Favorite/Least Favorite Food "Celebrities"

[Pebs]

I fell asleep on the sofa last night (I'm pretty sure it was Christmas Eve) and when I woke up, on the tv Sandra Lee was on some beach with an extremely low cut top showing a whole lot of cleavage and making what I think might have been pinkish tinted margaritas. It was surreal, and I don't mean that in a good way. Kinda garish and nightmarish in a cheap and sleazy pornographic kinda way.

She's now number one on my Shite list.

In fact, I think I'm swearing off of Food Network real permanent like.

I hate you, Food TV.

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I think I briefly saw this episode before I went diving for the remote to smack it off the screen. What makes me remember this was that everything on the beach was intensely color coordinated in either bright red or pink or something including her plunging neckline top. And I kept thinking how ridiculous it was that she was whipping up bright colored frozen drinks in a color coordinated blender and there was no hint as to where the thing was plugged in in the middle of the beach.

[prasantrin]

And she just re-signed with Food Network through 2010.  60 new 30 MM per year (down from 80) and they revamped the travel show yet again to focus "more on travel and lifestyle and less on food".  So RR is basically the Samantha Brown of Food Net now I guess. 

I bet she got a big raise too.

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From the New York Times article, it seems that the remaining Food Network hosts may have lost as much as they have gained. The "old-timers" may have done so because they have better business advisors than the current crop.

[LolaTran]

Jeffrey Steingarten.

[Ndy]

Likes:

Alton Brown

Thomas Keller

Charlie Trotter

Mario Batali

Ming Tsai

Martin Yan

Morimoto

Bourdain

Flay

Steingarten

NO...just...NO:

Most of those horrible judges on Iron Chef America

Rachael Ray

Paula Deen

Sandra Lee

Emeril in "live" scenarios

[monavano]

Is is just me or has anyone else noticed Rachel Ray's grunting? It's so funny! She's been hands-down the Queen of Onomatopoeia all along but now she's gone from Mm Mm Mm to Grunt Grunt Grunt. Literally.

I remember that she mentioned that her beloved dog grunts like that when she cooks but now....she's doing it! And I don't think she's even aware that throughout her show-she's grunting

Anyone else notice this?

[kristin_71]

Guy Ferrei and Paula Deen annoy the shit out of me.

[KensethFan]

Paula Deen. She is so annoying. She really pours on that southern accent. I think she overemphasizes it. Nobody has that thick and annoying of a southern accent. She has to be faking it some at least. The older and more popular she gets, the more annoying she gets.

Sandra Lee. What an annoying drunk. Waste of space on the Food Network. She doesn't cook. Might as well pull out the Betty Crocker cookbook. Be better off. Her cooking is pulled right off the pages of Kraft sponsored magazines.

[mcohen]

its interesting to note that most of the least favorite food celebs are the recent ones pushed by Food Network, and yet its ratings have improved and its demographics have gotten younger with these new food celebs.

[Ndy]

Had to add another fave: Gordon Ramsay!

[Reignking]

Guy Ferrei and Paula Deen annoy the shit out of me.

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I didn't mind him until I caught one break of his most recent show -- something like an amateur cooking competition meets kitchen stadium. He came off like a dumb Alton Brown on open mike night at the Funny Bone.

[JeanneCake]

What happened to the woman who won the Food Network Star contest? I don't have a lot of opportunity to watch FN (I try to see Ace of Cakes because it's funny and that's what I do, but usually I'm asleep because I start work so early in the AM) I seem to remember she got a good timeslot on Sundays but while Guy F has parlayed his "win" to go on to other shows, that hasn't happed with this winner. Or any other ones?

And as for Sandra Lee.... well, I don't enjoy her show and I've seen it a few times. But I did happen to be awake when the FN did a "chefography" on her. I have to give her credit for persistance and sheer grit - to have been the "mom" to younger siblings while her mother was ill (she took over the family household as a young teenager) and then when her younger siblings went to live with their father, she was alone at 16 (her father wasn't in the picture, I gathered).

