How many of you watcdh The Food Network? And if you do, who are your favorites?

I used to really like Emeril, but his show is now kind of played out for me. I actually prefer his older show, The Essenece Of Emeril, where there was NO audience and it was only him.

I did eat at his seafood restaurant in Las Vegas and it was very very good.

I enjoy the things that Sandra Lee and Paula Dean make on their respective shows, as well as Bobby Flay. And while I've always enjoyed watching Giada the most, Ingrid Hoffman of Simply Dilcioso is quickly becoming my favorite.

Though both can cook in my kitchen, ANYtime!

I haven't watched it in awhile. The only one I ever really watched was Emeril. I even brought one of his pots and his spices. Not that I could ever really cook anything he ever made.

My "other" brother has a HUGE crush on Giada!! I love to watch her make all these high-calorie foods, as if she ever eats them!!

I'd love to see one of them cut their finger off. The skinny biotches.

Funny this thread was started. Mario Batali was just fired from the network. It was in today's paper. He told network execs, if they didn't keep his daily Molto Mario show on the air, he wouldn't do Iron Chef any more. They said "ciao."

It's not like he needs the money.

I love the "road" shows. All of them. Not too long ago, the Deen boys (Paula's sons and partners) came to Mike's in the Arthur Avenue Market. They shot on a saturday (I'm always there on saturdays by 7 or 8 am) and they were really the epitome of the words "southern gentlemen." The whole "fish out-of-water" concept was hysterical.

Did you know that Paula started her catering business because she was agoraphobic? She couldn't leave the house, and found that cooking was very soothing. Her sons used to deliver the food after school. Very interesting woman.

Yeah, I read that. She completely withdrew from society pretty much. She made a helluva comeback though. I like her. I get a kick out of the whole "Goober-Gomer" image because in reality, she really has it on the ball. Her sons have been with her in the restaurant since day 1. They really helped her build an empire. It's a nice family story (not "family" story ).

I don't think it has hurt her that she's stunning. She's still a VERY attractive woman, and a real traffic-stopper when she was younger.

I still like Emeril also Iron Chef.

The food netowrk headquarters is in Chelsea in NYC. You can go there and get tix to be in the audience.

Chelsea. Where the pretty boys hang, literally.

And don't forget, you can shop at the incomparable Chelsea market!

Honestly, it's a great neighborhood. There's lots to do. I love the driving range at the pier. It's a riot.

He's a real arrogant d**k. I never liked him. He's a fake Italian as far as I am concerned. Everyone that I know who has gone to his restaurants say that he's a cold son of a bitch to his customers.

Now if they would just get rid of that snooty fat bitch, the Barefoot Contessa, the Food Network would be perfect! I can't stomach her! Her and her f**king husband Jeffery.

BTW PB, I love those road shows also. I really enjoy the Diner shows that they've been showing too.

How often do you guys watch this network?

Do you get the Food Network MIGGY?

Yes I do but I'm sorry to say I've never watched it.

Absolutely! Feasting on Asphalt with Alton Brown is one of the best shows on the network. I also like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I have always been interested in American regional food, and these shows are very worthwhile, IMO.

(Personally, I'd like to see a series devoted to just classic American diners - before they become extinct!)

The original Japanese Iron Chef has always been a favorite. While the American version is passable, the changes in the format they made (from the original) didn't improve it. My two complaints are (a) that the original series stopped production years ago, and (b) there seem to be a great many Iron Chef episodes that have never aired on these shores. Too bad. I found the show very educational, as far as the ingenuity displayed by these master chefs, and quite enlightening as far as Japanese culture. Probably my biggest beef (pun intended) was that Italian Iron Chef Masahiko Kobe seemed to be the bastard child of the group! Hell, they didn't even film him rising up out of the floor with the other three guys! He always came off like a postscript or an afterthought. Infamia!

The problem I have with a couple of the shows (Giada's in particular) is that appear to be visually overproduced. There seems to be more of an emphasis on the visual production style than the food being made.

Emeril? A good show, but I get the feeling I'm watching a "celebrity" more than anything else. When the chef starts to overpower the cooking, then I just have to wonder...

