot." She was so right, bless her soul.

[Qwerty]

Um, don't ever eat out again guys

[divalasvegas]

Um, don't ever eat out again guys

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Nah, I'll keep eating out. Besides, I can't believe that every cook/chef is that nasty.

BTW, dontcha ya know that's why you always need to say Grace before you eat? It's that Holy Ghost Penicillin that smites EVERYTHING!

[SundaySous]

I can't help but think of a chef I saw when I was young. He sampled the stocks et al with I think saucers. Taste throw the saucer into the bus pan and adjust. If it took five to do it he used five. Never used the same one twice. I asked about it and they told me the obvious, no double dipping.

Latter on I got up enough courage to ask the guy while he was testing and he told me this is what the people will taste. He meant those saucers are the same things the plates are made of. I learned a lot from that guy.

[tmgrobyn]

These guys might be glad they got the food network gig as the writer's strike is going to shut down their day gig. Caterers all over LA are crying the blues, and I bet these guys aren't on the A-list.

[Pierogi]

These guys might be glad they got the food network gig as the writer's strike is going to shut down their day gig. Caterers all over LA are crying the blues, and I bet these guys aren't on the A-list.

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Word that.

I watched once, and half of another time. I couldn't help feeling that the whole "I'm too cool for the room" act was just that.......an act. Like the nerdy kids trying way too hard to act cool.

I realize I'm *way* out of their target demographic, but I wouldn't let the Dudes cook dinner for my dogs. And not just because of their looks or....erm, food sampling habits. Because their food strikes me as well, yuck.

And weren't they on ICA and lost to Cat Cora???? Some sorta skanky lookin' skateboarder dudes were, I think it was them......

[Mild Bill]

Um, don't ever eat out again guys

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Nah, I'll keep eating out. Besides, I can't believe that every cook/chef is that nasty.

Every? No-one ever talks about every...

3 outta 10 still ain't a pretty proposition...

Edited November 11, 2007 by Mild Bill (log)

[cowpati]

Um, don't ever eat out again guys

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i am just reading, and haven't seen said 'show'. but, i have to agree. people cook, and people have hair and skin. wearing 'gloves' when cooking is mainstream in restaurants now, most places, but that isn't the key. handwashing is. if the glove is dirty, you might be safer with a washed naked hand.

no one lives in a sterile environment. and no one eats food that has not passed by some mouth breather at some point. if you would sit down and enjoy a meal with any native culture other than your own, these guys can't be so bad. they licked your spoon, so what, come on. at some point your mother picked your bottle up off the floor, wiped it off on her sleeve and stuck it back into your screaming mouth. ta dah!

a 'cook' friend of mine once said 'if you find a hair in the food, don't say anything, everybody will want one'.

[pax]

I can't help but think of a chef I saw when I was young. He sampled the stocks et al with I think saucers. Taste throw the saucer into the bus pan and adjust. If it took five to do it he used five. Never used the same one twice. I asked about it and they told me the obvious, no double dipping.

Latter on I got up enough courage to ask the guy while he was testing and he told me this is what the people will taste. He meant those saucers are the same things the plates are made of. I learned a lot from that guy.

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Erm. He wasn't giving his customers flatwear?

Ok, back to Two Guys...I can live with the idea my food is not sterile. However, I deliberately choose to eat in either clean cheap places I can see the kitchen, or spend the money for a place where I think the staff is trained properly.

My real issue with Two Guys and the double dipping is they are cooking to CATER which means that food is not being by their intimates, like family, immediately, the food needs to be held. With spit in it? Hmm. Yeah, sorry, I think they need to be held to a higher standard.

But truly, what killed it for me was the annoying carping andd oneupmanship on the part of the guys. One of the things I absolutely LOVE about Ace of Cakes, for example, is that those people are almost unfailingly kind and respectful to each other, they show you the process, they make a beautiful finished product they are obviously enthused over, they think outside the box. There's a show I like my kids to watch.

[wawairis]

"But man I just want to take the lot of them and march them off to the showers."

I saw the commercial and thought the same thing. I thought I was just being excessively middle aged...

[Zeemanb]

I was a little confused when I first saw the commercials...."SWEET! They're bringing back 21 Jump Street!!!".

Ever since I stumbled upon the ancient book "Food For Fifty" that my fraternity's cook lived and died by, I've been fascinated with the methods and hardware needed for cooking large quantities. However, I just didn't see any food on the show that I thought was worthy of its own 30 minute slot.....much less anything that their customers should have been gushing over on every episode. I really did want to like it, but there wasn't any one thing that made it interesting enough to keep watching. If they had taken the "two duuuuuudes" angle over the top with dialogue like "see dude, you have to get a SEAL on that bag before you throw it in the water.....remember when your bong wasn't drawing right and you had to put some chewing gum around the carb? Same principle, man!"........THAT would have been DVR-worthy.

