TV Chef Schizophrenia

[Lady T]

If it came down to that, I could subdivide the point still further: not just schizophrenia, but multiple personalities!

If you watch reruns (or own tapes) of 'The Kitchen Sessions with Charlie Trotter', with a copy of the cookbook of the same name in hand, you will shortly notice that a number of the recipes in the book don't correspond with what you see the man cooking on the screen before you. I'm pretty sure I know why this is so, too: the 'sessions' were transcribed by one of Trotter's assistants, typing furiously into a laptop as CT improvised at the stove while the camera rolled. The chance of missing a seasoning or ingredient, a sprinkle of which-herb? into a sauce, a particular oil-infused-with-what-was-that-again, a temperature or length of cooking time not mentioned by CT doing his utterly unscripted thing at PBS speed...the more I think about it, the more surprised I am that more detail WASN'T missed.

The preparations in the book mostly work, mind you; I've cooked a bunch of them. If the intent was to tweak what the chef did onscreen to be sure that the recipes would work for readers/home cooks with less-than-top-professional cooking skills, then the mission was accomplished. If the intent of the volume was to be a precise document of what the chef did, however, I'm afraid it's short of the goal. How much time would it have taken to review the tapes and test-cook through the dishes as they really were made?

Other books connected with TV cooking programs manage to transcribe recipes better; I recall particularly a number of Julia Child's books in that regard, and Rick Bayless and Jacques Pepin likewise. This might almost be a separate topic. Opinions?

[Dave the Cook]

You make a good point that a lot of errors are almost certainly transcription-related. I expect this is part of the problem I have with Emeril. But knowing why it happens doesn't make it OK. It's clear that in many cases (and this is true of a lot of cookbooks, not just those of celebrities), recipes were never tested. This pisses me off. When I buy a cookbook, I assume I'm buying non-fiction.

But I'm not sure that Emeril, for instance, sells a lot of books to people that actually use them. Remember Mark Twain's definition of a classic, "a book that people praise but never read." Or something like that.

[torakris]

I have heard so much about Mario and his books especially Babbo, that this is going to be the first on my to buy list during my trip to the States this winter. I have sworn off cookbooks until then, no money or bookshelf space left.

I also have Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen, A while ago I made something from it that was good, can't remember what now. The ingredients are impossible to find here in Japan, so it has just been collecting dust.

[dchase]

this one has butter, more meat, less milk, brodo, uses whole coanned instead of 6 oz of paste, and doesn't include a cup of water as the one in gourmet does.

it was flavorless.

More fat and broth instead of water. That pretty much explains it. The tomato paste vs. canned tomatoes is a minor issue as the level of flavor can be compensated with reduction. But I can't imaging making bolognese without sauteeing the mirepoix in butter and using stock or broth. It is a bit disconcerting that MB would let a recipe for Sauce Bolognese that called for water as a major ingredient appear under his name. Perhaps it was an article about Mario with a recipe from "the [magazine name] kitchen" in a side bar? (magazines can be sneaky that way - have an article from a famous chef by a freelancer, then slapping on a recipe from the archives),

[g.johnson]

Hazan's recipe also uses water. She specifically warns against using stock since she believes it ruins the balance of flavors.

[Ron Johnson]

Chillin' and Grillin' with the excellent Jack McRedneck (whatsisname?).

Thank you Wilfrid. Although I am sure that my secretary thinks I have gone quite mad with my outbursts of laughter for no apparent reason.

[swissmiss]

I love my Babbo cookbook, it's a thing of beauty. We're having friends over for dinner on Saturday and I'm probably going to do the whole menu from it. I only recently bought it, do you have any favourite recipes you could recommend?

Some friends just cooked for us from the Babbo cookbook and it was absolutely fantastic. They prepared Braised Short Ribs with Pumpkin Orzo. I would recommend it for a dinner party.

[tsquare]

I've cooked for myself and friends and family from the two earlier Batali books - everything has been great except the amount of red pepper. In one recipe I cut it to 1/4 of the recommendation and it was still very hot. Maybe I have a seriously hot batch of cayenne - or that isn't what is intended when a recipe calls for red pepper? Should I be using red pepper flakes? Hmm, just though of that - and I can't recall which I used with the too hot ragu.

I also have had great sucess with Tom Douglas's cookbook - he's not quite a TV celebrity - yet.

Baking with Julia has been great too.

I can't stand to watch Emeril - won't find his book(s) in my house.

I did receive a gift of one of the Moosewood books - I cook alot of vegetarian cuisine - but not from this. Now, if Greens and/or Deborah Madison want to do a show, I'll make a point of seeing that.

[Dave the Cook]

Should I be using red pepper flakes?

