Food TV

[Alice Levitt]

Am I the only one who feels too young and too well-informed to truly enjoy the Food Network? I feel like the demographic is your mother, who wears a housecoat, has never left the Midwest and "don't eat out much, 'cause I can cook pretty good."

Most of the personalities sicken me. I happened upon Paula Deen on Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader a few nights ago. Either she is legally retarded, or she is way too old to be doing the Paris Hilton affected stupidity thing. Don't get me started on Rachael Ray or Guy Fieri.

I much prefer the programming on the Travel Channel, despite the fact that they tend to cram non-eating activities into their shows like No Reservations, Man v. Food and Bizarre Food far too often. Those shows assume some level of knowledge of cooking and eating from its viewers, and have a sense of humor that only makes me groan occasionally. I would not mind sharing a meal with those dudes.

Of course, I also love Top Chef. I wish Bravo had more food-related programming.

Which food shows do you enjoy?

[Morganna]

I enjoy Diners Drive ins and Dives from Food network, but only as a sort of starting point/reference sort of thing.  Guy is uhm, over the top, but decent enough.  He doesn't annoy me anywhere near as much as Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, and that other one, the barefoot contessa? The one who lives out on long island and talks like she's got a mouthful of buttah.

I still love Alton Brown, though.

I watch Dinner Impossible, too, but mostly just to consider how I might try to accomplish the same goals he's trying to accomplish.  Other than that, I watch more from the Travel Channel.  I still really enjoy No Reservations.  I can't watch Bizarre Foods, though.  I'm sooo wussy sometimes.   (though his Minnesota episode I had NO problem with )

Shows like the Neely's and Not Much Homemade (errr, SEMI home...), and there was another one that one of their "stars" was on, "real cooking" or something like that?  I really don't like those.  And I really enjoyed Emeril when Food TV was on C-Band satellite (back in the mid 90s) and they had this show "How to Boil Water" with him on it, and my husband and I called it "The Guido Show" because he was SUCH a goomba on it.  And the rest of their programming was like classic cooking shows from the 50s featuring Betty Crocker stuff.  "How to Boil Water" actually TAUGHT you something useful each week, though.   My husband learned how to make stir fry from it.  But I don't much like Emeril shows these days.

I miss Graham Kerr and Julia Child from their heydays.  I wish someone would take on rerunning all of their shows. ALL OF THEM!!!

[tonyo]

Wow, the Food Network has derailed.  Case in point:

1.  Guy Fieri:  Stupid catchphrases like "money" and "off the hook" combined with the most ridiculous look (backwards sunglasses and a goatee covered in food) make for the most annoying personality I have seen in awhile.  The premise for D, D, and D is cool but Guy is a complete tool.

2.  Sandra Lee: Drink enough of her crappy cocktails and the term "tablescape" may begin to make sense.  Any recipe that contains Ramen Noodles, Miracle Whip, and Oscar Mayer Bologna can't be good.

3.  Rachel Ray: Oh I'm sorry "Rach", soon the become "RR', should be given an EVOO enema. 

4.  Paula Dean: Her recipes should be served with a rib spreader

5.  Unwrapped:  Marc Summers wears more makeup than Tammy Faye Baker and no one really needs to know how Hot Pockets are made.

6.  Giada:  More porngraphic than HBO Late Night

7.  Barefoot Contessa:  Where is Jeffrey and why is every man in The Hamptons gay

[dtp123]

P.B.S. always had the best food programming. Charlie Trotter, Ming Tsai, Jose Andres Jacues Pepin, Rick Bayless the other channels don't even come close to that talent. Iron chef America is kind of fun to watch and Bizzare Foods is great, but the rest of T.V. is a wasteland thank god for youtube.

[JasonFrishman]

I haven't watched foodnetwork in many many years.
at that time, i LOVED Iron Chef (the original - is the american version even close?), Good Eats and any of the shows done by Jamie Oliver.  Other than that, feh.

We don't have cable or i would likely check out more shows these days; but what i've seen when visiting friends or other cable accessible areas doesn't look that exciting at all. 

[Haylley Johnson]

To be honest, one of my favorite food shows is on the Food Network. I love "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." You don't have to put up with one host for a full 30-minute block, and it takes viewers around the country to different restaurants showing some of their signature dishes. If you find Guy frustrating and thus do not watch Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, it is a good cross-country food tour, and it includes food from every type of restaurant — the only limitation is the theme of the episode.

As a chocoholic with a vicious sweet-tooth, my favorite episode was definitely "Sugar Rush," an entirely dessert themed episode. Michael Symon recommends the toasted marshmallow shake from Stand in NYC. I'm still trying to figure out how to recreate it myself. Shhhh.