I think it could have an impact...

Hahaha! Yea that chicks legs were nasty.

Aw, I've loved Nigella for several years now. She's gorgeous and she makes some badass treats.

I think the whole point here is that these chefs are in the entertainment industry.

No, I dont care what the chef looks like that's back in the kitchen cooking my dinner at a restaurant, but if I'm going to watch a chef on TV then I would pick the ones that are the most aesthetically appealing.

And the ones without annoying voices and personalities, I'm looking at you Racheal!

Oh and I think Racheal already has packed on the pounds, she could lose some weight. I think Nigella wears her weight well.

Paula Deen is not thin by a long shot and no one picks on her. Mario Batali is a TANK. The reason why Nigella is being picked on, if you ask me, is because she is BEAUTIFUL and they can't stand her getting fatter because they think she will be less sexy. Her whole show is based on the sensuality of her food, what with her putting her hands in everything and eating out of her fridge all decadently at night. I think we need to see all types of people on television and quit messing with them and telling them to look different.

Well here's my thing - I am trying to live a very healthy/clean lifestyle which includes exercise and eating healthy. So the size of a chef does matter to me. I would much rather get great healthy meals from a small/normal sized chef than to get "healthy recipes" from someone who is overweight. To me that shows that a. they don't follow what they preach or b. their recipes aren't that healthy.

Same goes for an exercise instructor or personal trainer - how much will you listen to a trainer who is overweight? Not to be rude, but if this is their chosen profession and the lifestyle they live they should be normal and healthy sized people.

So I think my reasoning goes against the never trust a skinny chef.

It doesn't matter to me.

I think along the same lines as syako.

I'm not going to NOT cook something because a chef is heavier, but I think I feel a little better cooking something NOT from a larger person like Paula Deen. I know her recipes are probably good, but she obviously spares no stick of butter. I try not to cook like that so I seek out recipes from healthier cooks.

That being said, my motto is everything in moderation. I won't avoid those recipes entirely, but I'm probably not going to buy a whole book of them.

All I can say is ouch. Looking back on some of those comments about Rachael Ray, I have to say that my legs are no better and I'd hate to read what some of these girls would say about me.

Personally I'm trying to eat better as well, but it doesn't matter to me that a chef is bigger or smaller. Perhaps they're trying to lose weight as well or perhaps they just aren't the kind that gain weight easily either.

I tend to look at the recipe and not who it's from. Seems a little shallow.

You know, if we all made anthony bourdain's recipes we wouldn't look anything like him. ha, did you see him drown those veggies in butter for his thanksgiving episode. it made me gag a little. eek. what's the point of veggies like that

I am with ALSW...I look at the recipe, the entertainment value of the person on the show.. for instance I really like watching Giada, Rachel, Ellie, Paula and Ina but can't stand some of the mens shows. It isn't like they are teaching your spin class and are overweight...they are chefs and jobs are to cook. Yes they are on television but by no means should they be under the same scrutiny as a movie star, television star or model.

Paula loves her butter!

I watch most of these shows for entertainment, I never cook anything off of them, but I love Nigella. She's gorgeous and curvy.

Butter makes it better!

Nigella is just about as sexy as you can get IMO!

It doesn't matter to me.

It doesn't matter to me. As someone pointed out, Mario is huge, but I still love his show and his food. I think it's more about their personality and what they cook.

Sometimes I watch Rachel Ray. She tends to fluctuate in size and yeah, I notice, but I think that's more because her clothes aren't always flattering to her body. Nigella is quite curvy but I still like watching her. I haven't seen her recently so I don't know if she really has gained weight, but she's beautiful and just seems like a fun person to be around and as long as she's still cooking tasty looking food, I'll watch her.

Interesting question! I thought about it, and my answer sort of surprised me.

I realized that I tend to prefer eating food from chefs who seem honest and genuine in their love of food. It's not a stretch to believe that Nigella has actually eaten the recipes she shares, or that Mario Batali snacks daily on plates of pasta with a vino chaser. I'm not saying I'm believe only in "the fat chef", but in an unexpected way I value that although these are "food celebrities" or "celebrity chefs" their focus is on the food and not trying to fit a Hollywood ideal of what a celeb needs to look like. We don't see pictures of Mario and Nigella with their trainers jogging religiously through the park every day to conform to a body image that might not be in the cards for them genetically. If I had a trainer and a nutritionist show up on my doorstep tomorrow and take over my life, at the end of the day I wouldn't have Kate Hudson's bikini-ready body no matter how hard I worked. They're human, they have priorities, I relate. I have a couple of Nigella's cookbooks and she is very unapologetic about using the fattiest creams and butters because taste and quality are the most important things, and sometimes you just can't reach the same level if you're trying to go fat-free. She is living her philosophy, happily (and dare I say rather sexily)! I've made Mario's dishes and Nigella's, and both were top notch.