Yes.

I also have had great sucess with Tom Douglas's cookbook - he's not quite a TV celebrity - yet.

I agree, about both his book and his eventual celebrity.

A couple of years ago, I was at one of his restaurants. I asked the waitress if I could get the recipe for the pork chops I had had. She came back and told me that they wouldn't give it out because they were writing a cookbook and didn't want to blow the suspense. Finally I convinced her that I would buy the book the day it came out. She returned with a napkin cluttered with ingredients and instructions, and after leaving a healthy tip I went on my way.

Based on those instructions, I was able to replicate the dish almost perfectly. When the book was finally published, I pulled out the tattered, grease-spotted napkin to compare. Dead on. But maybe I should have had him autograph my original?

[tsquare]

Thanks Dave - I wish I could remember if I used flakes.

My Tom Douglas book is autographed! FWIW. Nice guy, though he gets alot of flak locally - 'cause he's successful?

[Dave the Cook]

Nice guy, though he gets alot of flak locally - 'cause he's successful?

Dunno. That's not the way it appears to the casual tourist, which is what I was. All the guides I found were quite complimentary (though leaning a bit heavily on the "Sleepless in Seattle" connection--this is more likely to make me avoid a restaurant than go there. I'd be afraid that food would not be at the top of the priority list. But I thought The Dahlia Lounge was very good--in fact I ate well at all three of his stores while I was there). In fact, he is made out as something of a local hero.

I don't see the same thing here in Atlanta, at least not on a personal level. But I do think some restaurants are factored down because they are owned a by a very successful local chain--The Buckhead Life Restaurant Group. They own The Buckhead Diner, The Atlanta Fish Market, Chops and Nava, among others. The fact is, they serve very very good, very consistent food, and they are the party most responsible for proving that Atlanta was a serious food market, thus elevating restaurant quality throughout the region. Without them, Ritz Carlton wouldn't have seen fit to hire Gunter Seeger, and then Joel Antunes--and neither would have stuck around to open ther eponymous kitchens. And Tom Catherall probably couldn't gotten a loan to open his first place. And we wouldn't have seen the likes of Canoe, La Grotta or Bachanalia, either.

A prophet without honor, etc., I guess?

[Kerouac1964]

I often find Emeril's book recipes disappointing. When I have an opportunity to compare the written version to the show version, I invariably find he has omitted ingredients or (more often) neglected to explain technique.

Dave -

I agree with you here. Another thing that I notice is the "Essence" he uses somehow differs than the stuff he is selling. It's a finer grind or something? I guess I'm starting to wonder what he's left out of his commercial seasonings.

I am turned off by the twigs/stalks that seem to inhabit the original Essence formulation. What is so strange is the smell is rather a pleasant one. I've just re-examined the contents and their are a lot of yellowish dry leaf threads with no flavor to them?

My least favorite in terms of taste would be his Italian concoction.

Admittedly, I am a heavy user of his Asian & Southwest Essence blends. The Asian I find particularly suited to chicken based soups and pork.

I have a copycat recipe of Essence, but have not tried my own formulation using a finer grind.

In terms of recipes and care in cooking, I always preferred Emeril's first tv show. He hadn't quite developed his Schtick. His techniques were more crisp and demanding. He really botches some of his dishes on his new show. Although I admit to secretly enjoying this aspect of tv chefs. It shows they too are human. Sarah Moulton isn't afraid to laugh at her on sloppiness on occasion when she is rushed for time.

My vote would be for Mario in terms of his tv work and his restaurant dishes. Granted, I haven't had the great fortune to visit his places yet.

Paul Pruhdomme may be another example of this. I'm glad to see his name mentioned with a bit more frequency on the board.

[malarkey]

My Tom Douglas book is autographed! FWIW. Nice guy, though he gets alot of flak locally - 'cause he's successful?

I think part of the reason he gets some local flack is consistency. Talk to any local who regularly dines out and they'll tell you a 'bad experience' story at a Tom Douglas restaurant.

that being said, I'm always willing to go to one of his places. I've had some ethereal food there, and some ho-hum food there. But nothing bad, ever.

[Dave the Cook]

Dave -

I agree with you here.  Another thing that I notice is the "Essence" he uses somehow differs than the stuff he is selling.  It's a finer grind or something?  I guess I'm starting to wonder what he's left out of his commercial seasonings.  

I am turned off by the twigs/stalks that seem to inhabit the original Essence formulation.  What is so strange is the smell is rather a pleasant one.  I've just re-examined the contents and their are a lot of yellowish dry leaf threads with no flavor to them?

My least favorite in terms of taste would be his Italian concoction.