[divalasvegas]

I can't help but think of a chef I saw when I was young. He sampled the stocks et al with I think saucers. Taste throw the saucer into the bus pan and adjust. If it took five to do it he used five. Never used the same one twice. I asked about it and they told me the obvious, no double dipping.

Latter on I got up enough courage to ask the guy while he was testing and he told me this is what the people will taste. He meant those saucers are the same things the plates are made of. I learned a lot from that guy.

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Erm. He wasn't giving his customers flatwear?

Ok, back to Two Guys...I can live with the idea my food is not sterile. However, I deliberately choose to eat in either clean cheap places I can see the kitchen, or spend the money for a place where I think the staff is trained properly.

My real issue with Two Guys and the double dipping is they are cooking to CATER which means that food is not being by their intimates, like family, immediately, the food needs to be held. With spit in it? Hmm. Yeah, sorry, I think they need to be held to a higher standard.

But truly, what killed it for me was the annoying carping andd oneupmanship on the part of the guys. One of the things I absolutely LOVE about Ace of Cakes, for example, is that those people are almost unfailingly kind and respectful to each other, they show you the process, they make a beautiful finished product they are obviously enthused over, they think outside the box. There's a show I like my kids to watch.

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Thanks for getting where I and others here are coming from pax. Unfortunately it seems as though if one just asks for basic hygiene and cleanliness some folks think you're a germaphobe and expect your food to be operating room sterile. Not so. Cleanliness and hygiene do matter, at least to me, and I'm not about to apologize for or be made to feel odd about that.

I think one of the things the reinforced my attitude about this was the death of a co-workers' father several years ago who was battling cancer and getting treated with chemotherapy. He was actually improving until he contracted hepatitis which was traced back to a restaurant, specifically in a bowl of mints kept by the door for patrons and that one of their workers was the one with the hepatitis. After that, her father's health went downhill pretty rapidly. I really don't think it's too much to ask that after someone wipes their a$$ that they thoroughly wash their hands before they handle food, at least MY FOOD.

[Qwerty]

Please keep in mind that there is a huge difference between hands with shit on them and double dipping a spoon.

My post was made mostly in jest, but for people to have the illusion that cooks don't touch food with hands and such is silly.

Me--my spoons live in a bain of hot water that is changed frequently (though the definition of frequently can be fluid ). When I taste something with one of my spoons, it goes back into the bain. Maybe some of you guys think that is unsanitary or gross (I don't), but the alternative of using like 100 tasting spoons a night is not practical. Not only do we have enough spoons to go around, it to me, does not make much sense.

I work in a nice kitchen by the way, it's not a Chili's or anything like that. High end, and what I would consider very clean and sanitary.

I mean, if you guys truly worry about stuff like that I do feel bad for you. I wouldn't honestly think that it's any more likely to make you sick than riding the subway or going to a party or whatever.

Not trying to pick on you guys, but from a health standpoint, double dipping should be on the low end of restaurant hygiene crimes. If Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, Morimoto, etc, all, do it on national TV, it's probably not that big of a deal. It's the things that the DON'T let you see that are the big deal.

[pax]

I mean, if you guys truly worry about stuff like that I do feel bad for you. I wouldn't honestly think that it's any more likely to make you sick than riding the subway or going to a party or whatever.

Not trying to pick on you guys, but from a health standpoint, double dipping should be on the low end of restaurant hygiene crimes.

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Let me apologize for picking apart your post like this, I just wanted to make sure the point to which I was responding stood out. If you think I've missed something because I've cut it, feel free to whack me with it.

I completely understand where you're coming from. Everybody has a different fine line between what's ok and what's not.

The truth is, I DO worry about the kind of germs I can catch on the Metro. And I DO hate going through a shop hearing someone cough or sneeze what sounds like their last gasp when they are standing next to the apples. I hate it so much I am one of those whackos who carries anti-bacterial wipes out in public and I USE them. I live in Virginia. Every day people from all over the world are pouring through our airports. Did you know there is actually a strain of Ebola named for Reston, Virginia? Ebola Reston. The things that can incubate through the general public give me the shivers.

On the other hand, last Sunday I had to deliver some sheep and I was supposed to be taking all wethers..(neutered boys). The only way to tell on wooly sheep (these were transients and so they weren't tagged properly) is to stick your hand under there and make sure it has male plumbing. So I spent an hour feeling up sheep and then wiped my hands on my jeans and opened up the Thermos.

Yeah, I guess that's a little skitzoid.

Edited December 31, 2007 by pax (log)

[Qwerty]

Um.....yeeeeeaaaahhhh.

[pax]

Well, see, I was just trying to 'splain to you I'm not really a germaphobe.