They're no Julia

[jess mebane]

Joanne Weir on PBS drives me out of the room. I know it's for beginners but the way she talks to her guests makes them seem like total morons.

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I second that emotion. This thread popped up while I was searching ye olde egullet engine for "Weir" and "La Bourride" in hopes of some mention of her recipe.

I get SUCH a headache from frowning thru her Cooking Class series, and only catch the last bits before Lidia's show starts. Could she (Weir) be any more pedantic and insulting to obviously intelligent guests? I pity the folks that suffer through a day as "students" with Ms. Joanne. Seems a thankless task.

[jsmeeker]

Hubert Keller has a show I've caught on PBS recently, and I have mixed feelings about it. He looks so uncomfortable in the camera, yet at the same time so kindly and precise in his teachings. He's quite clearly a good teacher. I find his approaches and ideas both very educational and watchable, except when his unease makes me uneasy. Perhaps he'll grow into a Mario role.

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Out of all the cooking shows that run on my local PBS station, his dishes are consistently the most elaborate in terms of number of ingredients used and number of steps involved.

Looks good, but man, there is a lot of work. Certainly not stuff for beginners.

[Stefferdoos]

Joanne Weir on PBS drives me out of the room. I know it's for beginners but the way she talks to her guests makes them seem like total morons.

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Oh wow, I couldn't agree more on Joanne Weir. Its like one of the ladies from Delicious Dish on Saturday Night Live got a TV show. If I want California Wine Country cooking, I'll watch Michael Chiarello instead.

Another personality on TV that just doesn't translate well for me is Mary Ann Esposito. Not sure why, but she just grates for me.

Of the current TV chefs I'd say yes to Mario, Lidia, Michael Chiarello and that's about it. Other than that its old episodes of Jacques and Julia for me. Separately or together.

Also, add me to the list for the people that don't understand all the hate for Emeril. He may be annoying but his Essence of Emeril was one of the first shows besides Two Hot Tamales that got me hooked on the Food Network in its early days and started a lifelong cookbook addiction for me.

Edited December 18, 2007 by Stefferdoos (log)

[chezcherie]

got the cold from hell, so i've spent some couch time this weekend. i have been away from food tv for a while, so these may all be old annoyances, but (1) i watched tyler florence season and liberally oil some red bell peppers that he then proceeded to roast and peel, thereby removing all the seasoning he'd applied....

(2) just now watched bobby flay serve peel and eat shrimp with a nice garlicy, oily, sauce to his poker buddies....the show was about poker food, and they were not taking a break, but actively engaged in the game. i guess it's good those cards are plastic coated, huh? still, from the look of those shrimp (looked delicious, don't get me wrong...), the players

were in danger of having their royal flushes fly right out of their hands!

(3) on the plus side, i saw my first episode of the new jamie oliver show, which i think i'll tivo. most of the mtv camera shots are gone, so i don't have to have a dramamine apertif, and the show felt informative, fresh and watchable.

[ray goud]

So far, I haven't seen mention of something which can ruin the otherwise good teaching of almost any teacher/chef: ultra-closeup handheld (shaky) photography. Most British shows are guilty of this. For me, they become unwatchable.

Ray