Celebrity Chef Roundup: Books, TV/Film, Restaurants, Websites, News

Emperor · Post by **Emperor** » Fri May 11, 2007 1:49 pm

Tollbaby,

I remember Ken, but his show hasn't been on TV anywhere I've been in the last few years, and as for the Urban peasant that guy reminds me alot of my grandmother (no not in looks lol, but in the way he works around the kitchen and his philosphy of use what you got)

i also love italian food, but at one point I counted 4 shows that did just italian food, again abesolutely nothing wrong with that. But what about Asian food? Don't see alot of shows that are just that anymore. There used to Yan Can Cook, and East meets West, but neither are on the food network anymore. (if anyone knows if they are still on the air let me know

)

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri May 11, 2007 3:50 pm

Emperor.... that could be because I stopped watching tv when I moved almost 3 years ago *blush* I did used to watch a lot of cooking shows though.

My dad liked Wok With Yan and whoever the Cajun guy was.... (I think it was Paul Prud'homme?) and while I didn't mind Yan, there's only so many times I can tolerate listening to my father say "I GUAR-ON-TEE" without wanting to claw his face off.....

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:23 pm

Well, three new cooking shows have started. I've seen previous seasons of all of them.

Hell's Kitchen -- I like Gordon Ramsay. But like his BBC shows, this one has its problems. For example, I certainly do wish they would explain how some of these people got on the show in the first place. My only guess is that the other two food challenge reality shows had their auditions first, and HK was left with the bottom of the barrel. One character cried and fainted the whole time he was on, until he went to the hospital and Gordon finally kicked him off.

A highlight, though, was one contestant getting food out of the garbage and trying to serve it to the guests.

Top Chef -- I'm watching this show, but I must admit I've lost respect for it. Last season, they eliminated the person widely regarded by fans as the best chef, to create drama. The last two remaining had been bitter rivals all season, and I guess some last episode drama trumped cooking ability.

Next Food Network Star -- Probably my favorite of the three. The cooks are there seem to know what they are doing, and they give them some interesting, but not gimmicky (which is important) challenges. But PEOPLE. Food Network needs something besides some bland, safe food shows. They need some color and some ethnic food. Looks like it won't be coming from this batch of contestants.

Post by **Darb** » Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:01 pm

Never watched the first one.

Agreed on Top Chef. I think it's overrated, and I agree ... didn't like the finale of the prior season either. Sam was my top pick too. Ilan, while very good, was to mono-focused on spanish, to the point of being boring at times, and although Marcel seems to have a lot of talent and potential, he's also an a** that I wish I could just reach through the screen and slap at times.

I caught a few eps of the first season of network star, and thought it entirely too self serving, from the Food channel perspective. I also agree that we need more fringe ethnic cuisine - too many of the people on the show seem to be boring run-of-the-mill caterers who differ primarily in personality and appearance only.

They already have (or have had previously) shows on italian, american, chinese, french, and even puerto rico & norway ... but nothing on, say, indian, african, thai/malay, japanese, etc. I think indian & african in particular, are underrepresented and ripe for coverage.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 9:44 am

I saw an ad for Hell's Kitchen the other night. What the hell is the MATTER with that guy? If I ever had to endure that level of abuse from someone, I'm not sure I could refrain from injuring them severely. I have absolutely NO interest in watching the show after seeing just a 30-second commercial, and I have no respect for anyone who treats ANYBODY else that way, underlings or no.

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Wed Jun 27, 2007 7:23 pm

My personal theory is that Ramsay has some some type of disorder like ADD. I mean that seriously. He is always moving and bouncing, like he can't stand still, and he's very hyperactive. But, almost all famous chefs are known for their temper. It's kind of expected. On his BBC shows, he yells at people, but never gets up in their faces likes on HK. I think it's another gimmick to make people watch the show. To be fair, he gives them praise in equal amounts--when they deserve it--(probably more so on the BBC shows) and the people lap it up when he does.

Brad, I'm trying to recall some of those ethnic shows you mentioned on FN. I'm not trying to be contentious, I just can't remember much outside of the current lineup. Perhaps I haven't watched the network long enough. Do you think they shy away from ethnic food now, because they fear it might be un-PC, or do you think that they just don't feel their target audience would want it? By the way, my favorite contestant on the Challenge show is Paul, one of the caterers.

