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Secrets of a Restaurant Chef


KensethFan

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I'm thinking the issue with not giving a lot of details about temperature, cooking time, etc. is probably a course of action that was decided upon by someone involved with the show.

I'm going out on a limb here, a little bit, but I think it's deliberate. Every show has a producer. I have no idea who is producing this one, or how much experience that person may have. But if you look at the other FN cooking shows, you'll notice that pretty much, the hosts are fairly diligent about giving out that information, and even repeating it quite a bit. Then along comes this one, and it's a whole 'nother story.

Content of a show isn't solely the decision of the person on camera. Many decisions are made behind the scenes, and depending upon the working relationship between the on-camera person and the producer, the on-camera person may or may not have any say in how things are done. In the olden days when I produced a TV news program, I made all of the decisions about what went into the show on a daily basis. The design of the "clock" of the show - when we'd show local news, when we'd have a national news segment, when we'd do weather, when we'd do financial features, etc., was a decision arrived at by several people, but the news director had absolute veto power. The anchors had relatively little power. I was the one who 'stacked' the show every day. This show, since it's all about Anne and her talents and her view of things, probably allows Anne quite a bit of input, but it's likely that others have considerable input, also.

If Anne were leaving the information out, due to her own decision or simply because it was something she tends not to remember to do, be assured the producer would let her know about it if indeed the producer was of the opinion that it needs to be there.

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that's why I'm surprised we don't see the "details" here. It's so unlike other shows on Food Network. I would think that a show would have a lot of input from higher levels in the network and that they would inist on more specifics.

I wonder what kind of feedback they get from normal viewers? It would be interesting to see.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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Looks like they might have cancelled the rest of the shows. My TV guide information (I have Verizon FIOS) shows that on this Sunday her show is on and she is preparing mussels. But when I go to FoodNetwork.com and look at their schedule a Bobby Flay show is on and Anne's show is no where to be found. My guess is that the Verizon data is out of date and it's been dropped.

I'd sure like to see the rest and hope this is temporary. :sad:

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A couple of food websites have reported that the show has been renewed for 13 episodes.

The mussels show is an odd one. Its shows up on my Tivo schedule as well, but was not part of the original list of shows.

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A couple of food websites have reported that the show has been renewed for 13 episodes.

The mussels show is an odd one. Its shows up on my Tivo schedule as well, but was not part of the original list of shows.

She was on the Today show yesterday showing how to make a mussels recipe using a grill. I don't remember if they mentioned the TV show itself or even the FoodNetwork. They definitely mentioned her restaurant in NYC, though.

See what happens Sunday.

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I sure hope they don't cancel the show. That would be a bummer.

BTW: I think the reason Ann does not provide measurements and such is because she is more concerned about teaching technique. Anyone can find the measurements and such on the FoodNetwork.com site. When you look at the recipes, it is quite obvious that Ann must have written them herself. There are a lot of details and the wording seems to reflect her style. So, she was very careful to make sure that the exact instructions are are available (not written hastily or by some lacky).

At first, the lack of measurements bothered me too. But, then I realized that maybe I don't need the measurements in the show. It's best to understand the technique and she does a good job at explaining that.

--- KensethFan

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I was watching some show on Food Network this morning ( I think it was Jamie Oliver's show) and while it was on,the flashed up one of those big graphic promos for a new episode of "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" airing on Sunday.

I think that's a good sign.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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Well, it aired, apparently.  So that's good.

yup. It aired. I checked my Tivo this morning and I had an entry for the show on Now Playing. I selected it to make sure that's what was actually recorded, and sure it enough, it was. a new episode where Ann made mussels, a simple green salad, plus a warm fennel and grapefruit salad.

Good episode. May be one of my favorite ones so far.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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I'm not seein' secrets though...

Seems like a regular cooking show...

Wow, a poem!

Whadda ya mean? She told us to burn the crap of the peppers. :raz:

i loved that!!!! i mean. yeah, she could have said it differently but she made her point, ya know? LOVE the show - it's fun and it makes me want to cook more! how can you not love that? Christ, going to cook me some mussels for crying out loud!

Alcohol is a misunderstood vitamin.

P.G. Wodehouse

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Where did the show go?  Am I missing something?  I don't see a listing for it next week either.  Any info?

If I am not mistaken, they have aired all the episodes that have been produced. I think the show did well enough for them to produce more. If so, I hope they can knock come out and get them on the air.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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Did ya see her taste from a big spoon, then tap what was left on the spoon back into the pot?

That was funky...

I enjoy her and wish her the best---- she's just a little frantic...

I feel like I'm gonna have to score some meth to tune into her frequency...

(never seen meth btw)

Mussells cooked like that 'are' spectacular...

The 2-3 times I did something similar I freaked myself out!

Last time, I saved the remaining magic pan nectar for a salmon pasta dish a day or two later...

Edited by Mild Bill (log)
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  • 2 weeks later...

Great News!! We had lunch at Anne's restaurant today. I asked if she was there and was told she'd been out all week filming new episodes, so we have something to look forward to. By the way, lunch was stellar, can hardly wait to return.

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  • 1 month later...
Great News!!  We had lunch at Anne's restaurant today. I asked if she was there and was told she'd been out all week filming new episodes, so we have something to look forward to.  By the way, lunch was stellar, can hardly wait to return.

It appears a new episode aired on Saturday morning. My TiVo didn't pick it up because it conflicted with another show I was recording. (another cooking show on PBS, and that was a re-run!). I've tweaked my season pass settings to give "Secrets" higher priority.

Just a heads up. It seems to have moved time slots. And it also appears to still only air a single time. I wish FoodTV would air some of these cooking shows more than once. They do it with other shows. Even if it's at 3:00 AM, it's OK 'cause TiVo will get it for me.

Jeff Meeker, aka "jsmeeker"

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The episode was more of the same, this time...

She cooked a couple giant bone-in ribeyes. Rubbed with salt/sugar and refridgerated for a couple of days. Pommes Chef Ann looked pretty good, thin slices of potato with lots of olive oil and parm. Broccoli rabe with lots/tons of salt in the blanching and shocking water.

More grunting.

I like her. And the steaks looked great.

That's the thing about opposum inerds, they's just as tasty the next day.

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