I don't avoid the skinny chefs - certainly not if healthy eating is part of their shtick - but I respect those who don't try and cram their food into "quick-fat-free-healthy" and don't apologize for not going there.

It doesn't matter to me when it comes to how good of a chef they are or how likely I am to watch their shows or make their recipes, but I think it's important. With the high rates of obesity in america these days, I think that it's important to promote a healthy lifestyle whenever possible. They may not outright promote eating well through their recipes but it comes across. For example, Giada is a skinny minnie but she LOVES chocolate and clearly has a great passion for food. The fact that she's so skinny says to me that it's ok to indulge, but you have to do it in moderation (unless of course she has crazy metabolism). Paula, on the other hand, sort of grosses me out. Her recipes are not-healthy and quite tasty (and I have made plenty of them) but I always feel like as soon as the camera goes off she devours the entire plate of whatever she just tasted. I don't get a sense of "eat this, but eat it in moderation" from her. I think that my feelings towards Paula have more to do with HOW she eats it than how she looks though. I have a hard time watching her shows. I like Nigella though and she's heavier...so I guess for me it has a lot to do with their behaviors and attitudes as well as their body size.

Well I like watching Nigellas' shows, but her food would be adapted if made by me since I'm not a butter or heavy cream person...and I also don't eat meat. If the food is good, it's good. It doesn't make a difference what the person looks like. Giada's food is probably the most appealing to me since she doesn't drown the food in butter or oil. I don't like really buttery or oily food. In fact I can get a stomach ache from a lot of grease in my food. Italian food isn't my favorite, but her food looks fresh, exactly the way I like my food. When I was watching her vacation show in Crete, I was excited by all the fresh looking food and wanted to go to Crete immediately. I can't say I would have the same reaction to other people's food choices.

Overall it doesn't matter to me, though I will say that if I'm wanting some down home cooking I look to Paula Deen or even Emeril Lagasse... and yes, they happen to be heavy. If I'm looking for healthier, lighter meals I would look to Giada, Jamie Oliver, even Racheal Ray and they happen to have what I consider healthy bodies. Funny thing, I really don't watch food shows very much, I usually read food magazines, food blogs, and a lot of yumsugar : )

I have noticed that they always shoot Nigella from the breasts up, they never really show her tummy or her bum... rather sad since I think she is beautiful!

Doesn't matter to me. All that matters are the recipes and how good/bad they are.

It doesn't matter to me. Giada is my favorite because I've never gone wrong making her stuff. BUT, I find it hard to believe that she eats her stuff because she is so little!

If a chef had a healthy cooking show and was chunky, then yeah it would matter, but otherwise I don't care.

I 100% could not possibly care less what a chef looks like. I say this in confidence because I don't even watch any cooking shows, and base my decision on trying out new recipes from how it sounds and the ingredients.
If you're concerned with being healthy and don't trust cooking from an overweight chef, then obviously you lack the skills to tell for yourself from an ingredient list whether or not something is healthy. And if you won't eat something from a skinny chef, then you're probably missing out on lots of fabulous food just because they have a fast metabolism or eat in moderation.
Unless your weight directly prevents you from doing your job, I fail to see the problem. If Nigella gains 20 pounds, will her food taste differently? I think not.

It doesn't matter to me. I'm looking at the food!

Nigella is fat because her recipes as ridiculously overladen with fat. And I am getting so sick of her posturing to camera like she's a pornstar.

The size of the chef does not matter one bit to me. It's all about their knowledge of the food, their personality and the presentation of the show.

I doesn't' matter to me either. It's more about their personalities and their cooking style.

You can tell that Giada is concerned about her figure. She's always making comments about her portions and food selections on her travel show.

Lions and tigers and bears oh my. There are no porn stars in cooking. Food shows are all based on personalities and some you like and some you don't. It is all subjective.

Ideally, if I'm looking for healthful food recipes I would prefer a fit & healthy chef, but realistically I realize this isn't a good measure of judgment. Firstly, there could be many other reasons for the chef to be overweight--not just that they can't control their eating, or they are making unhealthful foods. Secondly, skinny chefs make junk food too!

All it boils down to is whether or not the food is healthful. Even someone who doesn't eat their own food or eats too much of their own food can have good recipes.

But this one is on TV, and she is entertainment. Of course they want her to fit within their parameters for "beautiful" and "sexy". I don't watch the Food Network but I saw her on Ellen one day. She looks healthy to me. Healthy isn't being skinny, it's being fit. Her body is proportionate and curvy like a woman's generally is.

I don't care. It's all about the personality and the quality of food for me.

ditto to siren6.