If there is one thing I would change about the Food Network, I would make sure that a full breakdown for the recipes shown is posted on the program (I'm referring to the cooking programs.). Sure, you can get a good deal of the info from watching the way the recipes are prepared, but if you're not sure of yourself in the kitchen (or even if you are!), posting the recipes onscreen would be a big help.

How often do I watch the channel? Obviously, nearly every day. There's almost always something interesting on to tape for later viewing. Do I watch every show? No. (I've also had all I can take of Rachael Ray! ) But I do watch the Food Network regularly.

Signor V.

I do watch the Network on occasion, but I've never enjoyed a cooking show as much as when Graham Kerr used to get drunk almost daily on TV as he prepared his meals. Now THAT was a cooking show!!

I don't remember if this guy was on the food network, or on PBS. He was the old southern gentleman. I think he cooked everything in fat..haha. He always used to say, "I guarantee"...in his old southern drawl. I know he died a few years back. I can't remember his name.

I seldom watch the food network to be honest. However, I do watch sometimes if it's Italian cooking so I can get ideas for new recipes. I don't remember the name of the show but the hostess/cook is Mary Ann Espisito I believe. I've jotted down a couple receipes but never followed through with making them.


TIS

I am the worst at that, TIS. I love to write down recipes, and then I never make them. I have a lovely one for dessert that I wrote down at the doctor's office once. It's a watermelon and mascarpone/heavy cream parfait. And it sounds soooooo good. Every summer I swear that I'm going to make it, and it's been about 4 years and I still haven't gotten around to it.

I certainly remember Graham Kerr, AKA The Galloping Gourmet. Actually, he was more like The Staggering Gourmet - always pausing every few minutes to have "a slurp" from an ever-present glass of white wine he kept within arm's reach. His show was quite big over 30 years ago. He also wrote a few books that sold well. He finally went public with his drinking problem, sobered up, then didn't seem to do as much. I remember a show called Take Kerr years ago, but I think this was a short "filler" type show and didn't last very long. I don't know if he's been active lately.

I think that Southern fellow was Justin Wilson and his PBS show was called Justin Wilson's Louisiana Cooking or something similar. I used to watch him from time to time.

I know Mary Ann Esposito has an Italian cooking show that is carried here on a daily basis be several PBS stations. I believe it's called Ciao Italia. I'm not aware of her having a show on The Food Network, but, hey - even I don't know everything!

One of my favorites is Nick Stellino. He's had a PBS show for a few years now. He's also written several cookbooks. Quite a likable and engaging personality. Anybody else watch his show?

Signor V.

Hey SV

You know what? That show may not be on the food network. It is Ciao Italia and I assumed it was on the Food Network. Well, like I said, I don't watch it much.

I remember the Gallaoping Gourment too. I just remember the show, but can't picture what he looked like.

TIS

Way to make me feel old, SV!!!

No, I don't know Nick Stellino, but I'll watch for his show. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned Lidia. I like to watch her cook, and at least she looks like she eats!

Anybody remember Julia Child?

I am remembering the Galloping Gourmet like when my mother watched it. Like in the 50's 60's. Is that right? Same era as Jack LaLane????? Or am I mistaken?

I think that's why I can't place his face.

TIS

Mig,

I do remember Julia Child. I couldn't take listening to her voice for long lengths of time though.

Julia Child was great. But I always think of the SNL sketch (was it Dan Akroyd?) doing the Julia Child's skit - Save the liver!!!

You got that right.

As I remember, The Galloping Gourmet started in the late 1960s. Jack LaLanne was still on TV as well, but he had been on for years before that. (Mr. LaLanne is believed to be 243 years old. )

Here's a recent photo of Graham Kerr:



It seems he's still quite active. Here's his website:

Graham Kerr

I've been watching Lidia Bastianich for years, and have read a few of her cookbooks. I borrowed them from my local libraries, because they're quite pricey! I could put together several good meals for the price of one of her cookbooks! What I like about her is that many times she will tell you not just how to cook something, but what happens to things (chemically) when they cook, and why. Very educational, and quite interesting. There was a time, though, that whenever we turned on one of her programs, she was preparing something with tentacles. Time after time, her shows seemed to feature her cleaning, peeling, or otherwise hacking away at some squid, octopus, or other similar creature from the deep. We nicknamed her "Squidia".

