The Chew

[KensethFan]

Did anyone happen to catch the new show on ABC called "The Chew?" It has Mario Batali, Daphne Oz (Dr. Oz's daughter), some "food stylist" dude I've never heard of, and Michael Symon. I watched it yesterday just for kicks, and man was it awful. It was set up to be like a bunch of chefs and others talking about food and making food like one would with their own family in the kitchen. Mario (for the first show) was patched in via satellite, which had tons of lag which made things really awkward. Michael Symon appeared to me to feel out of place a bit. The food stylist dude was talking incessantly. Dr. Oz appears on the show and takes all the thunder away from his daughter. The show felt like a combination game show/infomercial rather than a daytime food show. Believe me, it was awful.

What are your opinions?

[ElsieD]

We tried to watch it and didn't make it to the first commercial. It is gawd-awful.

[emannths]

Ruth Bourdain was not impressed. Edited September 27, 2011 by emannths (log)

[Pierogi]

I wanted to like it. I really wanted to like it. I soo, so very much wanted to like it. I mean, I *heart* Mario. I *REALLY* heart Carla Hall. I love Michael Symon. And I actually also really like Clinton Kelly on "What Not To Wear".

Daphne, on the other hand, is as annoying as her father. Whom I find extremely annoying. Like needles in the eyeballs annoying.

Even so, I thought, 4 out of 5 of the "hosts" are home run hitters. It could work.

It didn't. I'm hoping it was a combination of first show nervousness, the awkwardness of Mario's remote segment and having the entire middle 30 minutes hijacked by Dr. Oz-hole, but the premiere episode really sucked the big moose.

I'll give it another try in a week or two (if its still around) to see if it improves. But that first episode was a total train wreck.

[lindag]

Agreed. The premiere episode was bad, bad, bad.

And I really wanted to like it. A lot.

Let's just hope that there will be a lot of tweaking going on over time.

Too many cooks spoil the broth. Get rid of Daphne, she adds nothing to the experience.

[KatieLoeb]

Does Daphne Oz have any credentials other than being born into the Oz family? I love her dad, since he makes the unwashed masses think about their health at least a little bit, but what's her story? Education? Expertise? Anything?

[JAZ]

She wrote a book on healthy eating in college: The Dorm Room Diet.

[rotuts]

see here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/03/arts/television/celebrity-chefs-on-the-chew-on-abc.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper

have not seen the show but read the related thread

I think the NYT was trying to be polite.

[tmriga]

I watched it all last week. I liked it, but wouldn't reschedule my routine for it.

I was drawn to it because of Carla Hall, who is my all-time fave Top Chef chef, and Michael Symon, whose skills I respect but also enjoy his laugh.

I found that it's difficult to focus on, because there's so much activity and so many people talking at the same time, so you don't know which is the background noise.

I would prefer that Daphne Oz, who is probably a very nice person, and obviously learned in healthy eating and lifestyle, earn her own credibility, instead of she and the other hosts constantly referring to her very famous father, in order to validate her expertise.

Theresa

[teagal]

I watched it this past Friday and I liked it. The recipes were ones I'd make or like to try. I was wondering about Daphne Oz, hadn't a clue who she was, and thought she was the least vocal. The others exuded a confidence I don't think she has yet. Liked the joking and upbeatness of the hosts, they seemed to be having a good time. Always loved Clinton Kelly and was surprised he can cook.

[Pierogi]

After the train wreck of the first couple of shows, I have to say, I can now declare I like it.

Daphne's become much less annoying. She accepts the ribbing (granted it's gentle ribbing, but public ribbing nonetheless) from both Mario and Michael with a good spirit. Mario in studio is MUCH improved over Mario on a delayed remote, and the rest of the group has melded quite well.

They also seem to have gotten the memo that "NOT EVERYONE CAN TALK AT THE SAME TIME AND BE UNDERSTOOD" (note to "The View", read this, heed this, learn from this).

I find myself tuning into it now more often than not. As tmriga said, I won't reschedule my life for it, but if I'm playing around in the kitchen, or folding laundry, or dusting, or whatever else relatively mindless task I need to get done, I'll turn the show on.

It's officially better than most of the stuff on daytime Tee-Vee.

[lindag]

I have continued to watch The Chew despite the REALLY bad premiere and it has gotten a lot better.

I agree with everything you've said, Pierogi, about the show.

There is a lot less of the everyone-talking-at-the-same-time and less chaos. Now it seems to move along more smoothly. The hosts seem to understand their roles better.\

Now, if only they'd stop with the screaming and yelling audience! Why do we need that?

It's the main reason I can't watch the morning network news shows...all those people jumping up and down, screaming and waving and mugging for the camera. I often wonder what it is that makes them act like that in public.

[flourgirl]

I won't reschedule my life for it, but if I'm playing around in the kitchen, or folding laundry, or dusting, or whatever else relatively mindless task I need to get done, I'll turn the show on.

I feel the same way. It's sort of like white noise while I am doing other things. I like the premise of the show and would like to see more shows in this genre. But, with the crew they have now, only Michael will get me to stop and pay attention once in a while.

[lindag]

I have to say that after watching this show since its debut that I have a whole new respect for Matio Batali. I used to think that he was just a fat buffoon who was overly impressed with himself. Now I realize that he's quite a decent guy.

And then there's Clinton, I can't get enough of him...he's the guy I'd love to go out drinking with.