I didn't know she was the person who invented the pouffy valence thing (I had one or two in my first apartment, I will admit. They were perfect for my budget and looked great.) and made her $ there. That to me explains all the tablescape stuff - she's creative and able to take inexpensive things and pull it together. And all that stuff she cooks is what she was making at 13 for her siblings so now I know what that's all about. It doesn't make me want to watch the show, or cook anything she's showing, but after watching that, I have respect for her and what she's been able to make of her life after a difficult start.

[RMeierdirks]

Paula Deen.  She is so annoying.  She really pours on that southern accent.  I think she overemphasizes it.  Nobody has that thick and annoying of a southern accent.  She has to be faking it some at least.  The older and more popular she gets, the more annoying she gets.

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I have it on pretty good authority (a friend of mine from Georgia) that Paula Deen does not exaggerate the accent. My understanding is that Paula is from deep rural Georgia and that's just the way she talks.

-Rich

[annecros]

Paula Deen.  She is so annoying.  She really pours on that southern accent.  I think she overemphasizes it.  Nobody has that thick and annoying of a southern accent.  She has to be faking it some at least.  The older and more popular she gets, the more annoying she gets.

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I have it on pretty good authority (a friend of mine from Georgia) that Paula Deen does not exaggerate the accent. My understanding is that Paula is from deep rural Georgia and that's just the way she talks.

-Rich

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Well, Paula and I share the same "home" town - Albany, Georgia. She was actually born in the Atlanta area, but spent most of her married life in Albany, and I think her kids were born there - probably in the same hospital where I made my grand entrance into the world.

The accent is thick there. We just spoke to some friends who still live there, and were reminded, over the weekend. But, she is laying it on thicker than you would normally expect to hear. She uses words (YAWWWLLLL) with gratuitous repetition that exaggerate her accent. This isn't unusual behavior in the area. When a Southern Lady is at a church supper socializing with other Ladies (or Gentlemen), or talking to a small child, it is pretty typical to simper. Those ladies are as mean as snakes when you cross them, though. I'm willing to bet she wasn't always sweet as sunshine when she was in the kitchen at the "Lady and Sons" when it first started out.

Think of Jimmy and Roslyn Carter's accent. That is a much more typical Southwest Georgia accent, in normal speaking tone, and among adults.

So yeah, she is laying it on as thick as butter on a biscuit. She knows she doing it, and its her shtick. Yeah, it gets on my nerves, but mostly because she is addressing the audience in a manner that one would customarily address a three year old when you ask them if they want a cookie. If you watch her earlier shows, you can more easily pick up on the "then and now" nature of her accent. She just wasn't pushing it so hard then.

And no, what she is cooking is not an example of the rural South Georgia diet. Far from it. Maybe an example of semi-rural South Georgia covered dish church food in the 70's and 80's, but that sort of thing was happening all over the country at the time. And the "Bag Lady" era food was as far from rural Southern and she could get it.

(Notice she is listed as a "Notable Albanian" on the wiki page linked above. Along with Ray Charles, Harry James, Hamilton Jordon, Ray Knight - ugh)

[jsmeeker]

I think Paula Deen took some pages out of the Emeril playbook. Over time, her "character" has developed. Like Emeril, her earlier stuff is different than her most recent stuff, and I also detect the difference when Paula is in front of a live crowd vs. just being on a set alone, or on a set with a just a guest ot two and with only crew off camera.

[gfweb]

neelys

[handmc]

Guy Ferrei, the Talapia of the food world who eats the guano off the floor of the FN editing/production room floor, smacks his lips and proclaims "That's money baby!"

The Neelys

Paula Dean

I heard Guy Ferrei was the love child of Jerry Springer and Patti Smith!

[Zeemanb]

Not sure if he's been mentioned in this thread or any other, but Mark Decarlo from Taste of America on the travel channel has to go on my "favorite" list.

I know, I know, I'm sure he annoys the hell out of a lot of people, but there is something about a guy who really doesn't seem to know anything about food or necessarily like it go all around the country being a smartass. And I haven't witnessed such blatant sexual innuendos since "Xena: Warrior Princess" went off the air.

