Favorite/Least Favorite Food "Celebrities"

[touaregsand]

Mrs Butterworth used to give me nightmares. Even during breakfast, I would stare at the bottle waiting for her arms to start moving. (I had an overly active imagination when I was a kid). I don't want to bad mouth Aunt Jemima though. Uncle Ben, the worse rice ever. The Taster's Choice guy apparently got a ton of money in a recent lawsuit, what is it like 30 years in the coming? Betty Crocker, bitch can't bake. The Clabber girl was cute though. Mikey the life cereal kid... what was that urban legend? He died from eating those hot rock candies that "exploded" in your mouth, immediately followed by a cola?

The Hamburger helper helping hand! The most dangerous character if you think about. Pretending to help with crap in a box.

Remember the singing California raisins? "I heard it through the grapevine" Now there using Keller. Can Keller sing and dance like those raisins? NOT!

Okay, I'll stop admitting that I watched WAY too much TV when I was a kid.

[ghostrider]

Our PBS station has started showing shorts from The Hippy Gourmet between their weekend cooking shows.  Thank God it's only 5 minutes and not the full program as he drives me  insane.  His food sucks too.

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The Rasta Gourmet, on the other hand, is still an inspiration to me all these years later.

[Fiona]

Love!

Bourdain

Iron Chef Cast

Thomas Keller(Does he count?)

Jeffrey Steingarten

Bourdain

Don't Love!

Emeril

Bobby Flay

[Mikeb19]

Like:

Bourdain (cooks tour is great)

Original Iron Chefs

Ducasse

Keller

Robuchon

Gordon Ramsey

and most any other real Chef with talent

Dislike:

Jamie Oliver

Rachel Ray

Bobby Flay

Mario Batali

Emeril

most other TV Chefs...

Edited March 4, 2005 by Mikeb19 (log)

[hjshorter]

Dislike:

Mario Batali

You think Mario isn't a real chef?

[Fresser]

Casper's cousin the hermaphrodite Pilsbury dough boy. Boy?   

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Now waaaaiiiit a minute!! I dressed up as the Pillsbury Doughboy for Purim once and was quite the white-faced stud. See for yourself:

Anybody remember the McDonald's pitchman dressed up as a squealing train conductor? Now THERE'S a shady character.

Edited March 4, 2005 by Fresser (log)

[touaregsand]

I always hated that goddamned Green Giant.

Casper's cousin the hermaphrodite Pilsbury dough boy. Boy?   

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Now waaaaiiiit a minute!! I dressed up as the Pillsbury Doughboy for Purim once and was quite the white-faced stud. See for yourself:

Anybody remember the McDonald's pitchman dressed up as a squealing train conductor? Now THERE'S a shady character.

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The photo doesn't clear up any confusion for me. Hermaphrodite? Boy?

[Ducks and runs]

[Fresser]

entered in error.

Edited March 7, 2005 by Fresser (log)

[LNorman]

I like the Food Network in its infancy when it concentrated on food preparation and not entertainment. So I liked Sissy Biggers and the whole concept of bringing different types of food and having a chef create a meal out of them. (since I'm not the greatest cook without explicit directions.

I also like "cooking live" with Sara Moulton. She had some good guests on.

I like Rachel Ray sometimes. I like the 30 minute show concept more than her.

I also like:

Alton Brown

Ina Garten

Martha

I try to get past the personalities and focus on the food.

[Patrick S]

I like Rachel Ray sometimes. I like the 30 minute show concept more than her.

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Did you ever notice Ray's habit of constant, wild gesticulation? I mean, a lot of people 'talk with their hands,' but for her it approaches a martial art . . . . the constant slicing, chopping, slapping. Check out the intro to one of her 30 minute meals episodes.

[touaregsand]

I like Rachel Ray sometimes. I like the 30 minute show concept more than her.

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Did you ever notice Ray's habit of constant, wild gesticulation? I mean, a lot of people 'talk with their hands,' but for her it approaches a martial art . . . . the constant slicing, chopping, slapping. Check out the intro to one of her 30 minute meals episodes.

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I've noticed that too. I get the impression that she's on stimulants.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

All-time favorite TV-Media chefs:

Chef on South Park

The Swedish Chef Muppet

The guy on "Frank's Place," who boxed for the bread pudding recipe

Chef on PBS (unpasteurized Stilton ...)

Any famous chef who is reading this now.

I even have a little Chef doll that says "It's salisbury steak day!" when you move it.

[chefzadi]

This thread is huge. There's a similar one in another forum that's more for industry professionals and it's equally big.

I like Emeril. His style of cooking and food is very different from mine, but I can see that he is a skilled chef. Cooking that's demonsrated on a 30 minute TV show? When I do a cooking demo in real life it's more like 1 hour per dish or even longer. Not 3-4 dishes in 30 minutes. Of course I'm fielding questions and taking my time to demonstrate everything precisely and correctly. In case anyone is wondering if I'm the world's slowest chef.

