Who are your favorite TV chefs?

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Exactly. Plus, Addie, she does prepare meals for the ranch hands and her own family while they are out in the fields working and tending the livestock. Several of her shows have focused on that, and show her cooking and delivering a truckload of hot food and cold drinks to them.

I'm pretty sure everyone in that family is very busy. The kids are/were homeschooled, and I remember her saying that there is so much ranching to do, that one full day a week is crammed into homeschooling and homework is done throughout the week. They would have no time or need for 4-H.

Edit to add an afterthought - she probably doesn't take them food every single day - with running an operation as large as theirs is, it's probably a safe bet to say she and Ladd don't have too much down time.

I'd guess if they're one of the 20 largest landowners, they have a professional kitchen(s) feeding their staff. If she's taking a meal to a group, it's for the cameras.
 
I'd guess if they're one of the 20 largest landowners, they have a professional kitchen(s) feeding their staff. If she's taking a meal to a group, it's for the cameras.

I don't think she's lying about it. As I said, she's been doing this since long before she got the show. It's not something she does every day. If you watch it regularly, you see that there are certain times of the year when more hands are needed for a longer day. Most of the time, it's just the family and one ranch hand who lives in a small house on the property working the ranch.
 
I'd guess if they're one of the 20 largest landowners, they have a professional kitchen(s) feeding their staff. If she's taking a meal to a group, it's for the cameras.

Exactly right Andy and I'll add "more power to her". I followed her great fun blog long before she became famous, and always have found her delightfully entertaining. She doesn't claim to be a great chef, just cooking to please her American family, like most of us here.
 
I don't think she's lying about it. As I said, she's been doing this since long before she got the show. It's not something she does every day. If you watch it regularly, you see that there are certain times of the year when more hands are needed for a longer day. Most of the time, it's just the family and one ranch hand who lives in a small house on the property working the ranch.

Some fun reading:

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandg...els-to-tractor-wheels-where-it-all-went-down/

http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2009/01/why-we-redid-the-lodge/
 
Exactly right Andy and I'll add "more power to her". I followed her great fun blog long before she became famous, and always have found her delightfully entertaining. She doesn't claim to be a great chef, just cooking to please her American family, like most of us here.

Yep, I agree, Kay. I've followed her blog from the beginning, too. I got a kick out her writing style. She's done something right, her blog took off and she's a millionaire from display ads alone.

On the down side, :LOL: I agree with those who have said she has a plastic smile on TV - I still watch her shows now and then for entertainment.

To answer the original question...I still watch Ina, but my faves are ATK and Cook's Country. CC doesn't seem to be on very much anymore.
 
I've watched ATK a few times but the chefs seem wooden to me. I like Rick Bayless and have been recording his shows on my DVD. I've also been recording Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction. He has lots of great grilling recipes.
 
Exactly. Plus, Addie, she does prepare meals for the ranch hands and her own family while they are out in the fields working and tending the livestock. Several of her shows have focused on that, and show her cooking and delivering a truckload of hot food and cold drinks to them.

I'm pretty sure everyone in that family is very busy. The kids are/were homeschooled, and I remember her saying that there is so much ranching to do, that one full day a week is crammed into homeschooling and homework is done throughout the week. They would have no time or need for 4-H.

Edit to add an afterthought - she probably doesn't take them food every single day - with running an operation as large as theirs is, it's probably a safe bet to say she and Ladd don't have too much down time.
She tapes one full day a week during which up to four episodes are taped. Her production staff are busy piecing together episodes. One of the biggest challenges is to make sure she's wearing the right outfits for continuity. She now has a full time 'kitchen helper' who makes lunches and dinners for her family in the actual family kitchen. She spends an increasing number of days away on business/trade shows/promotional events. Check out her appearance schedule.
I'm in no way denigrating her just pointing out that sometimes things appear different on TV than the reality.
 
I've watched ATK a few times but the chefs seem wooden to me. I like Rick Bayless and have been recording his shows on my DVD. I've also been recording Bobby Flay's Barbecue Addiction. He has lots of great grilling recipes.

I agree with you CG, and the rehearsed jokes that Christopher Kimball makes fall flat. :ermm::LOL: But I enjoy the non-competition of ATK, down to earth just cooking, and their product reviews. I learn quite a bit from their shows.

I really like Bobby Flay's bbq addiction show, too! I have it DVR'ed but haven't seen any lately, because I have the programming set to 'new' shows. Wonder if it's still on, I'll have to look it up.
 
...BTW, I read somewhere that her kitchen was built separate from her home just for the purpose of the show...
So did Jacques Pepin. Just because Julia did her show out of her Cambridge home doesn't mean it's the only way. Personally, I don't blame chefs/cooks with TV shows for building a separate kitchen. You don't need all that tech crew and equipment cluttering up the family home. Trust me, it takes a LOT of equipment and staff to film anything.

Besides, it's not like Ree can't afford it - according to this article, she's worth $8 million. Not bad for starting a blog about country living, considering she was a country-club-neighborhood kid with a California college degree who married a rancher.
 
...Jacques was an instructor at Boston College in their Culinary Department. That is where Julia met him. She wanted to see how he taught a class. And she used some of his teaching methods in later shows. They remained the closest of friends from there on in....
That's not what I remember hearing Pepin say when I watched an interview with him shortly after he had his stroke. Went hunting to find out how they met. This is from an earlier article, when he was interviewed on what would have been Julia's 100th birthday.

"Q: When did you first meet Julia?

A: In 1960 in New York at Helen McCullough’s house. She was the food editor for House Beautiful. She said to me ‘Jacques, I have this manuscript for a cookbook here.’ It was Julia’s “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” It was a nice book. The kind of food I want to cook. Helen said ‘the author is in California and is coming here.’ And that is where I met her. Julia was a large woman with a terrible voice, kind of overwhelming. Her presence, it could swallow you up because of her size and her presence."
 
Jacques Pépin is the top of the list for me.

I get a kick out of his sense of humor and his down to earth practical cooking.

I follow him on FB and got a real kick out of this quote from a recent article.

"I've been in restaurants where they bring over a carrot and say ‘This carrot was born the ninth of September. His name is Jean-Marie…' Just give me the goddamned carrot!' ".

How Jaques Pepin Saved My Life | GQ
 
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Fabio Vivianni...he was on Yahoo for a long time , then he made guest appearances on The Chew, The Talk, and have seen him do guest things on Food Network.
 
We looked forward to Alton Brown's Good Eats on Sunday, after CBS This Morning. Then it disappeared and was replaced by Pioneer Woman or Trisha Yearwood.

I do love Cutthroat Kitchen, and it's offspring, Camp Cutthroat. Alton has the right blend of evil and cooking knowledge.
 
My favorite celebrity chefs are Gordon Ramsay, Robert Irvine, Tim Farmer, and Guy Fieri. I also like the cooking competition shows because I get to see a ton of ideas about how to cook different dishes that I wouldn't have thought of.
 
Dear old Keith Floyd is/was the all time 'Gold Standard' for cooking show presenters.
You can watch dozens of his shows on Youtube.
He pioneered the traveling/cooking genre in the UK.
Still the very best at what he did.
 

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