Disappointed in TV cooking

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Larry -

you're not alone - I'm in the "done gone & gave up" camp as well.

the "old" shows were about cooking - whether it was an ingredient, a recipe, a technique or 'a menu'

the "new" shows seem to focus more on "drama" than cooking.
"Stay tuned, on the next episode Contestant X will boil an egg. Will Contestant X succeed in boiling an egg or will it crack?"

much more tweaked to a soap opera drama than conveying any real info.

even stuff like Iron Chef - which as mentioned presents new ideas and combinations and . . ." but other than watching a bunch of people furiously scurrying about in a psuedo-kitchen, what real fact is conveyed?

the ones that really make me chuckle is the newbie / wannabe chef shows where they are presented with a totally unknown never did done handled cooked seen that before "mystery ingredient" -

uhmmm, unexcuse me - but does anyplace in the real world serve up dishes to paying customers never before prepared / served? it's simply - despite the term 'reality show' - unrealistic. does not happen that way.

if one enjoys "drama" - okay - if one is looking to learn something about cooking, hardly applies.
 
I think I just came to a realization (thanks to Dillberts post just above) of what it really comes down to for me.

When I first started watching cooking shows it was Saturday mornings. I would wake up lazily knowing that I did not have to be anywhere or do anything like the rest of the week. It was such a relaxing time. I would sit on the couch in my PJ's with my brother and dad and just hang out nice and relaxed. We would watch Bob Ross paint his happy little bushes and then we would watch some cooking shows.

The pace was slow paced, quiet, and relaxing. FoodTV shows now seem frenetic, loud, and anything, but relaxing. That is not what I want from my cooking shows.
 
Today's cooking shows are for the ADHD crowd, sound bites, lots of motion
 
No one likes Iron Chef?

I said I like Iron Chef. But I prefer the original with the theme ingredient and how they had to bring out the flavor of that theme. As a cooking show? Nah. They aren't really teaching about cooking in any way. You are just witnessing the act.

Maybe that is really the problem with the newer shows. It's more of an audience driven show rather than a classroom driven experience.

Anyone who has watched him will tell you that Martin Yan is very entertaining but his show was still all about the food and instruction.
 
I dont mind Iron chef, or chopped ( since my wife has been recreating the chopped thing each week for me) But as mentioned above, I find it more entertaining, than something I am actually going to take home, or get a recipe from. Sure, its nice to see the new combinations of ingredients that I never thought would work together, or just getting into the mind of a chef's thought process in such situations. But, I never tune into these shows thinking Im going to learn something great , or walk away with a recipe. And when I do, I consider myself lucky. I like the shows where someone travels, and you get to see native people from other countries cooking teir typical dishes ( im not talking about with the extreme ingredients like Andrew Zimmeran) But seeing the conditions they cook in, or the unique pots, pans, cooking vessels they use is great. I dont travel much ( abroad, unless Canada counts) so witnessing these things on these shows is interesting for me. As I mentioned earler, Guy Fieri, Robert Irvine do know how to work a crowd. And were very entertaining to see live. But when I saw them, i felt like i was surrounded by a bunch of groupies (not a bad thing, just what I felt). But when I saw Jacques Pepin, it was a different audience, a very ' eager to learn' audience. Hard to explain what I mean unless you were there. But since then, I have made every effort to see more of Jacques at his appearances. I guess what im trying to say is that, Irvine and Fiere knew how to handle the room, but Pepin really reall knew how to handle the stove. And it was obvious that he was there to cook. His cooking entertained me.
 
I remember a show where Martin Yan was a guest on Jacques Pepin's show ( or visa versa). It was kinda funny, because Jacques was trying to be so serious and professional, while Martin was trying to joke around with him. It wasnt a match made in heaven. On the other hand, I think the Jacques and Julia series ( which my wife bought me for my birthday along with the cook book) is great. Their chemistry works so well together, even with opposite opinions.
 
I know it is probably a sign of age, but my husband and I have for many, many years spent Saturday mornings watching TV cooking and travel shows. Mostly on PBS, but then on the food network. Lately, though, I can't say that I enjoy very many of them. So many are more personality- than food- driven. Lots of yelling (I blame Emeril for starting that). It just isn't that much fun any more. It seems that they're trying to compete with a football game or something. There are a few I still like, but I just don't enjoy most of them any more. Anyone else feel this way?
I respectfully disagree. I believe they are competting with a football game. I think they are trying to expand to demographics that do not watch the older cooking shows.
 
and trying to catch those folks who are using a remote to cycle through the channels during commercials, gotta have whiz bang, impressive sets, lots of color, catches the eye, causes them to pause longer, maybe even watch a segment, notice their pots and pans, go out and buy a product....
 
Once again, it's all about the money. Expanding markets means more viewers. More viewers means higher prices for commercial time. That means more money for the network.

As a result, they stop trying to appeal to foodies with educational shows that expand your cooking knowledge and start trying to appeal to everyone with flashy shows that emulate popular mainstream TV.
 
Another aspect to consider is the internet. Since the majority of their audience can
access it, there is no real need to make sure the show provides cooking details,
recipes and methods.
It can be looked up online instead.

Yet another aspect to consider... Someone marginally interested in cooking might
not be captivated by a "classic" stand there and cook show... but some dude with white hair, driving a beechin' old muscle car, visiting eclectic ;) diners, drive-ins and
dives might pull them in.
So the shows they have now might be breeding a new generation of foodies.
(Who will then disdain Food TV because it doesn't show enough classic cooking, LOL)

I don't think Food TV could survive if it was all cooking all the time.

Anyone seen a VIDEO on MTV lately? Or any of the other "video" channels?
Nope, they had to evolve to survive...........
 
You're correct GrillingFool, but where The Food Network went wrong - just in my opinion - was taking it way WAY too far in that "new" direction.

They easily could have kept some of the golden oldies to placate "classic" cooking viewers, & still added in lots of the new stuff. Instead, 80%-90% of their time slots are devoted to the same people over & over. Rachel Ray has what, 2-3 different shows? Giada has 2-3 different shows now too, as does Paula Deen I believe. Talk about holy over-saturation, Batman. And the few new folks they have are virtually all doing the same stuff - look at all the different-but-the-same "eating/cooking on the cheap" shows. Are they helpful? Sure. Does TFN need several of them? No. I just wish that instead of constantly looking for "the next Food Network star", they brought back some of the old stars that helped them launch their network in the first place.
 

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