Emeril is not my favorite though. I just felt like defending him a bit.

[FabulousFoodBabe]

This thread is huge. There's a similar one in another forum that's more for industry professionals and it's equally big.

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I'm going to find that one later tonight.

I've always believed that a Chef is someone who has earned the title by actually leading a kitchen -- be it a teaching kitchen at school, or a restaurant. I can't get used to seeing Rachel Ray or Nigella Lawson called "Chef." I do think of Wolfgang Puck and Emeril as Chefs, though.

[racheld]

And you know who is very very very scary? The owner of Kitchen Stadium. He's like the cryogenic lovechild of Donald Trump, Liberace, and Michael Jackson.

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I just found this thread and this is the funniest thing I've read today.

And I like Ina and Miss Paula and Jamie and Miss Nigella, who disapeared into the ether with our new dish service (the one on the roof---she didn't abscond with the Limoges).

Except I think sometimes Miss N took her lessons in Inept 101 from Nathalie Dupree, who scattered more flour and sugar among the stove burners than she got into the KitchenAid. What's with the Mise ON the stove?

And Chen is a dear dumpling.

[Jean Blanchard]

What about Sandra Lee? Is that really cooking?

jb

[Mnehrling]

What about Sandra Lee?  Is that really cooking?

jb

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I believe she fits into the column with Betty Crocker, Little Debbie and Sara Lee.

[Comfort Me]

Love:

Julia.  She's a 6'2", 91-year-old goddess!  I'd pay money to watch her sit and pick her teeth.

Joan Nathan -- especially her Eastern-European and Middle-Eastern stuff.  (I'm turned on by culinary anthropology!)  And while her earlier books weren't exactly well written (or tested) her later books have been great.

Alton Brown -- I like to learn.  He teaches.  I'm grateful.

Ina Garten -- I like her food.  I wish she'd invite ME to the house for lunch!

Neutral

Anthony Bourdain.  OK -- I know most women and a lot of men would give anything to b*** him.  But I'm not of the "Unwrapped" generation.  I want to see him cook.  Maybe then I'll want to b*** him.

Can't Abide:

Giada.  That head is FREAKY!  And have you seen the size of those hands?  I wouldn't be surprised if she used to be a guy!

Paula Dean:  Please, for the love of God!  Make her shut up!  If she's not the most annoying thing to walk the planet, "...then grits ain't groceries in a poor man's basket!"

David Rosengarten:  No one could possibly love David as much as David loves David.  There is nothing wrong with him that a diuretic and a public whipping wouldn't cure.  If I wanted to be talked down to, I'd call my mother-in-law, thank you very much.  And has anyone seen his new "newsletter"?  From the promotional flyer, it sounds like the World Weekly News of Food.  What's the snobbiest way to say "sellout"?

Michael Chiarello:  The Jack McFarland of Food TV.  'Nuff said.

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OK -- I'm actually quoting myself. But for a reason. This thread has been around for so long, I wanted to see if my preferences have changed in the last 18 months.

My likes are the same, only probably stronger. I love and miss Julia Child, z"l, more than is probably appropriate for someone not related to her by blood or long relationship. She was a swell dame, G-d bless her. She taught me to make a chicken boulliabaise (sp) that changed my life. And I never cook an egg that I don't think about her. (Now I'm all verklempt.)

I like Ina Garten more every time I see her. She cooks, she eats, she enjoys doing both. And I like that she cooks FOOD. It isn't a frilly, frou-frou-y, hodge-podge of stacked food topped with foam. It's brisket, it's roast chicken, it's pissaladierre. I have three of her cookbooks, and have never made a recipe that didn't come out exactly as she said. And my wife wants to know where to buy some of those blouses. Anyone know?

I still love Joan Nathan, and I should probably add Paula Wolfert to the like list. Both have had a significant impact on how my family eats.

My hates. Hmm. Again, I feel more strongly about some of them. Although I have to place Sandra Lee at the very top of the hate list. Imagine a recipe for a wedding cake that includes opening something like 25 cans of frosting. For the love of dog! Oh -- we can't forget her TABLESCAPES! They often look like Liberace threw up on her table. She is living proof that money can't buy taste.

I also dislike Michael Chiarello more intensely. Some of his food is good, but it is hard for me to get past the personality. Has anoyone noticed that Jack isn't as funny without Karen?

Paula Dean -- well, what can I say. She's the Sandra Lee of the South. Having been born and raised below the Mason-Dixon, I am living proof that one may be a child of the South and still form grammatically correct sentences from time to time.

And Rachael Ray. Others on this post have pointed out most of her irritating habits, but I have one to add. I get so sick of her asking questions like "Does that look delicious, or what?" I often want to buy the girl a declarative sentence.