The woman with the black hair seems uptight. I like Jag, but they got their "whazzup" type person last year when Guy won, so my guess is that they won't choose him. Plus, he's up and down.

Post by **Darb** » Fri Jun 29, 2007 9:24 am

Brad, I'm trying to recall some of those ethnic shows you mentioned on FN. I'm not trying to be contentious, I just can't remember much outside of the current lineup. Perhaps I haven't watched the network long enough. Do you think they shy away from ethnic food now, because they fear it might be un-PC, or do you think that they just don't feel their target audience would want it?

I think they underestimate their audience ... which, unfortunately, is often a fairly safe bet.

As for ethnic food shows on various channels - heck, a small flurry come to mind ...

Italian:
* Mario Batali (authentic italian ... multiple shows)
* Giada DeLaurentis (multiple shows)
* Lidia's Kitchen (Italian-American)
* Barefoot Contessa (mostly italian with a touch of california french & hamptons high-end catering)
and many more ...

American (general, nouveau and/or specific regions or styles):
* Paula Deen
* Emeril Lagasse (Bayou/Cajun, with some light global overtones - nothing too challenging. I think the guy's a lightweight)
* Paul Prudhomme (Authentic Bayou/Cajun/Creole, coming from a dirt-poor background)
* Alton Brown (with food science spin)
* Sara Moulton
* Bobby Flay (various shows)
* Tyler Florence (with a slightly global spin at times)
* Wolfgang Puck (california/hollywood cuisine, with some french, austrian, italian, and high-end catering overtones)
* She who must not be named (5,000 word rant deleted)
and many more ...

Chinese:
* Ming Tsai

British & Continental:
* Nigella Lawson
* Jamie Oliver

French:
* Jacques Pepin (with & without Julia, with & without Claudine)
* Julia Child
Etc.

Latina/Puerto Rico:
* Daisy Martinez

Scandanavian:
* Claus Meyer

Post by **Darb** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:25 pm

Saw a good movie today: Ratatouille

I'd give it a very solid and enjoyable 3 1/2 stars (out of 4).

Well written, very enjoyable, fun, entertaining ... and most important for a culinary film is that they managed to get all the culinary details correct. In fact, they did such a fine job showing how things like the classic French culinary "brigade system" works, and what the essential spirit behind an "amuse bouche" is (re: the final scene involving a spin on the movie's namesake) that I knew whoever was the culinary consultant for the movie *had* to be a classically trained/experienced French chef ... and with enough clout that the production people would pay careful heed to the inputs. I was so sure, I stayed for the final credits, and sure enough, right there, at the very end, was a name that actually made me crow out loud ... Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se. I had no idea he was involved with a Disney movie, but somehow, I felt his presence ... and the amuse bouche touches were the give-away, because that's his specialty, and his stock and trade.

Great movie. Highly recommended. To borrow a phrase from Siskel & Ebrert ... "Two thumbs up - way up". It's up there with my other favorite culinary movies, like "Babette's Feast" and "The Big Night". Not only that, it's also PG-13 ... good wholesome family fun.

daetara · Post by **daetara** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:35 pm

oh good...i saw the previews for that and thought it looked like a good movie. nice to hear from a foodie that it's well done.

i think i read or heard somewhere that they filmed a real chef so that they could get the animation accurate for the techniques and stuff. i'll have to try and remember where i got that...

Post by **Darb** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:53 pm

Woo hoo ... scored a semi-rare copy of a Jacques Pepin classic, in v.g. condition for around $8.

Now, if I can just land a comparably priced copy of vol 1 ... that'll be a somewhat stiffer challenge, as it's fairly rare, and a collector item.

Post by **Darb** » Thu Jul 12, 2007 11:02 pm

Ok, scored a v.g. copy of vol 1 for $23.50 incl S&H ... not bad. Gotta love the power of the internet, and it's ability to quickly track down undervalued & semi-rare books.

I'll put em in the IBDoF database tomorrow.

Post by **Darb** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 9:30 pm

Ok, they arrived in the mail, and I entered them.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:18 pm

Oh Braaaaaaaad...... I got Bruce Aidells' permission to use his photo and bio (from the Aidells website) in our author entry

Post by **Darb** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:28 pm

tollbaby wrote:Oh Braaaaaaaad...... I got Bruce Aidells' permission to use his photo and bio (from the Aidells website) in our author entry

Excellent !

