Comments on: In Defense of Food Network http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/ Where every man is king. Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:40:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Gilda http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-1480 Gilda Wed, 25 Oct 2006 18:14:02 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-1480 I feek that Giada's show"Everyday Italian" is becoming more Hollywood style everyday. Her clothes seem to show her cleavage--is this not a cooking show and not a style show. She is getting more and more affected. It is too bad people are not down to earth on these shows--sorry give me more of "Molto Maio"--He is not putting on a show--he is exactly what you see and his cooking is Italian. I feek that Giada’s show”Everyday Italian” is becoming more Hollywood style everyday. Her clothes seem to show her cleavage–is this not a cooking show and not a style show. She is getting more and more affected. It is too bad people are not down to earth on these shows–sorry give me more of “Molto Maio”–He is not putting on a show–he is exactly what you see and his cooking is Italian.

]]> By: Do you like to cook? http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-952 Do you like to cook? Tue, 10 Oct 2006 20:21:32 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-952 <strong>TV dumbs down food: Two perspectives</strong> As a food blogger, I constantly encounter posts on other bloggers' love or hate or love/hate for the Food Network and its stars. Since I do not watch the Food Network, or enough TV for that matter, I can't... TV dumbs down food: Two perspectives

As a food blogger, I constantly encounter posts on other bloggers' love or hate or love/hate for the Food Network and its stars. Since I do not watch the Food Network, or enough TV for that matter, I can't…

]]> By: nonnymouse http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-935 nonnymouse Tue, 10 Oct 2006 18:05:48 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-935 Seconding m on not understanding the Giada hatin'. Her recipies are cookable, and don't call for prefab crap. I learned how to actually cook thanks to her, instead of how to just assemble stuff. Definite points for clearly showing technique - the camera work is very good for doing that. Yes, the camera work is kinda cinema-ish, the way it loves light and shadow, but that's a bonus compared to the harsh tv-studio lighting Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee gets. Emril's stuff is overlit too, which obscures how things are done by canceling out shadows that let you know how big stuff is. She's pretty too. So, what's the beef? Its a cooking show that, horrors, actually shows how to cook! Good heavens! You could do worse than to give one of her recipe books to a cooking noob - that stuff is dead easy. Seconding m on not understanding the Giada hatin’.
Her recipies are cookable, and don’t call for prefab crap. I learned how to actually cook thanks to her, instead of how to just assemble stuff. Definite points for clearly showing technique - the camera work is very good for doing that. Yes, the camera work is kinda cinema-ish, the way it loves light and shadow, but that’s a bonus compared to the harsh tv-studio lighting Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee gets. Emril’s stuff is overlit too, which obscures how things are done by canceling out shadows that let you know how big stuff is.

She’s pretty too.

So, what’s the beef? Its a cooking show that, horrors, actually shows how to cook! Good heavens! You could do worse than to give one of her recipe books to a cooking noob - that stuff is dead easy.

]]> By: m http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-827 m Sun, 08 Oct 2006 07:04:36 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-827 Racheal makes me want to claw her face off with my fingernails as well, but I don't get all the Giada hatin'. She's a trained cook, folks--graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. She probably could have rested on grandpa's laurels, but instead she went to cooking school, worked as a personal chef for rich folks and made it good. She has good technique on her show--lots of hand washing, knows how to handle a knife, seasons everything. Just because she looks good doesn't mean she doesn't know what she's doing. Racheal makes me want to claw her face off with my fingernails as well, but I don’t get all the Giada hatin’. She’s a trained cook, folks–graduate of Le Cordon Bleu. She probably could have rested on grandpa’s laurels, but instead she went to cooking school, worked as a personal chef for rich folks and made it good. She has good technique on her show–lots of hand washing, knows how to handle a knife, seasons everything. Just because she looks good doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she’s doing.

]]> By: Jack http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-784 Jack Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:18:16 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-784 Chris is so right (above) when he states "What is basically gone from their programming is this earnestness; we have supposedly more accessible programming, but it has been dumbed down"... The Food Network once had shows for Food Enthusiasts. But then they figured out there wasn't many of those people around, so they got rid of those programs to focus instead on programming geared to those who mostly buy pre-prepared foods; people who like the Idea of Cooking but have yet to shell peas or beans from their pods. Chris is so right (above) when he states “What is basically gone from their programming is this earnestness; we have supposedly more accessible programming, but it has been dumbed down”…

The Food Network once had shows for Food Enthusiasts. But then they figured out there wasn’t many of those people around, so they got rid of those programs to focus instead on programming geared to those who mostly buy pre-prepared foods; people who like the Idea of Cooking but have yet to shell peas or beans from their pods.