And I should also add George Stella (Lo-Carb and Loving It) to the hate list. This man can suck the joy out of anything. And for what? A fad. But the people with the effective weight loss plans (i.e. eat less and excersize more) can't bring in sponsors. Plus, this guy has an unnatural look about him that is disconcerting. There is something Herman Munster-ish about him.

Oh well. Enough from me. For those of you who posted in the past -- have your opinions changed, stayed the same, or become more resolute?

[Basilgirl]

I love Ina's recipes. I love her house. I envy her lifestyle. Unfortunately for your wife, I read on her Web site that she has her shirts custom made in NYC.

Rachael: What can I say. She's super hyper, overly made up, screaming hair highlights, hopping around the kitchen, and making burgers and ice cream desserts constantly. The older shows are so much gentler.

Sandra Lee: What a whoot! I watch her just to laugh hysterically. The other day she made "pulled pork" "tapas" - she ripped the meat off a bunch of store-bought baby back ribs, threw the chunks in BBQ sauce with TACO SEASONING added, and served this wreck on "oven chips" frozen french fries that she fried up in a mess of oil, offering the sage advice to not cook with hot oil if your hands are wet. And don't get me started on the "tablescapes" and color coordinated Kitchen Aids. Just too amazing for words.

Mario was on Emeril the other night pimping his new cookbook. They had a mini Iron Chef thing going on. Mario cooked wheels around Emeril. I wish there were new Molto Marios.

[Metal Spice]

Don't like:

Rachel Ray - Her mannerisms are irritating as hell. Everytime I turn around it seems she has ANOTHER show on FN. Please - enough. Mercy. I give.

And why must I see Emeril everywhere? Am I the only one that can't stand him? Or is it just his audience that makes him so aggravating? To date, my dinner guests have never cheered & applauded when I've added any type of ingredient to something I was cooking. Occasionally, I get the "You're not putting that in there, are you?" from my husband. Does that count?

Sandra Lee - my husband wants to know why her boobs are at her wasit? Other than that - I find her to be a terrible train wreck - I just can't stop looking. I think it's because everytime she picks something up, I just can't wait to see what God awful thing she's going to use it for.

Giadia DeLaurentis - I can't stand the way she talks. I don't know why. It seems so stupid to not like her for that, but I cannot stand the way she speaks. She said parmesan crisps one time & I nearly kicked the TV. It was something about the word crisps that really struck a nerve.

Bobby Flay I'd like to smack. Hard.

Love:

Alton Brown

Julia - of course - loved her since I was a kid

Jacques Torres

Iron Chef Cast - original, not USA

I like Ina Garten but I'm so jealous of her lifestyle.

Eidted to add another one that I thought of.

Edited July 19, 2005 by Metal Spice (log)

[rich]

Mario was on Emeril the other night pimping his new cookbook. They had a mini Iron Chef thing going on. Mario cooked wheels around Emeril. I wish there were new Molto Marios.

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Really? I watched and thought Emeril's dishes were superior. His Gnocchi was the best dish of the night. Mario's veal dish was very good, but overall his stuff was well below par for him - and I'm a Mario fan.

[JohnL]

One of my all time favorites was (I haven't seen him for a while):

BIKER BILLY ("Biker Billy cooks with Fire").

A NJ guy who had a cooking show relfecting the Biker lifestyle.

A true classic!

[Jane57]

These posts seem to be running out of steam when Biker Billy is brought up. We should then start talking about the guy who cooked out of doors with his dutch ovens - I think his name was C'Dub or something like that. He had to fight the bugs off while doing his cooking. I must admit he was better than that unbelievable Sandra Lee - now really folks, who did she sleep with to get that show?!

Also noticed this season that Giada is showing lots of clevage to go along with the food - what's that about?

[Comfort Me]

These posts seem to be running out of steam when Biker Billy is brought up.  We should then start talking about the guy who cooked out of doors with his dutch ovens - I think his name was C'Dub or something like that.  He had to fight the bugs off while doing his cooking.  I must admit he was better than that unbelievable Sandra Lee - now really folks, who did she sleep with to get that show?!

Also noticed this season that Giada is showing lots of clevage to go along with the food - what's that about?

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Now, I normally don't comment on women's clevage, but you did raise the subject.

I hadn't really noticed her newly exposed decoletage -- but that might be because I have seen pullets with larger breasts. (Or maybe they just look small in proximity to her unnaturally large head.)

[Laksa]

I hadn't really noticed her newly exposed decoletage  --  but that might be because I have seen pullets with larger breasts.  (Or maybe they just look small in proximity to her unnaturally large head.)

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What they may lack in size they more than make up for in shape. In addtion to being well formed, they are as perky as Rachael Ray's demeanor.