Admittedly, I am a heavy user of his Asian & Southwest Essence blends.  The Asian I find particularly suited to chicken based soups and pork.

I have a copycat recipe of Essence, but have not tried my own formulation using a finer grind.

In terms of recipes and care in cooking, I always preferred Emeril's first tv show.  He hadn't quite developed his Schtick.  His techniques were more crisp and demanding.  He really botches some of his dishes on his new show.  Although I admit to secretly enjoying this aspect of tv chefs.  It shows they too are human.  Sarah Moulton isn't afraid to laugh at her on sloppiness on occasion when she is rushed for time.

My vote would be for Mario in terms of his tv work and his restaurant dishes.  Granted, I haven't had the great fortune to visit his places yet.  

Paul Pruhdomme may be another example of this.   I'm glad to see his name mentioned with a bit more frequency on the board.

I had the same experience with the commercial Essence; consequently, I never tried any of the other blends. If you say some of the others are worth trying, I'll give them a shot. (I did try his red pepper sauce, which the entire family found bland--went back to good old Tabasco.) However, I give him credit for re-engergizing the idea of blends as a legitimate seasoning choice (chili powder, curry powder, etc.), and I made some Essence of my own from the Food TV website recipe. It was pretty good, but not, I think, the universal agent that he implies it is. Inspired, I whipped up three of my own, along with a short cookbook, for Christmas presents last year.

I'm convinced that what he uses on the show is not Essence at all, but is something concocted to look good to the camera--maybe coarsely ground paprika? colored kosher salt? Real Essence is too heterogeneous to be that uniformly bright red, as well as have the physical properties to be tossed around like that.

I agree that his older show is more interesting--he's so self-conscious that he's endearing, and he seems more honestly evangelical about Creole/Cajun cuisine. Not that he was required to stick with that--we all need room to grow--but the early shows, for all their awkwardness, are much more honest. But again, I have to give credit where credit is due. The place in TV Heaven reserved for Michael Mann, the guy who, apocryphally, scribbled "MTV cops" on a napkin in a Florida bar and so invented Miami Vice, should be shared by the guy who first thought "Las Vegas cooking." It's brilliant programming, even though we may think it now lacks substance.

A couple of years ago, I read a Ming Tsai interview in an airline magazine. A sidebar mentioned that Ming was studying with the same consultant who trained and polished Emeril for his Emeril Live schtick. A few months later, Ming had a brand new (and higher budget) show. Who'd-a-thought?

I'm a big Mario fan. He's honest and comfortable, obviously likes people, and his recipes work. Occasionally I grow weary of hearing Italians described as if they were some aboriginal culture that is inaccessible except through the word handed down by a precious few.

I also think Alton Brown does some great work; he's the token Smug Scientific Bastard, and I find that stuff fascinating, even though much of it is recycled from Harold McGee--so what? Most people who watch FoodTV never heard of Harold McGee, and they ought to be exposed to his sensibility. ( snob alert!)

I've only seen Chef Paul on TV once--he was tooling around the kitchen in a wheeled office chair, and it seemed a little weird--maybe sad. But I think he's great--in many ways a revelation.

For some reason, Jacques Torres cracks me up.

[Michael Laiskonis]

A couple of years ago, I read a Ming Tsai interview in an airline magazine. A sidebar mentioned that Ming was studying with the same consultant who trained and polished Emeril for his Emeril Live schtick. A few months later, Ming had a brand new (and higher budget) show. Who'd-a-thought?

Within the past year or so, Food Arts ran an interesting piece by Wayne Brachman (from Food Network's Melting Pot and former pastry chef for Robert Flay) ... sort of a "day in the life" of a TV chef.

Don't be fooled- just as every chef you read about has a publicist, every chef you see on TV has undergone extensive coaching. The Brachman article mentioned a weeklong seminar for chefs-who-might-be stars, run, I believe by the consultant you mentioned. It's serious business.

[gknl]

A couple of years ago, I read a Ming Tsai interview in an airline magazine. A sidebar mentioned that Ming was studying with the same consultant who trained and polished Emeril for his Emeril Live schtick. A few months later, Ming had a brand new (and higher budget) show. Who'd-a-thought?

Within the past year or so, Food Arts ran an interesting piece by Wayne Brachman (from Food Network's Melting Pot and former pastry chef for Robert Flay) ... sort of a "day in the life" of a TV chef.

Don't be fooled- just as every chef you read about has a publicist, every chef you see on TV has undergone extensive coaching. The Brachman article mentioned a weeklong seminar for chefs-who-might-be stars, run, I believe by the consultant you mentioned. It's serious business.