]]> By: deb http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-763 deb Fri, 06 Oct 2006 13:12:59 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-763 Rachael Ray's scratchy, loud voice aside, I wholly agree with you on this. I am so sick of hearing people dog the simple cooking on the Food Network - so WHAT if she's showing you how to make a pasta, a vegetable and salad dish in thirty minutes? So what if she uses jarred sauce sometimes? Are these things really the food enemy or are just-add-water chemistry sets of meals in boxes and spinach so polluted it could actually kill you? I'd listen to the criticisms with a more open ear if people could do so without sounding like elitists. I miss Julia Child, too, but there's nothing wrong with a few programs that better meet less elaborately-inclined cooks where they are. Rachael Ray’s scratchy, loud voice aside, I wholly agree with you on this. I am so sick of hearing people dog the simple cooking on the Food Network - so WHAT if she’s showing you how to make a pasta, a vegetable and salad dish in thirty minutes? So what if she uses jarred sauce sometimes? Are these things really the food enemy or are just-add-water chemistry sets of meals in boxes and spinach so polluted it could actually kill you? I’d listen to the criticisms with a more open ear if people could do so without sounding like elitists. I miss Julia Child, too, but there’s nothing wrong with a few programs that better meet less elaborately-inclined cooks where they are.

]]> By: Chris http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-756 Chris Fri, 06 Oct 2006 02:02:31 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-756 I have been viewing Food Network for nearly ten years now, and being that this debate is centered around the educational (rather than sensational) program the station offers, I will focus on that. There was something wonderful about the glamour and gloss of the haute programming that used to sit in the fore of Food Network's programming: Ming Tsai's 'East Meets West', David Rosengarten's 'Taste', 'Molto Mario', Jamie Oliver's smug 'Naked Chef', even Bobby Flay's line of shows (I still watch, despite his relentless ego, 'Boy Meets Grill'-- for his over-the-top creative approach and perhaps also for the equally over-the-top setting in his Manhattan loft). There was a point when I actually really enjoyed Emeril (in his first program); hewas still new to television, incredibly boring albeit, but showcased his style in an entirely earnest way. What is basically gone from their programming is this earnestness; we have supposedly more accessible programming, but it has been dumbed down to the point where the entertainment is offered not from the luxury but from sensational television practices. Alton Brown bridged the gap between the high-cuisine of the Food Network of previous years and the lower which we experience today. As a home cook, and a neophyte line cook (in catering) who never went to culinary school, I looked to Food Network not only for technique and basic skills, but for haute inspiration for pushing the envelope when cooking for dinner parties or designing menus in my previous jobs. I understand that there really isn't any turning back for FoodTV now -- there was no way they could build ratings from a set of challenging programs, inaccessible and ultimately uninteresting for the average viewer -- but I nearly always smell defeat when I tune in these days. I am entirely embarrassed by Sandra Lee's suburban fluffery. And I actually miss Martha Stewart. I have nothing constructive to add here but I express a great deal of nostalgia for the archetypal, admittedly boring, cooking show. There was a time when you could actually get a read on current trends in high cuisine by simply watching Food Network, but this is no more. If only Thomas Keller had a show; I'd take it all back. I have been viewing Food Network for nearly ten years now, and being that this debate is centered around the educational (rather than sensational) program the station offers, I will focus on that.

There was something wonderful about the glamour and gloss of the haute programming that used to sit in the fore of Food Network’s programming: Ming Tsai’s ‘East Meets West’, David Rosengarten’s ‘Taste’, ‘Molto Mario’, Jamie Oliver’s smug ‘Naked Chef’, even Bobby Flay’s line of shows (I still watch, despite his relentless ego, ‘Boy Meets Grill’– for his over-the-top creative approach and perhaps also for the equally over-the-top setting in his Manhattan loft). There was a point when I actually really enjoyed Emeril (in his first program); hewas still new to television, incredibly boring albeit, but showcased his style in an entirely earnest way. What is basically gone from their programming is this earnestness; we have supposedly more accessible programming, but it has been dumbed down to the point where the entertainment is offered not from the luxury but from sensational television practices.

