Who Is Your Favorite Celebrity Chef?

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Wow!!! Less than a handfull of replies for Alton Brown. That saddens me. I really like the way Alton scientifically approaches food. After all, one can easily equate cooking with chemistry. He's incredibly creative and has an electric personality.

My second favorite would have to be Nigella Lawson, followed closely by Sandra Lee (only because she's... well... hott LOL)
 
Its funny but as I sit here and think about it my viewing of the t.v. food shows has changed in the last year.

Rachael Ray.........in the beginning I absolutley loved her show. But as time went on I'm just not as into it as I was. I think maybe its because food network used to have a message board and people used to harp on her for the way she used so many hand gestures and said certain words or phrases all the time. I never realized it till they pointed it out and now I can't help focusing in on that and its made me not enjoy her show as much.

Paula Dean..........I used to love, love watching her show. However, since she and Michael got married she's become a little too giddy. She giggles so much now. Maybe after the one year mark she'll calm down a bit and I can again enjoy her show like I used to.

Barefoot Contessa.........I have always enjoyed watching her show. I've tried several of her dishes and they were winners each and every time.

Michael Chirrelo (? spelling)...........he's a cutie and I am drawn to watching his show. Granted I've tried a few things and they didn't agree with my taste but I still go back for more :LOL:

Giada.........I love watching her cook.....she has a lot of passion in her cooking.

Wolf Gang Puck...........I just love to sit back and watch him cook.

I really like the new show you guys mentioned............the one where the guys picks up a girl in the grocery store and fixes the meal in her home.

But when it comes to the great ones..........hands down Julia Child and Jacque Pippan (?spelling). I really loved it when they cooked together.
 
The most common aggravating problem that I have with the Food Network is not with the shows themselves, but this I blame the network istelf for.

And that is, they just keep on friggen repeating recent episodes of the cooking shows over, and over, and over, and over again!!! This is ridiculously annoying!! As if they've run out off new episodes.

This is the same stupid problem with the Disney Channel as well!! Constant repeats of episodes of their programs!!!

But the Food Network is supposed to be airing new shows during the summer. In fact, the one with Paula's sons airs tonight, I think.


~Corey123.
 
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Corey123 said:
And that is, they just keep on friggen repeating recent episodes of the cooking shows over, and over, and over, and over again!!! This is ridiculously annoying!! As if they've run out off new episodes.
~Corey123.
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THis is how I get around that. I set my TIVO to only record those shows that are brand new episodes. This way I don't have to watch rerun after rerun unless I want to.
 
Amen, Breezy Cooking, you read my mind.

I enjoyed Paula when she first came on, because she looks like my sister, I suppose, but she gets so silly. I don't like Sandra Lee for several reasons, one of which is the fact she always has to match whatever decor her kitchen is at the time (a different one for each episode). Giada always has a group of (probably paid) friends to try out her stuff, although some of the food is good. I suppose I'm so tired of all of them that I don't see much good. Even the new shows just seem to get sillier instead of better. Julia, Jacque Pepin, I enjoyed for the information and they didn't feel the need to entertain.
 
i don't really have a favorite, but bobby flay seems to be the most versatile... from a backyard bbq to elegant upscale, he seems to be able to fit right in with what's appropriate.

what ever happened to nigella?
 
Alton is very informative which is great for people who are learning to cook, some may say he is abnoxious, but you remember what he taught you right? I had an algebra teacher that was CRAZY, but no matter how absurd her teaching methods were, nobody forgot them!
 
Forgot about Alton Brown. If I had to vote for a favorite celebrity chef "newbie", he'd be it. He's funny, informative, & best of all - doesn't have an in-studio audience oohing & ahhing.

I particularly enjoyed 2 of his shows: First, the one dispelling cooking myths. Once & for all, he proved that it's perfectly okay to WASH MUSHROOMS instead of just wiping or brushing them. They do NOT absorb the water - which he proved scientifically via tests with before & after weight measurements. Second, the one he did on garlic, where he's teaching a vampire about it - that one was just plain entertaining all round.
 
I love Alton and he is my favorite person to watch on the Food Network, but i do not consider him a chef so that is why I did not mention him before.
 
Nigella is still appearing on some food shows this side of the pond. But, she seems content to enjoy her second marriage, after the trauma of losing her first husband, John Diamond, to a particularly vicious cancer. He was a really brave man, who wrote a weekly column about his illness.

I 'think' her last series here was her Summer food one.
 