My parents were kinda dying at the time I entered that, so I didn't have the time or patience for chasing down that sort of thing at the time.

Too bad he lives so far away ... my friend is doing a whole roast pig next sunday. I'll be sure to take a few photos.

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 8:31 pm

Very nice man, though apparently he's no longer affiliated with the sausage company (they forwarded my e-mail to him). No worries, it's sort of unofficially my job to track down authors and harrass them

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 8:58 am

Are you going to review either of Pepin's books? I'd like to see what he did in those. (You know I stalk your cookbook or chef book purchases, then try to find them, don't you?

)

Post by **Darb** » Sat Jul 21, 2007 5:20 pm

Still reading them ... patience, patience.

Post by **Darb** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 11:22 am

violetblue wrote:Are you going to review either of Pepin's books? I'd like to see what he did in those. (You know I stalk your cookbook or chef book purchases, then try to find them, don't you? )

Ok, here's a small downpayment from my forthcoming review of JP's AoC, with a side-wise tip of the hat to Tony Bourdain. This is a first draft snippet, which I'll probably end up toning down on re-write.

Â¨ Garnishing: Jacques Pepin has a strong predilection towards classic French â€œbanquet-styleâ€

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Mon Jul 23, 2007 9:59 pm

[quote="Brad"]Ok, here's a small downpayment from my forthcoming review of JP's AoC, with a side-wise tip of the hat to Tony Bourdain. This is a first draft snippet, which I'll probably end up toning down on re-write.

[quote]Â¨ Garnishing: Jacques Pepin has a strong predilection towards classic French â€œbanquet-styleâ€

Post by **Darb** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 12:16 am

Yeah, and when's the last time you saw a prawn living in a wine glass pray tell ?

p.s. I've eaten far more challenging things from stemware, BTW ... angler fish liver w/seaweed, jellied minced pig trotters, etc.

Post by **laurie** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 2:03 am

Don't know about you guys, but I've never seen a prawn living anywhere. The only prawns I've seen are quite dead...

My Mom used to make Jello 1-2-3 (the layered kind) in her crystal champagne flutes because she didn't have parfait glasses. Talk about friggin' posh...

tollbaby · Post by **tollbaby** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 7:17 am

my mom was too lazy to do anything other than plain old Jello *sigh* Heck, even "cookie baking" was abandoned for whatever the produce store had on sale

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 9:02 am

Brad wrote:Yeah, and when's the last time you saw a prawn living in a wine glass pray tell ?

Ha! That's funny you would say that, because that was the guy's response to Ramsay! It actually shut him up for a few seconds, then he started bouncing around as usual again.

Post by **Darb** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 10:41 am

So far, all spoofage aside, I'm really enjoying, and admiring, Pepin's AoC.

However, the one area that I clearly seem to have a leg up on him is his brief section on infused fruit liqueurs:

* Overuse of high proof alcohol, and boiled water.

Diluting 160 proof vodka down to 120 is unnecessary. Normal (80-90 proof vodka) is perfectly fine. Also, because alcohol is a preservative, there's no need to boil the water in the original recipe either - as long as it's clean and potable, that's sufficient.

* Use of vinegar for added tartness.

Outdated technique. Unless you really want a rustic 'sour' note, modern winemaker's tartaric acid offers far superior (cleaner) flavor and precision. Acetic acid is almost always a bad idea in alcoholic beverages, because its presence evokes spoilage flavors.

* Overlong steeping times.

Another outdated technique, dating back to the days before refrigeration. Cherries do not need 4-6 weeks to infuse ... in my experience, full flavor and color equilibrium is reached in a mere 72 hrs, after which the product can be strained, and the fruit reserved for other use, or discarded. You only leave the fruit in if you want to preserve it in the liquor, for presentation ... but doing so can slowly leech some unpleasant phenols from the stones (and stems) over time.

violetblue · Post by **violetblue** » Fri Jul 27, 2007 9:39 pm

I was watching an outtakes show of Top Chef tonight (again, not loving that show this season), and last year's winner, Ilan, got to do a cooking competition against Pepin. He lost, mais oui. All pretenders, pretenders to the throne.

I think Pepin's books were a product of his time. He might change how he did things now. But your second point, well, vinegar is a common household item, tartaric acid is not. That's the foodie in you talking.