Alton Brown bridged the gap between the high-cuisine of the Food Network of previous years and the lower which we experience today. As a home cook, and a neophyte line cook (in catering) who never went to culinary school, I looked to Food Network not only for technique and basic skills, but for haute inspiration for pushing the envelope when cooking for dinner parties or designing menus in my previous jobs. I understand that there really isn’t any turning back for FoodTV now — there was no way they could build ratings from a set of challenging programs, inaccessible and ultimately uninteresting for the average viewer — but I nearly always smell defeat when I tune in these days. I am entirely embarrassed by Sandra Lee’s suburban fluffery. And I actually miss Martha Stewart.

I have nothing constructive to add here but I express a great deal of nostalgia for the archetypal, admittedly boring, cooking show. There was a time when you could actually get a read on current trends in high cuisine by simply watching Food Network, but this is no more.

If only Thomas Keller had a show; I’d take it all back.

]]> By: Average Betty http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-755 Average Betty Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:21:38 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-755 C'mon! Everyone has learned something from The Food Network... but who has all that time to burn watching TV? You don't have to go to culinary school to be a great chef, just like you don't have to go to art school to be a great artist. C’mon! Everyone has learned something from The Food Network… but who has all that time to burn watching TV? You don’t have to go to culinary school to be a great chef, just like you don’t have to go to art school to be a great artist.

]]> By: Tom http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-750 Tom Thu, 05 Oct 2006 23:05:10 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-750 Buford can moan about dumbed-down cooks ... replacing more traditional ... chefs on Food Network ... or he can moan about how people don’t know how to cook anymore, but he can’t complain about both. Why not? Seems there's a relationship there. Buford can moan about dumbed-down cooks … replacing more traditional … chefs on Food Network … or he can moan about how people don’t know how to cook anymore, but he can’t complain about both.

Why not? Seems there’s a relationship there.

]]> By: nick s http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-748 nick s Thu, 05 Oct 2006 22:09:16 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-748 "When a show comes on this guy doesn’t like, he could just change the channel." And when a show is cancelled? Buford's point is that the network's programming is forsaking programmes. There was a piece a couple of years ago that focused on Sara Moulton, and the fear that she was going to be shoved aside for Yumm-o Days With Rachael Ray. And so she was. Contrast that with the food programming across the pond, especially on Channel 4 in Britain. 'The F-Word' had Gordon Ramsay raising and slaughtering a pig; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's 'River Cottage' series looks at raising animals for food; Jamie Oliver slaughtered a lamb as part of his tour of Italy. There's a deliberate attempt in the UK, even among celebrity chefs, to reconnect with the dirty and sometimes bloody origins of what we eat. Who's doing that in the US? Tony Bourdain, on the Travel Channel. PBS, to a lesser extent. The Food Network lineup is turning into the equivalent of televised sports: something for people who want to watch while sitting on their couches with takeout. And it's pretty clear that 30MM and Everyday Italian are aimed at male viewers who gawp over their stars. “When a show comes on this guy doesn’t like, he could just change the channel.”

And when a show is cancelled? Buford’s point is that the network’s programming is forsaking programmes. There was a piece a couple of years ago that focused on Sara Moulton, and the fear that she was going to be shoved aside for Yumm-o Days With Rachael Ray. And so she was.

Contrast that with the food programming across the pond, especially on Channel 4 in Britain. ‘The F-Word’ had Gordon Ramsay raising and slaughtering a pig; Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s ‘River Cottage’ series looks at raising animals for food; Jamie Oliver slaughtered a lamb as part of his tour of Italy. There’s a deliberate attempt in the UK, even among celebrity chefs, to reconnect with the dirty and sometimes bloody origins of what we eat.

Who’s doing that in the US? Tony Bourdain, on the Travel Channel. PBS, to a lesser extent. The Food Network lineup is turning into the equivalent of televised sports: something for people who want to watch while sitting on their couches with takeout. And it’s pretty clear that 30MM and Everyday Italian are aimed at male viewers who gawp over their stars.