There's a lot more to being skinny than just what you eat.

Giada uses chocolate, and cooks pasta all the time...maybe she is graced with a great metabolism, or she works out...who knows.

I don't think fat vs. skinny matters with chefs, I don't assume just because they are chefs they eat all the time. And just as some people like to work what they've eaten off with a good run, while others choose not to, chefs do too...their cooking has nothing to do with this.

Certain overweight chefs have healthy recipes just as often as a skinny chef might have unhealthy recipes...

I really think their weight should be viewed as their own business and be left out of the equation.

So I personally don't really care about the weight of the person teaching me to cook...at the end of the day I choose what I will actually make and what not.

It's a bit of a mixed bag for me. Chefs lives revolve around food, so I would expect them to have a certain amount of extra padding because it seems like they'd *have* to consume more calories than needed simply as an occupational hazard. With cooking shows and their chefs now elevated to celebrity status, there's that whole skewed angle on body shape, which is in direct contrast to real world and food. So tough on the chefs, in that sense.

That being said, I'm of the thought of a lot of other posters that I like to cook delicious meals with a strong emphasis on healthy, so a really heavy chef does make me wary of cooking like they do. And just from a caring factor, every time I see Mario Batali, he looks heavier, and I worry about him.

I think that it's an utterly ridiculous comparison to make. I don't like the fact that Paula Deen (and Ina G, BTW) make really fatty foods. But you know what, they also make healthy foods. One of my favorite couscous recipes is from Ina. I watch their shows to gain knowledge about food and because I like seeing them cook, especially when it's with passion. I decide for myself what I'd like to eat and what recipes I won't touch b/c of the nutritional value. Come on people, what happened to making choices based on what you want for yourself rather than what you perceive?

I find it interesting that people don't seem to make the same issue out of the male chefs gaining weight. Does anyone else think that Emeril has gained a significant amount of weight over the last few years. I noticed but it didn't change the whether I watched his show or will try one of his recipes.

Honestly, it's saddening to be reminded that we are so image obsessed and body obsessed in this country. How we view others is directly connected to how we view ourselves. It's our own personal insecurities, IMHO, that drive our serious judgment of others. Choose your chef based on the food not the body.

I def. agree its about the food, but I feel like some of the best food comes from the heavier people (paula, ina, mario)... with the exception of nigella and giada... I don't think nigella is that big! I think she is perfect! Giada is a bit too skinny if you ask me!

I loved Paula's quote when she was on Oprah and Oprah said how her food is delicious, but what about the health factor, she said "honey, i'm your cook, not your doctor"

What bothers me about Rachael is that if you're a fan of hers, you know what she looks like on her shows, but on her magazine they make her like 2 sizes smaller! Thats just insulting!

it doesn't matter to me. there are certain chefs i can't watch, just based on personality or their recipes. can't stand watching rachael ray, and sandra lee, i like to watch soemtimes and see how many cocktails she can make for a kid's bday party, and she's pretty thing, but usually i turn her off.

I think cooking shows on the Food Network are tailored to fit certain peoples tastes, and tailored to emit different "emotions" that the viewer will get. For example, with Nigella, you get the "sensual, nurturing" feeling from watching her cook. With Giada, you are supposed to get the feeling that she is trendy and glamorous...I mean who hasn't watched Giada's show just to see her clothes/accessories, or how she looks? With Ina, you get that cozy, "cottage," motherly feel...what comes with that territory? Very traditional, sometimes overly fatty recipes. With Mario, you get that hearty, authentic Italian, "big family" feel. Paula Deen is self-explanatory. If The Food Network (and other cooking networks) didn't tailor its programming to appeal to different types of people, they wouldn't have much of a following. Honestly, watch what shows and chef's make you get that warm feeling inside, and which ones fascinate you, and leave the rest. Isn't that what it's all about?!

Nigella is gorgeous...

i don't think tht you can really say that there's a correlation. Giada eats SOOOO much when she's filming her shows that she would in theory be HUGE but she's not. i think that if someone knows how to cook and explains it or has a great personality - then skinny or not - they should be credible.

we all LOVE mario batali don't we? and we like cat cora right?

what matters is how the food tastes. i hate giada, but her recipes are usually good. rachael ray on the other hand has easy recipes, but most of them are disgusting. nigella, not so sure about her. she is far from overweight. she's gorgeous and has curves. so what?

The only person I have a bit of trouble with its appearance is Mario Batali. I find he looks a bit dirty. Other than that, I only care about the food. And maybe a bit about the Chef's personality.

It doesn't matter to me. It's all about personality. I happen to love Nigella, Ina, and Giada (sorry to the haters), and they all vary in size. I'm not the biggest Rachael fan but I'm sorry, she does not need to lose weight! She had some really bad stylin goin on a few years back (when she went blond...), but I think she looks pretty good now!