But definitely check out Nick Stellino. He is from Sicily, and is a marvelous character. Extremely charismatic. I've used a few of his recipes. Here is his website:

Nick Stellino's Family Kitchen

Signor V.

I think that you're talking about Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet!

Wow we are really showing our age with Julia Child, Graham Kerr (Galloping Gourmet), etc... I am afraid I am with you here though... interesting thing, the galloping gourmet admitted to alcoholism and now will not even deglaze with wine (even though most of it burns out in cooking, the flavor is there and it makes you crave for a glass of wine.

I haven't seen Esposito since the 90s, but she is good, Sicilian, so what can be bad, PBS was basically FoodTV before the actual FoodTV took off on cable. Nick Stellino, Lidia Bastianich, Yan Can Cook, and that other bald guy that got nailed for inappropriate sexual conduct (Master Chef?), in any case...

Giada is a sweetheart and her cooking is authentic... Emeril is good for entertainment, not the best cook but he knows something about it, but he is good clean fun... Mario Batali... well, as far as I am concerned, I am disturbed about them eliminating his role... he used to be on every day at noon, and then his other show at 11pm, then they put him on at 10am and eliminated his other shows and/or put them on at 4am -- now i can only catch his show at 10am on a monday, then i won't see it for another week. Mario is my hero, he tells it like it really is, cooks it like it really should and has more knowledge than all the other chefs on Food TV combine, even more so than Alton Brown, another fave... Mario Batali is one of the most successful restrauranteuers of all time... if they pass him by for any reason, its their loss, but they have done that with emeril too... they want pretty faces and "reality chef" competitions... but we know the real deal...

PS - yes, i watch the FoodTV network lol, i have for the last 15+ years, can you tell??

The "Galloping Gourmet", right? Used to love that as a kid... him, and Julia dropping chickens on the floor all the time...

Just to clarify:

Justin Wilson was the "southern gentleman" referred to in earlier posts, not Jeff Smith. Wilson died several years ago.

Jeff Smith, aka The Frugal Gourmet, was the man whose career was ruined by a sex scandal. He lost his show, and died a couple of years ago in obscurity. He was (I believe) from the state of Washington, and was not southern. We used to watch his show regularly, and have a couple of his books. He was also an ordained minister, and this is partly why we were so shattered when all this stuff about him surfaced.

Signor V.

Jeff Smith was awesome!! It was sad to hear the circumstances upon his death...

Yup, Justin was the guy. He was so kewl.

Was he the cajun guy?

Yes, that was him.

JustinWilson.com

Wikipedia article

Justin Wilson (from Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture)

Signor V.

Oh yea, I know who he was too. I just didn't know his name.
Sorry to hear of his passing.



TIS

A new Food Network show starting on October 7th (limited series), The Next Iron Chef!

See here -

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_io/text/0,3180,FOOD_30216_64345,00.html

Interesting.

I've seen the on-air promos, and I wonder what this is all about.

A couple of weeks back, when Mario Batali said he was leaving The Food Network, I read a statement issued by a network spokeswoman who said that Batali would not be leaving Iron chef America, despite reports to the contrary. (Maybe it's a contractual thing.) I haven't heard any further news about Batali one way or the other, but this New Iron Chef show had to have been planned before Batali said he was leaving. At least, that's what I think is likely.

What I'm wondering is - could there be another chef from Iron Chef America who is planning to leave? Or, are they just trying to increase the "playing field"?

I mean, the original Japanese version of Iron Chef saw their lineup change over time, so maybe there's going to a change having nothing at all to do with Mario Batali.

But, I'll definitely try and watch the new show.

(Now, if they'd just get rid of the "Chairman"...)

Signor V.

The food network aired 3 really good shows this afternoon.