]]> By: erin http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-747 erin Thu, 05 Oct 2006 21:42:28 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-747 I agree with most of the above--yeah Rachael Ray's no Thomas Keller but she's not as crappy as most "foodies" make her out to be. I don't watch her show, but I do like her magazine quite a bit--it's full of easy, relatively healthy recipes for real life people with actual jobs who don't have all day to hang out in the kitchen. She doesn't recommend too many heavily-processed foods, and she focuses on reminding folks they don't have to religiously follow recipes or be scared of cooking. Plus--it's TV for chrissakes. What exactly does Buford expect? Has he checked what's on any other channel lately??? I agree with most of the above–yeah Rachael Ray’s no Thomas Keller but she’s not as crappy as most “foodies” make her out to be. I don’t watch her show, but I do like her magazine quite a bit–it’s full of easy, relatively healthy recipes for real life people with actual jobs who don’t have all day to hang out in the kitchen. She doesn’t recommend too many heavily-processed foods, and she focuses on reminding folks they don’t have to religiously follow recipes or be scared of cooking.

Plus–it’s TV for chrissakes. What exactly does Buford expect? Has he checked what’s on any other channel lately???

]]> By: Mary Sue http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-745 Mary Sue Thu, 05 Oct 2006 20:39:49 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-745 I will conceede that Rachel Ray does teach some skills to the totally clueless, even if every time I see her I want to rip her face off with my fingernails. However, the Semi-Homemade wench? She belongs on a midwest morning 'news' show doing weather instead of creating food abominations. Paula Dean is love. AB is hot sex on a platter. Iron Chef America-- for the love of GOD, blow up the ice cream maker! In my estimation, there really aren't many shows on TFN for those of us who, you know, actually understand how to boil water and want to expand our skills a bit without becoming a Master Chef. A show on plating and styling would be so cool. And Seth, I think the absolute best starter cookbook is the Betty Crocker Cookbook-- I taught myself how to cook out of the 1975 version and still use recipes out of my 1997 version at least once a week. I will conceede that Rachel Ray does teach some skills to the totally clueless, even if every time I see her I want to rip her face off with my fingernails. However, the Semi-Homemade wench? She belongs on a midwest morning ‘news’ show doing weather instead of creating food abominations.

Paula Dean is love. AB is hot sex on a platter. Iron Chef America– for the love of GOD, blow up the ice cream maker!

In my estimation, there really aren’t many shows on TFN for those of us who, you know, actually understand how to boil water and want to expand our skills a bit without becoming a Master Chef. A show on plating and styling would be so cool.

And Seth, I think the absolute best starter cookbook is the Betty Crocker Cookbook– I taught myself how to cook out of the 1975 version and still use recipes out of my 1997 version at least once a week.

]]> By: Seth L http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-706 Seth L Wed, 04 Oct 2006 19:22:36 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-706 I have to defend Rachel Ray's 30 Minute meals cookbooks. Great starter books for moving out, and a couple of the recipies have headlined successful dinner parties for me (the cutsey named Jambalikya, and cashew chicken). I have to defend Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute meals cookbooks. Great starter books for moving out, and a couple of the recipies have headlined successful dinner parties for me (the cutsey named Jambalikya, and cashew chicken).

]]> By: James B http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-704 James B Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:11:13 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-704 --- First off, is that REALLY a pic or Rachel Ray? Wow! She looks…. different. I feel all funny inside… :) Yeah, she did a rather tame spread for FHM or Stuff magazine about a year ago. Pics are available online if you look. --- My friends and I have a theory that she is drunk (or at least a little buzzed) about 60% - 75% of the time we see her on 30 Minute Meals. We also a contest to see how many times she does that little "tee-hee" laugh. We theorize that the "tee-hee's" come more frequently when she's tipped a few. But I still love her! :p —
First off, is that REALLY a pic or Rachel Ray? Wow! She looks…. different. I feel all funny inside… :)

Yeah, she did a rather tame spread for FHM or Stuff magazine about a year ago. Pics are available online if you look.
—

My friends and I have a theory that she is drunk (or at least a little buzzed) about 60% - 75% of the time we see her on 30 Minute Meals. We also a contest to see how many times she does that little “tee-hee” laugh. We theorize that the “tee-hee’s” come more frequently when she’s tipped a few.

