The World's Most Controversial Food Figure

[Dakki]

i was speaking strictly about influences on food. i don't disagree nor did i dispute the fact that america has had an impact across the world in terms of our fast food culture.

all i am saying is that the rest of the world has had a HUGE influence on american food culture too. using your coke and chips analogy, it's not hard at all today to pick up a bottle of red burgundy, chianti, crianza, belgian beer, etc to wash down your prosciutto on a baguette with at lunch or dinner.

Apologies for rekindling the "America vs. The World" aspect of the discussion, but I think the point of influence is both valid and substantial should a consensus emerge. Controversy in itself implies some sort of disagreement, two images that contrast. The measure of the controversy in question can be formed on the basis on how different the views are on the same subject, however to say that it's a big controversy can't simply mean that the difference of opinion is substantially large - you need a substantial amount of people caring enough about the subject to pick a side.

This is, as been heavily noted, where the US has enough influence to sway global scales. You can't have a sufficiently large controversy (at the levels being discussed here), without involving the media. As such, the reach of the media will also have an impact on how many people will make a personal decision to ignore the controversy ("they're /all/ idiots"), or take a side, and potentially propegate the discission. There's only a very few nations in the world with sufficiently popular and syndicated media to qualify as sources for such magnificent controversy, and the US is at the top of that list, both in reach and staying power (eGullet itself is a prime example, there are probably other great forums around the world, but *I* haven't heard of them).

In other words, though the chef (or other food-related person) may not be american, he/she will with high probability have appeared notably in American media.

This. Gordon Ramsay, Heston Blumenthal, Jamie Olivier, Ferran Adria etc. etc. etc. were presumably well-known in their home countries before U.S. media picked them up, but they only became World Superstars (okay, Food World Superstars) after becoming known in U.S.A. For someone to qualify as the world's most controversial, they'll have to figure in U.S. media.

pep. also has a point. Believe it or not, I'd never heard of Alice Waters before joining up here.

[headconnect]

pep. also has a point. Believe it or not, I'd never heard of Alice Waters before joining up here.

Indeed Though considering the amount of attention AW has been getting here, I'd almost want to say that if 'the world' would be condensed to eGullet, she'd win quite clearly.

On the controversial side, I could add a regional nominee from Norway: Eivind Hellstrøm. I can guarantee you 90% of Norway knows who he is, would definetely be able to identify him on the street, and has a good opinion on at least one of his many public acts (judging Norwegian Master Chef, having his own 'I'll fix your restaurant, ramsey-style, just being a generally nicer guy in the process', being at the very least co-author of most new Norwegian cookbooks of note, and quitting our most renouned michelen-star restaurant to name..well, too many, but not all).

Thing is, Norway has about half the population of Manhattan - and I can almost bet that almost noone in Sweden or Denmark (our geographic and cultural, even linguistic, neighbours) will know him, just as i can name exactly one Swedish, and zero Danish chefs.

Oh, and for the record, that swedish chef (no, not from the muppet show, is Marcus Samuelsson, whom I wouldn't have even heard of if it weren't for Top Chef Masters

Speaking of which, I haven't seen Tom Colicchio on this list - I would have thought there would be at least some buzz around him considering the profile. Wouldn't place him as a contender for global controvert though

[GordonCooks]

Paula Deen....making a living at the butter and mayo filled troth of Americana.

[Chris Amirault]

Thankfully, only US denizens are likely familiar with the spooky Ms. Dean.

[nickrey]

Like pep., I notice with bemusement that a number of the commentators saying that Alice Waters is well known outside the USA are writing from within the USA.

As someone living outside the USA, I say "Alice Who?" Not on my radar at all. Had heard the name but do not know anything about her apart from some comments on this board. I don't know what she looks like if that gives you any idea of how much impact she has here in Australia.

As for the USA influence on world food, I'd have to comment that it is huge but the influence to my mind is more along the lines of fast food and predominately negatively viewed. To my mind, the Chinese or Japanese have had far more influence on world food than the USA. In many countries around the world, I'd also add the Indians to this list. Before the hackles come up, not criticising merely observing.

Given what I've said above, I'd have to give my vote for the world's most controversial food figure to Ronald McDonald as what this marketing icon represents has probably caused more protests and law suits around the world than any other figure in food history (although I do like the comment above about the author of Leviticus).

[lancastermike]

The other day I watched Rachael Ray on the Food Network. I don't usually do so but thought I would so I can see what makes her so vilified. So, what did she do? She took vegetables, chopped them up and then cooked them. She took some ground meat, seasoned it, than cooked that as well. She made a tomatillo salsa. She did use the processer for this. Everything she used she cooked herself except for the store bought tortilla chips.

I just did not see anything here which would lead me to hate her or call her nasty names. Yes, she is a TV personality not a chef. I don't think she claims to be a chef. Her personality is a bit over the top but so what? Is she self promoting? Perhaps, but no more so than guys like Bourdain that everyone seems to love.

I do not see her use a chamber vacuum sealer. Or liquid nitrogen. Or make any foams. Perhaps her approach is just too damn common to meet with the approval of all here.

I believe the concept of the show is to point out that a meal of one sort or the other can be cooked in a relatively short period of time. And it looked to me like she did.

So I don't get the hate for her

[Chris Amirault]

I just did not see anything here which would lead me to hate her or call her nasty names. Yes, she is a TV personality not a chef. I don't think she claims to be a chef. Her personality is a bit over the top but so what? Is she self promoting? Perhaps, but no more so than guys like Bourdain that everyone seems to love. ...