"Heavyweights" - HOSTESS/DRAKES and LITTLE DEBBIE'S. A show dedicated to the history and products of Hostess/Drakes and Little Debbie Cakes.


"Heaveyweights" - BIG CHOCOLATE : MARS AND HERSHEY. A show dedicated to the history and products of the Mars and Hershey chocolate companies.

If anyone is interested in watching these two show, both will re-air on SUNDAY October 07, 2007 2:30 PM ET/PT



"Unwrapped" dedicated a whole episode called KIDDIE CRAVINGS UNWRAPPED and had things like the making of animal crackers, favorite cereals to the making of Spaghetti-O's!


3 Very nostalgic shows!

Mig, I'm not goofing on you here, but you know how I always tease you about eating Spaghetti-O's? Well take a guess where the factory is where they make Spaghetti-O's? Ohio!

What city?

Napolean.

Sorry about that.

Never heard of it. I was going to take a tour and send you some samples.

Touche Mig!


MAP OF NAPOLEON, OH

Next Iron Chef premiers tonight at 9 pm eastern, folks!

Don't know if it's gonna be good or not, but on paper, it's maybe the network's most interesting and exciting program!

Plus there will be a five episode Iron Chef America marathon that features five of the eight Next Iron Chef contestants before the premiere of Next Iron Chef tonight.

Love Iron Chef, hate reality/competitions.. I might check it out...

Well, I watched The Next Iron Chef, and it really did seem like a semi-retread of Top Chef (at least to me).

But that doesn't mean I'm not going to stick with it.

However, there was a particular aspect of the first episode that I found curious:

Since it was shot at the famous Culinary Institute of America, one would expect the physical conditions and facilities to be top-of-the-line. Yet, the kitchen seemed unbearably hot - I think Chef Besh lost five pounds from perspiration alone. Things were not setting up properly due to the heat. Also, one of the chefs said that the freezer temperature was 48 degrees Farenheit! Another complained about the size of the whisks (way too small).

I get the feeling that these additional "obstacles" were really not meant to be an element of the competition, and it came across as rather unfair to the chefs.

It will be interesting to see what happens in subsequent episodes - especially if all the shows were filmed at the same location (and I don't know if they were).

Signor V.

Oh, well, seems like only two of us are watching The Next Iron Chef.

Anyway, at the very least you all should watch the last episode this Sunday. Why, you ask?

Because the final two contestants are battling it out in their "own" Iron Chef America episode.

Premieres Sunday. Repeats on Thursday and Saturday.

I watch it off and on, all of them are already known/respected chefs in their own right, in other cities like chicago, just not national superstars like the others... its interesting, i am just burnt out on reality stuff,the backstabbing, etc, i just rather see some faces OTHER THAN the main iron chefs go at it in competitions to determine who is the best... maybe have the iron chefs like flay, batali, etc judge them... i guess i want to see more cooking/creativitiy and less backstage drama...

I guess you're not a fan of Hell's Kitchen or Kitchen Nightmares.... Chef Ramsey R00LZ!!

Well, they finally had a new episode of Kitchen Nightmares this week.

As for The Next Iron Chef, I'm eager for it to end, already. It's just a clone of Top Chef - even down to the "airline challenge". And the bickering among the judges just seems to be more annoying than enlightening.

Speaking of Iron Chef, it seems The Food Network has put the Japanese version on ice again; it's off their schedule. I still like that show, and I'm sure that nowhere near all the episodes have been shown in the US. I'm sick and tired of Rachael Ray, and I'm getting weary of the reruns of Alton Brown's old shows. When The Food Network chooses a "flavor of the month" they really run it into the ground.

Signor V.

I love the original (Japanese) Iron Chef! Don't think I've ever seen the US version, tho... I doubt it's as exciting.... I don't know... :shrugs:

I was thinking the same thing Geof. It's been so long since I have watched that show that I didn't even realize there was an American version. The Japanese Iron Chef was great! I especially loved the dubbed laughs

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Do you mean you'd rather see the everyman/everywoman in tv cooking competition shows?