But I still love her! :p

]]> By: Mike http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-702 Mike Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:03:01 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-702 We watch a lot of Alton's work - Feasting on Asphalt was a fun concept that I'm hoping they bring back for more. The nice thing with Good Eats, is that while he'll say that the best way to get chicken is to hatch it from an egg and raise it on Japanese bread crumbs, he'll always acknowledge that it's not practical, and give alternatives leaning toward the organic/natural spectrum, and then he'll usually grudgingly admit that even a mainline grocery store chicken can be good if you know what to look for, or do to it when you get it home. Using his tips, we've made the best Thanksgiving turkey I've ever tasted with a store-brand bird that was free with $100 of other grocery purchases... And I have to agree with everyone else, that the purpose of the shows on TFN is (other than making the network money) inspiring people to try their hand at cooking... If not every night, at least once in a while, which is a big step in the right direction. We watch a lot of Alton’s work - Feasting on Asphalt was a fun concept that I’m hoping they bring back for more. The nice thing with Good Eats, is that while he’ll say that the best way to get chicken is to hatch it from an egg and raise it on Japanese bread crumbs, he’ll always acknowledge that it’s not practical, and give alternatives leaning toward the organic/natural spectrum, and then he’ll usually grudgingly admit that even a mainline grocery store chicken can be good if you know what to look for, or do to it when you get it home. Using his tips, we’ve made the best Thanksgiving turkey I’ve ever tasted with a store-brand bird that was free with $100 of other grocery purchases…

And I have to agree with everyone else, that the purpose of the shows on TFN is (other than making the network money) inspiring people to try their hand at cooking… If not every night, at least once in a while, which is a big step in the right direction.

]]> By: AdamOndi http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-699 AdamOndi Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:29:44 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-699 All you need to do is watch an episode of Iron Chef America to realize why they hire people with more personality than training (like Rachael Ray). The Iron Chefs are usually pretty interesting, but then, most of them have shows other than Iron Chef as well. The real key is to look at the challengers. They have excellent skills, but they are incredibly dull to watch otherwise. There is a reason they focus in more on the hands doing things than the faces of the challengers. You simply cannot carry an entire cooking show based solely off of skills. You must make it interesting and entertaining, too. And catering to the "everywoman and everyman" on the Food Network makes far more sense than putting up a bunch of snooty "I'm a master chef and you are a retard with a spatula" types of shows. No one wants to watch a cooking show full of stuff that they feel they will never be able to do. That would completely miss the point. All you need to do is watch an episode of Iron Chef America to realize why they hire people with more personality than training (like Rachael Ray). The Iron Chefs are usually pretty interesting, but then, most of them have shows other than Iron Chef as well. The real key is to look at the challengers. They have excellent skills, but they are incredibly dull to watch otherwise. There is a reason they focus in more on the hands doing things than the faces of the challengers. You simply cannot carry an entire cooking show based solely off of skills. You must make it interesting and entertaining, too.

And catering to the “everywoman and everyman” on the Food Network makes far more sense than putting up a bunch of snooty “I’m a master chef and you are a retard with a spatula” types of shows. No one wants to watch a cooking show full of stuff that they feel they will never be able to do. That would completely miss the point.

]]> By: Paul D. http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-697 Paul D. Wed, 04 Oct 2006 17:19:11 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-697 <i>First off, is that REALLY a pic or Rachel Ray? Wow! She looks…. different. I feel all funny inside… :)</i> Yeah, she did a rather tame spread for FHM or Stuff magazine about a year ago. Pics are available online if you look. First off, is that REALLY a pic or Rachel Ray? Wow! She looks…. different. I feel all funny inside… :)

Yeah, she did a rather tame spread for FHM or Stuff magazine about a year ago. Pics are available online if you look.

]]> By: Joel http://dethroner.com/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-695 Joel Wed, 04 Oct 2006 16:49:31 +0000 http://dethroner.com/index.php/2006/10/04/in-defense-of-food-network/#comment-695 Ha. Paula Dean is the real deal. I once saw her cook cinnamon rolls with the trademark pound of butter, drizzle them with a recoculous amount of icing, then tear one off and <i>slather it with butter again</i>. Consider I can't eat like that anymore with my sedentary lifestyle, that's the real food porn. Ha. Paula Dean is the real deal. I once saw her cook cinnamon rolls with the trademark pound of butter, drizzle them with a recoculous amount of icing, then tear one off and slather it with butter again. Consider I can’t eat like that anymore with my sedentary lifestyle, that’s the real food porn.

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