Being in front of the camera isn't natural for most people. And being able to carry even a short segment is difficult, let alone doing a half hour or hour show. What's annoying is that people who start out having some trait that makes them interesting get turned into personas based on some schtick that gets more and more emphasized. Sometimes it's painful watching someone try so hard on camera, especially when they talk too loud or try to project to the camera. It's like someone over-acting. Actually, it is over-acting.

I do find that more on FoodTv shows than the PBS shows though. Much as I dislike the way FoodTv has changed over the years I've been watching them, I'm sure their ratings are higher than ever and they're making more money, so I guess it's more power to them. But still, I miss shows like Chef du Jour and the old Emeril Live (I remember when I first saw that that show several years ago, I was amazed at what he did, there was good stuff in every episode. Now he just throws things together and makes jokes).

The whole idea of the celebrity chef is a bit skewed anyway. The PBS shows were by and large advertizing for cookbooks but now cooking shows are designed to sell not only books, but other products. I was in Target yesterday and saw the Ming Tsai Blue Ginger collection of everything from pans and utensils to different sauces and cookies. I'm all for capitalism and people making money, but I have to admit I cringed when I saw it and not because everything was marked down 20%.

That sort of behind the scenes coaching happens with books too. Some chefs have editors in addition to the publisher's editors; some go as far as to hire ghost writers. And at least chef I know of has a personal editor (called "so and so's voice") to work on all public speaking and articles (I'm not being coy by not mentioning the name, I'm just not sure if the chef would mind or not).

Celebrity is a brutal, high-stakes game. And like a drug, it's hard to give up once you've had a taste.

[bourdain]

Frightening and largely true stuff. I've been on a personal quest for a catch-phrase for some time--without success. "Let's Puke It Up A Notch," didn't resonate with focus groups. The personal editor--called "so and so's voice" however, sounds like a delightful idea. I'd never have to get out of bed--and could smoke all the weed I wanted. Where might I find this remarkably talented individual--and is he available weekends?

Whoops! Gotta run--I'm late for an appointment with my voice coach/aromatherapist.

[spqr]

So Tony: who does your "voice"? What basic training did you have to submit to when you were trying to sell your Cook's Tour show? Can you give us a little peek at the inside of the FoodTV biz? Please?

[bourdain]

You're kidding, right?

[Lesley C]

I'm going to get stoned for saying this but you have to hand it to Martha Stewart. She's pulls off a daily hour-long show and has what, six companies selling her stuff including everything from house paint to baby sweaters. The woman may be difficult, corrupt or what have you but there's no denying she leaves everyone else -- including Emeril -- in the dust. And her guests are the best of the best.

[spqr]

You're kidding, right?

Yes I am kidding, but only partly. I really would like to know what the FoodTV biz is like from an insider's point of view. And your perspective would be particularly interesting and valuable because you seem to be the perfect anti-starchef.

[spqr]

I'm going to get stoned for saying this...

Let me cast the first stone.

[Michael Laiskonis]

spqr,

Mr. Bourdain has already given us plenty of Reasons Why You Don't Want To Be On Television... While many may have "sold their soul to the devil", at least Tony has done it with some irony and humor, and though he may not agree, a touch of dignity.

As for Martha, it hurts, but I too must give her much credit for her success. As for her potential downfall...

[spqr]

Mr. Bourdain has already given us plenty of  Reasons Why You Don't Want To Be On Television... While many may have "sold their soul to the devil", at least Tony has done it with some irony and humor, and though he may not agree, a touch of dignity.

There is nothing in my post to Bourdain that implies that I think he sold his soul to get on TV. I don't. There are indications in Kitchen Confidential, and in some of the other things he's written that suggests he is comtemptuous of at least one or two TV star chefs, for whatever reason, and of the scramble for TV stardom among chefs. I asked him for his insider's view of food TV because I am interested in what he has to say on the matter beyond casting aspersions at this or that individual or making the odd sneering crack about it. That's all. As for the "irony, humor, ...and dignity" part, I'd need more specific citations before I could agree.

[Michael Laiskonis]

While many may have "sold their soul to the devil", at least Tony has done it with some irony and humor, and though he may not agree, a touch of dignity.

Not my nor your words, spqr, but a paraphrase (albeit a poor one) of Bourdain's. From A Cook's Tour, page 13, "Now I've gone over to the dark side too...One sells one's soul in increments, slowly, over time."

I respect him for his choices and for not taking it all too seriously. Some of us, once having gained entrance to that world, would no longer point out how ridiculous it can be. He also seems sensitive to the exploitation of some aspects of his TV series. It is all too easy to get sucked into that media fetish where the PR and magazines and high profile events overshadow what got one there in the first place. I think Bourdain will always remember that it all came from sweat, toil, and rockin' good food!