So I don't get the hate for her[.]

I must say, I agree with lancastermike on this one. Like most TV cooks, she is both about image and food, and like most people who have to generate astonishing amounts of content for her various media outlets, she probably takes shortcuts and makes dumb decisions. But she's quite open about those gaffes, and she has been adamant in her career that she's not a chef.

I think that the haters don't like her cutesy "Yummo" thing, but, if you can get by that, I can't see why she generates so much agita. Perhaps she's a symbol of something or other.....

[SobaAddict70]

The other day I watched Rachael Ray on the Food Network. I don't usually do so but thought I would so I can see what makes her so vilified. So, what did she do? She took vegetables, chopped them up and then cooked them. She took some ground meat, seasoned it, than cooked that as well. She made a tomatillo salsa. She did use the processer for this. Everything she used she cooked herself except for the store bought tortilla chips.

I just did not see anything here which would lead me to hate her or call her nasty names. Yes, she is a TV personality not a chef. I don't think she claims to be a chef. Her personality is a bit over the top but so what? Is she self promoting? Perhaps, but no more so than guys like Bourdain that everyone seems to love.

I do not see her use a chamber vacuum sealer. Or liquid nitrogen. Or make any foams. Perhaps her approach is just too damn common to meet with the approval of all here.

I believe the concept of the show is to point out that a meal of one sort or the other can be cooked in a relatively short period of time. And it looked to me like she did.

So I don't get the hate for her

Her personality, for one.

Before Emeril (who has genuine cooking cred, just that the buffoon schtick never won me over), knowledge was king over personality. These days showmanship is all.

Her catch-phrases really grate on me. It's extra-virgin olive oil, not EVOO (is she really using extra-virgin olive oil to sauté garlic? Really?). WHAT is "choup"? (which stands for thicker than a soup but thinner than a chowder) Seriously annoying.

Secondly, she constantly estimates quantities in her recipes, like "half a panful", "a drizzle of this" and so forth. If I were a newbie to cooking, I'm sure I'd want more precision, otherwise using her methodology might result in some seriously screwed up dishes. Even a really basic recipe like Julia's French omelette: 2-3 eggs, a 1/2 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon cold water ... that's fairly precise. I shudder to think what that translates to in Rachael-speak.

Perhaps her approach is just too damn common to meet with the approval of all here.

FYI, 100% of what I cook and blog about is simple stuff. I *know* how to make beef demi-glace and what quenelles de brochet are but that's not what I eat every day. And if I did blog about that, most of my audience would look at me like I just grew a second head. Don't generalize.

[wkl]

a quick look at wikipedia will tell you jamie oliver was a culinary figure and a pretty well known one in great britian before the foodnetwork started to feature his shows. i imagine the same with nigella lawson and gordon ramsey.

you could make the claim that british food culture is having an impact on the american food scene.

[Florida]

In other words, though the chef (or other food-related person) may not be american, he/she will with high probability have appeared notably in American media.

I'm going to have to agree with headconnect on this one. Not to be ethnocentric, but the American media is the pinnacle of controversy and manufactured outrage. And while China seems pretty good at making something out of nothing their Controversial figures just never seem to last to long. As for the rest of the world, they seem to be able moderate their stupid people while here in America we celebrate them.

So, while I don’t think this theoretical controversial food figure necessarily has to be an American, I do think, if you’re going to be the “world’s most controversial food figure” you’re going to have done some time with the American media.

[gfweb]

I just did not see anything here which would lead me to hate her or call her nasty names. Yes, she is a TV personality not a chef. I don't think she claims to be a chef. Her personality is a bit over the top but so what? Is she self promoting? Perhaps, but no more so than guys like Bourdain that everyone seems to love. ...

So I don't get the hate for her[.]

I must say, I agree with lancastermike on this one. Like most TV cooks, she is both about image and food, and like most people who have to generate astonishing amounts of content for her various media outlets, she probably takes shortcuts and makes dumb decisions. But she's quite open about those gaffes, and she has been adamant in her career that she's not a chef.

I think that the haters don't like her cutesy "Yummo" thing, but, if you can get by that, I can't see why she generates so much agita. Perhaps she's a symbol of something or other.....

I think you both nailed it. It isn't what she cooks, its the schtick that gets really tiresome. Having said that, I don't despise her at all.

I think some people really like to have someone who is considered OK to hate. She is convenient in that respect.

[John McNeilly]

Ramsey is dickish, to be sure. But he's also a fine chef.

It's a shame he's morphed himself into an angry clown.

No mention of Grant Achatz here?

I just read his mediocre-to-lame book and I came away seriously unimpressed. His food sounds interesting and innovative (if way too expensive), but I was immediately turned off when I got half way through the book only to find emails, investor kits and shitty black and white photos inserted into the middle of the book. I stopped reading.

Just something about him that bugs me...

[Simon_S]

Interesting thread. It seems that the "controversial" characters being named are, for the most part, media creations designed to be controversial. Ramsay controversial because he shouts and swears a lot? That's not my idea of controversy.

To that end, I suppose I'd consider those personalities who try to expose what big business does to food as more controversial. I'm thinking of the Morgan Spurlocks, the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstalls, etc. Launching a serious campaign against cheap chicken, or McDonald's, or anything that lots and lots of people eat on a regular basis seems far more controversial than swearing, or having an annoying personality on a TV programme.

Are any of the names we can come up with truly controversial on a world stage? Seems unlikely.