Home chef said:
Wow!!! Less than a handfull of replies for Alton Brown. That saddens me. I really like the way Alton scientifically approaches food. After all, one can easily equate cooking with chemistry. He's incredibly creative and has an electric personality.
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Oh, I'm a huge Alton Brown fan! If I had to pick one show, that would be it. (I even went to Austin, TX just to see him in person one time and get my book signed. He's just as cool in person as on TV). But in terms of the recipes, I've actually had better luck with some of the others. Alton always has the best *techniques* and I'll steal those and apply them to whichever recipe I like best for the item.

For instance, for French toast. His recipe is kinda blah, but the technique makes a huge difference. So, I use Rachael Ray's recipe and Alton's techniques and get really awesome French toast every time!

I guess I didn't list him before, because like GB, I wasn't thinking of him as a "chef," per se. He's more like Mr. Wizard or something!

Valerie
 
The gold standards are Julia and Jacques. They can make stuff I hate to eat look delicious.

But Mikey Chiarello and Curtis Stone are so cute, and can actually cook. (Ming Tsai falls into this cute-but-capable category too.) I can watch them make toast. Tyler's kinda cute, but I'm sick of him rescuing besotted housewives from their pot roasts.

Emeril can cook. I don't care what some of you say about him, I like the guy. As I've said before, he's gotta be sick of his shtick, but it's a brand now, like General Mills, that he's wedded to. (I like Doc and the band too.)

Mario talks too fast but knows the traditions and history of what he's making and I respect that.

I probably cook more like Paula than anyone, and I love people from the South like her. But she's got the shtick going too.

I can totally live without Bobby in my consciousness.

I always enjoyed Zhoostahn Wilson and Jeff Smith, altho both guys depended rather heavily on white wine.

Ina's OK in my book. Her stuff usually looks easy and good, and she seems to enjoy what she's doing.

Tastes change, and so do I. Ask me again in about a year.
 
Mudbug - yes you definitely brought up a few others. Ina might be able to cook( & I bought from her deli/restaurant in the Hamptons when she still owned it & I wasn't impressed), but again it's all about the schtick ("I'm cooking dinner for a few friends, yadayadayada") & we have to wade thru the "friends" pretending that they don't know they're being filmed. God do I HATE that. Just once I'd love to have a "friend" turn around & say to the camera - "This is awful" - LOL LOL LOL!!

And Emeril might be able to cook, but he's completely allowed his TV persona & the hoopla to kill him. I liked his original show where it was just him; but now him with the band & the huge audience - forget it. That's not a cooking show, it's a circus. The only thing missing are the elephants. The clowns are all there. And if I hear "BAM" one more time, I'm gonna scream. In case you haven't caught it, he's now doing toothpaste commercials using his "BAM" trademark. Sorry you Emeril lovers, but enough is friggin enough.
 
Home chef said:
THis is how I get around that. I set my TIVO to only record those shows that are brand new episodes. This way I don't have to watch rerun after rerun unless I want to.
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Yes, I imagine that I could do the same thing with On Demand.

I bought a cookbook written by Justin Wilson from a used book store.
I gaaontee it!

Emeril has ALWAYS had the live band on his show Emeril Live. He's the hottest thing on the Food Network right now, and he's showing no signs of letting up. BAM!!



~Corey123.
 
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-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
Anyone BUT Rachael Ray. :glare: Actually Paula Dean is great. Love her recipies AND personality. :chef:
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Rachael is good, but she doesn't measure any of the ingredients that she uses at all. She just "eyeballs" it, as she always says.

"You know me, I never measure anything. I just "eyeball" it. Look at that, it is delish with tons and tons of flavor. Hows's that? I gotta take a quick break. In the meantime, I'll be chopping away at these veggies. Meet me right back here on 30-Minutes meals"

This show kind of reminds me of the other 30-minute show - Feeding You Family on $99.00 a Week. Remember that one? Michelle Urvater (I think that's her last name) hosted it. It was around '94 or so when the Food Network was fairly new.

It was called the TV Food Network back then in the mid 90's. Emeril Lagasse was just stating out about that time with a few pilot shows.

Hey, has anyone forgotten about Martha Stewart? She had her own show there also before that scandel that she became involved in. The show was called From Martha's Kitchen.

She does another show now, but I forgot what network broadcasts it. I imangine that when she was on the Food Network, she "just didn't fit"!


~Corey123.
 
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