What do you think of celebrity chefs?

[readandfed]

Dear fellow gastronomes!

I am doing PhD research in to celebrity chefs. Why are they so successful? Does Nigella have to be sexy? Does Jamie have to be pukka? Would really appreciate your opinion.


Angela Higgins

URL removed by Katie E

 

[sattie]

I think the personality of the chef and the tips/cooking style draws me in more than anything. Here are some reasons why I like particular celebirty chefs...

Alton Brown.... basic fundamentals of cooking... I love watching him and his shows because I learn so much about things that I use in the kitchen.

Bobby Flay.... he appeals to my fire mouth. His cooking style and choice of ingredients appeals to me when it comes to robust and zesty food.

Their looks or sex appeal really do not affect what it is that I can learn from them.... it is what they can do to teach me how to please my pallet or the pallets of my family.

I like Rachel Ray.. because she usually cooks practical food and I like the Tasty Travels shows because it gives me ideas for food to cook as well as places to check out should I ever visit the towns for which the show is showcasing.

Hope that helps some!

 

[Robo410]

It seems they have to be TV personalities first, chefs or cooks second or maybe even third after looks for some of them. THe best have all three.

 

[Barb L.]

I agree with the personality, and the types of they are cooking. We are drawn to our favorite foods I think.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Well since T.V. Food Show and Celebrity Chef bashing is prohibited here, and I don't want Miss Elf sending me to the woodshed, I shall pass on this one.

 

[obiwan9962]

while i enjoy alton/rachel/ming tsai/morimoto and a few others
the rest of them drive me nuts as a professional chef i guess i will walk the same path as uncle bob

 

[kitchenelf]

Well since T.V. Food Show and Celebrity Chef bashing is prohibited here, and I don't want Miss Elf sending me to the woodshed, I shall pass on this one.

(and thank you for not bashing - I appreciate it)

 

[Uncle Bob]

I knew it! I knew it! I knew you was watching! I was just trying to send a message to folks saying, they better tread softly

So obiwan ya made a smart decision! Ya just don't know how smart it was!

 

[obiwan9962]

I knew it! I knew it! I knew you was watching! I was just trying to send a message to folks saying, they better tread softly

So obiwan ya made a smart decision! Ya just don't know how smart it was!

well in the chef's code of ethics, it says never to bash a fellow chef
no matter how fake they are
lol

 

[Katie H]

For me, as long as they prepare dishes I enjoy and they don't annoy the bejeepers out of me, they are fine.

Some of what I've seen on the food channel are a bit tooooo much.

Just give me my own show.

 

[skilletlicker]

Just give me my own show.

Uh, . . . is there a petition we can sign? I promise to be your most loyal viewer.

 

[Katie H]

Thank you, skillet. I appreciate your loyalty and enjoy much of that from my readers. If this doesn't make sense to you, please look at my "profile."

 

[bethzaring]

I am REALLY into food, and have been since I left home almost 40 years ago. I mean, really, really into food.

That said, I have no interest in celebrity chefs, absolutely none, zero, zip, nada. Could not care less. Not the least bit interested in what they do.

This forum is probably one of the best places for me to learn what I need to learn about cooking.

 

[Lizannd]

I try to remember that everyone starts somewhere,

and if some of the celebrity chefs seem too much personality and to little in the skill dept, I just think of my son and one of my grandsons. They actually enjoyed some of the cooking shows. The ones that seem simple and cute to many people are really just perfect for the beginning cook. And everyone is a beginner at some point, even if they start at 3 or 4. My son would see something on T.V. and want to make his own version. He learned just as I did from the variety of shows. I started watching Julia Child as a pre teen and have been watching and learning from TV chefs ever since. TV is the only place I have an opportunity to learn from ANY of these people so I take advantage of it.

 

[ironchef]

I usually enjoy watching them IF they are a chef. Many so-called "celebrity chefs" are not chefs. They are TV personalities with a cooking show.

 

[obiwan9962]

bethzaring and lizannd and iron chef i agree with all 3 of you
while i grew up admiring julia child and jacques pepin and martin yan
and used their books to further my skills
rarely these days do i find a chef who i will go out and grab their cookbooks
it's all hit and run and flim flam
here today gone tomorrow
the ones that endure are the ones i am concerned with
and the ones that had sucessful restaurants and then get a show
but the ones that never had a restaurant or did not have successful restaurants but had the personality required for the show, those guys irk me

 

[licia]

It seems that many cooking shows are mostly for entertainment now rather than serious cooking. I suppose they do get some interested in cooking who wouldn't do so otherwise. I pick the ones I watch by what I may actually make. If exotic ingredients are used that I know won't get much use, I don't watch them and if the food is too rich and something I know we shouldn't indulge ourselves, I stay away from that too. I'm not a health nut, but don't want to do myself in with a fork and spoon.

 

[Claire]

Some good, some just flash. Some were good, but let the 'flash' overshadow real cooking, their "personalities" now get in the way (for example, I like Emeril's low-keyed shows he occaisionally does, but have heard "bam" way too many times so don't watch him mutch). And if the "chef" is so skinny she can disappear behind the pot she's boiling pasta in, I have a hard time taking her seriously.

 

[GB]

And if the "chef" is so skinny she can disappear behind the pot she's boiling pasta in, I have a hard time taking her seriously.

I find that an odd statement. Shouldn't a chef know how to prepare and eat properly so as to maintain a healthy weight and not be overweight?

 

[Katie H]

And if the "chef" is so skinny she can disappear behind the pot she's boiling pasta in, I have a hard time taking her seriously.

I sometimes find it difficult taking a heavy chef seriously even when what they prepare is nutritionally balanced, etc. However, I also find it hard to warm up to a thin one who cooks what I would consider questionably nutritious and/or calorie-laden dishes.

Having said that, I don't judge anyone on their physical size because we really have no clue what got them to be large, small or in between.

For example, my father was 6'3" and never weighed more than 165 pounds. He ate constantly and a lot. He loved ice cream and never went to bed at night without having a soup bowl of it. He definitely would've disappeared behind the "boiling pasta pot."

Just my take.