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JustJoel

Executive Chef
Joined
Sep 6, 2017
Messages
3,665
Location
Las Vegas
I needed to get this off my chest!

The two cooking networks we receive here in Vegas have become real disappointments lately. Food Network and Cooking have both become primarily game show networks, venues for celebrity chefs, and food travelogues about places I will never be able to see and restaurants I will never be able to visit. Actual cooking shows are few and far between, and are usually braoadcast in the mid-morning and afternoon hours. And neither channel has enough content to fill 24 hours of broadcasting, so they go for “binge airing.” Who wants to watch Bobby Flay cook burgers for seven hours?

There are a couple of the contest shows I like; Worst Cooks in America is funny, and I like Ann Burrell; Iron Chef and it’s iterations are always fun. I also like Alton Brown’s Good Eats for the info and science content. But I don’t want to “beat Bobby Flay,” (I don’t care for Bobby Flay very much, if you hadn’t noticed), or watch people decorate elaborate cakes for prizes.

ATK and Cook’s Country, as well as Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street, there are a few others I watch on PBS. But they’re only on once a week.

What happened to Julia Child, the Galloping Gourmet, and those other classic chefs that weren’t really trying to get famous, just trying to teach people to cook?

I know I know. “If you don’t like them, don’t watch them!” Well, I don’t. But it’s Monday, and I’m grumpy!
 
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I’m guessing that there are people who like to watch the drama of competition and controversy. They have done the ratings surveys so they must know. I, like you, prefer to just watch somebody cook without the theatrics. But, there obviously isn’t enough of us watching to warrant a whole day of this type of program.
 
I stopped watching Food Network years ago when they stopped putting actual cooking shows on TV. We (people who are interested in food and cooking) are not the target demographic.

I now watch some of the PBS shows and make do with that.
 
I also think that a lot of people who watch the competition type shows watch them more for the drama than the actual cooking ideas. Which, if you think about it, is a smart move to get people to tune in. Although, I wonder if more people would watch an adult demonstrating cooking techniques, recipes, etc. Than some of the clunkers they have on there. Like, who watches kids cooking and baking ,If you are interested in actual cooking,?
 
To a great extent, I learned to cook by watching Food Network (and PBS). I sat in front of the TV with a pad of paper and a pen frantically jotting down ingredients, quantities and instructions (recently divorced and no VCR). The change to reality show TV was a turn off when the major networks did it as well as Food Network.
 
Youtube has an amazing amount of videos on cooking, cooking and baking of all kinds. You will even find some of our members here that have cooking videos. They are awesome.
 
The Food Network has been that way for many, many years.

I like Chopped and the baking competitions but mostly I like to catch reruns of old shows. They have more of the old stuff on The Cooking Channel.

I actually like Bobby Flay very much because he is very talented and I learn a lot from him. Also, I have never had anything but a good meal in his restaurants.*

I wish they would show really old shows like David Rosengarten, Ready Set Cook, and Bobby's original show, Grillin and Chillin.

* Two of the best meals in my life have been at Emeril's restaurants.
 
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I like the internet content. You can watch what you want and when you want it. Chef John and Laura in the Kitchen are pretty darn good. ATK posts recent episodes on youtube. Seriouseats is always a good source. Binging with Babish is mixed as far as cooking is concerned, but it's entertaining.
 
To a great extent, I learned to cook by watching Food Network (and PBS). I sat in front of the TV with a pad of paper and a pen frantically jotting down ingredients, quantities and instructions (recently divorced and no VCR). The change to reality show TV was a turn off when the major networks did it as well as Food Network.

Basically, it's about today's viewing audience, it seems. Which doesn't bode well for learning cooks. Producers are paid to produce viewership. It got a little ridiculous when they came up with the idea to have kids compete against adult cooks. Game show cooking is what it is now, except for Test Kitchen and reruns of Good Eats.
 
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