That's really my only complaint with the show. I'd much rather hear criticisms from chef to chef, filmmaker to filmmaker, etc. However, such people aren't as skilled at communication as professional writers. Sometimes outsider opinion is valuable.



Is this specifically about the show? If so, honestly, there hasn't been any backstage drama at all. Not like the shouting matches and personal grudges found on Top Chef.

As far as cooking/creativity, these top-rate chefs kick Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen chefs up and down the block.



It's highly possible that Next Iron Chef taped that long ago without knowledge that Top Chef did the same thing. However, one of the judges did mention that both shows capitalized on a practical issue - cutting down on travel costs. (I have no idea how that saves the show money, but that's what he said. Hahaha.)

If not, I like that a show is directly competing with a show by doing the same exact thing to prove or hint that they're better because I like unabashed and shameless competition. I thought this one was better than Top Chef's.

As for cloning, Top Chef is real basic in its format. Honestly, how does one make a tv cooking competition show not based on that basic format in one way or another to varying degrees? It's like a genre that has its conventions and norms. Now, if Top Chef was truly original with a format that is just utterly unique that no one probably wouldn't have thought about it, then I think the idea of cloning/copying holds more weight.



The only one doing the annoying, to me, is the dark-brown haired guy, Knowlton. Other than that the judges on this show provide the same type of commentary found on Top Chef.

It seems like I'm just hating on Top Chef. I love both these shows equally because they're better at different things that the other lacks.

I was flicking channels last night and on the travel channel they had a show about bizarre foods. I don't know what the host's full name was, I think it was Nicholas. (He looked like Don Cardi) . But he formerly grew up in China town, and was on Mott Street in China town with old friends. They came across some frut called Durian (sp)? It looked like a porcupine. He even said it was horrible but tried it anyway. He spit it out. Boy, talk about bolstering the tourism..haha.

They ate at a chinese place called Congy something or other. They had Duck feet, Goose intestistines and Jellyfish salad.

Ummmmmmmm, just give me bourbon chicken.

His name wasn't Nicholas, it's Andrew Zimmern. I guess it's close enough.

You saw the episode of Bizarre Foods where host Andrew Zimmern went around NYC. Reruns of his show air fairly regularly on The Travel Channel, and now's the time to catch up, if you've missed any. I'm not exactly sure when new episodes will begin airing.

As far as that unpalatable fruit, if memory serves me right, it was the durian (sp?). Zimmern couldn't stomach it, and he spit it out (though he has eaten stomachs, on occasion!). Now, this fruit also turned up on an episode of No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain (same channel). and Bourdain liked it. One of the cities Bourdain traveled to (I forget which one) had an ordinance against eating durian in public because of the horrid stench. I think it was described as something like foul, gooey burned onions that were rotting. Anyway, I've never had durian; I'm not that brave! And, since I'm on the subject, new episodes of No Reservations will air in January.

Come to think of it, Zimmern does look like Don Cardi!

Signor V.

The Next Iron Chef finale was great.

Iron Chefs Flay, Cora, and Morimoto were also judges which was a fantastic addition.

I am glad Symon won it, as bourdain fans know, he is a chef's chef, i see he also won his first battle... he is worthy

OK, I know I'm really late in responding to this thread. But, I just have to add my favorite on FN. Giada is pretty sweet (that smile is too hard to take though) and so is Ingrad, but I love to watch Sandra Lee! Even though she's getting a little older she is still a babe. When she was younger, OH MADONE!



Well got go, Semi-Homemade is coming on!

I hadn't watched Emeril Live in years probably and just so happened to catch it last night. Wow, he really turned into a bore, huh? Thankfully he only used his trademark "Bam!" once, but seems he's added an annoying "yeah, babe", a sprinkler sound when tossing salt into a dish, and now practically gets a standing ovation every time he adds garlic to anything (WTF is with that?) lol

I never liked him or his recipes.

BAM!

I have been watching Iron Chef America for the last 3 hours. Very interesting. I don't think I would like to eat most of the stuff they make, but it is amazing to see them using blowtorches, blast freezers and stuff like that