As Food Network becomes less and less about food and more about "branding", they could stand to mix things up a little and give Decarlo a late night spot.

[mikeysoundtrack]

I would personally like to witness Guy Fieri in pain.

[Septemberdog61]

I heard Guy Ferrei was the love child of Jerry Springer and Patti Smith!

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That's a horrible thing to say about Patti Smith.

[CDRFloppingham]

I'm not saying I'm a great chef but I'm a competent home cook.

Therefore, when I'm watching the B(.)(.)B* tube, what I'm looking for is ideas for new flavor combinations (OK, you can call it a recipe) and/or entertainment.

Say what you want to say about Sandra Lee just slapping together some prepared food, I think she's hot* and nice eye candy.

Is she a great chef? Hell no.

Does she make food I want to make? No.

Do I enjoy watching her because she's an attractive woman? Yeah

Compare her to Julia Child

Was she a great chef? No**

Did she make stuff I want to make? I've made most of her stuff since her recipes are limited to classics. She wasn't an innovative chef** but she was a pioneer in food on TV and pushed the American public to take food seriously. Still, the answer to this question, for me, is "sometimes" but none of her recipes were really interesting or innovative. Nor do I think that any of her recipes are really "the best" of their kind.

Do I still enjoy watching her? Not so much anymore. In fairness, I've seen all of The French Chef, Baking with Julia, Julia and Jacques, etc. episodes. There's only so much you can learn from watching on TV. At my level of skill (and I'm not claiming that it's all that high), you just gotta do it.

ETA: I was so intent on defending food "celebs" as entertainment rather than idols or great teachers or pioneers that I didn't answer the question.

Faves:

Colicchio because he is Top Chef

Bourdain

Pepin

Bittman

Guy Fieri

Batali

David Rosengarten (from back in the day)

Least Faves:

Emeril

Emeril

Marianne Esposito

Lidia Bastianich

The Hippie Gourmet

Emeril

Edited July 3, 2008 by CDRFloppingham (log)

[Vanilla Guerrilla]

My Favorites in no particular order:

Morimoto

Alton Brown

Bourdain

Tom Colicchio

Jose Andres - Made in Spain was great

Mark Bittman - His show is good, but he can be a little weird sometimes

Zane Lamprey - Pretty funny guy and it's nice to see food from other parts of the world

Batali

The whole cast from the original Iron Chef

Favorites because I think they are hot and I make no apologies for being a typical male pig :

Giada - actually, I kind of like her show as well as her

Padma - I watch Top Chef anyway, she is just an added bonus

Ingrid Hoffman - I don't watch the show, but I like her

Least Favorite:

Neelys

Hippie Gourmet

Fieri - Look at his page on FTV.com and read his description. What exactly are skateboarder shorts? I grew up skateboarding, but apparently I was doing it all wrong because I didn't have the proper attire. No one informed me that there were special shorts.

Thats all I can think of for now.

[gfweb]

"Favorites because I think they are hot and I make no apologies for being a typical male pig :

Giada - actually, I kind of like her show as well as her

Padma - I watch Top Chef anyway, she is just an added bonus

Ingrid Hoffman - I don't watch the show, but I like her"

Dude Ingrid Hoffman? dude she ain't in the Padma/Giada league. In fact Padma isn't in that league herself.

Edited July 5, 2008 by gfweb (log)

[JeffR]

The shy lady that came on to "Help" Fanny Craddock

[Vanilla Guerrilla]

"Favorites because I think they are hot and I make no apologies for being a typical male pig  :

Giada - actually, I kind of like her show as well as her

Padma - I watch Top Chef anyway, she is just an added bonus

Ingrid Hoffman - I don't watch the show, but I like her"

Dude Ingrid Hoffman?  dude  she ain't in the Padma/Giada league.  In fact Padma isn't in that league herself.

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So I have a thing for accents

[gfweb]

Gail from Top Chef gets my vote!