Well, the tv industry does it because of image obviously, but being overweight is just as bad as being underweight.

In terms of the chef, I would be suspicious of anyone who is really seriously skinny. But I know a fair number of people who eat a lot and just have a really high metabolism so you have to be really sickly skinny for me to be suspicious for that reason.

As for whose recipes I would go for... Alton Brown and Giada Delaurentiis have the most consistently good recipes in my experience so that is what I go for if they have a recipe for what I want to make. Giada's are always so simple to make. Alton's are usually a bit more complicated and need ingredients I don't necessarily have but there is so much detail and explanation behind what to do and why that they usually work out.

As for who I watch... Giada is gorgeous and everything about her show is always gorgeous. Paula is definitely entertaining, though the recipes I have tried have been pretty questionable. I love Alton Brown, no need to say more. Sandra Lee, Ellie Krieger and Robyn Miller just scare me. Emeril I find kind of boring, really repetitive with the bam and whatnot. Mario Batali is never on when I am home so I can't say. Bobby Flay I will sometimes watch but his shows can be a little... not engaging.

For those people who are so concerned about obesity and fat chefs being bad influences on society (or anyone else really who may be interested) consider reading 'Rethinking Thin' by Gina Kolata. Among other things, one of the key points of the book is that it points out a major flaw in the statistics that say that being overweight is the root of all evil. With those statistics they throw the thin people who are terminally ill or have any major disease out of the data but leave the people who are overweight who have the disease because being overweight is the 'cause'.

I don't care. I watch all of them, but only some of them I like (the way they host is what matters to me). As for recipes, if it's simple enough, I'd jot it down and try it the next day, regardless the chef.
I do some modification (instead of putting butter all over the place, or heavy cream--I opt for lighter ingredients), but other than that, I don't care how they look like as long as I find them endearing as a host and they provide good, easy-to-follow recipes.

Tough one...

I actually discussed this same issue with my husband a while back. We had been watching an earlier season of the Next Food Network Star during which there was a particularly heavy contestant named Reggie. He was very likable and did well, but I wouldn't say he was head and shoulders above some of the others. So I made the observation to my husband that if Food Network knew what they were doing, they wouldn't choose Reggie and would instead select one of the equally talented but more physically appealing chefs. As I explained it to him, the chefs on Food Network are very much charged with selling the idea of food and cooking and someone who is very obviously displaying the negative side affects of over-indulging in food isn't the best way to go about getting people interested in cooking/eating. Extremely overweight chefs selling food is like having lung cancer patients sell cigarettes to me (to use an extreme example).

That being said, I don't think being overweight makes you a bad chef and it certainly doesn't mean your recipes are bad. Maybe not the healthiest, but still quality recipes. And women like Rachael Ray and Nigella who are normal looking are great people to have on air. Ultimately, I don't particularly care what the person looks like who's making my food (unless their obvious lack of being in shape causes them to sweat in my food ala Howie on Top Chef Season 3), but I do think that Food Network does itself a disservice by having extreme overweight chefs (like Mario) selling the idea of cooking and food.

The size of the chef doesn't matter! I cook in and manage one of my father's two restaurants. I am a size two. My father cooks in both places and manages as well. He is 150 pound man. I eat the food I cook all day, but I am also on my feet 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. Being in a hot kitchen all day, I tend to drink a ton of water... and I try to run 3 times a week. The restaurant I run is borderline fine dining and fairly "trendy" and has been open and thriving for 20 years...

I think it's a bit dangerous to say 'I want to eat healthy so I won't eat what a large chef would cook'.

You can put on weight because you cook with a lot of fat, but then you can pay attention to the way you cook and still put on weight because you eat massive portions of food and cookies at every meal.

So, no, I don't care what the chef looks like. I pick the recipe, and if it's richer than what I'd usually eat, I just have a smaller portion, or subsitute the side dish for vegs or a salad.

"Honestly, it's saddening to be reminded that we are so image obsessed and body obsessed in this country. How we view others is directly connected to how we view ourselves. It's our own personal insecurities, IMHO, that drive our serious judgment of others. Choose your chef based on the food not the body."
Very well said Punkingirl!! I totally agree.

When I see a smaller chef, I don't feel like they know what they are doing. In other words I don't trust skinny cooks. Weird I know, but its just something I think of when I see cooks. Like some of you said, I pick the food, not the chef. As long as the food tastes good!

I think the problem here is a little different - you'll notice that this stigma applies to THE GIRLS. Women chefs: Giada, Rachel, Paula, Nigella, Ina. Alton Brown has gotten mighty chunky recently, or Tyler Florence going up and down in weight. I love love Alton Brown, so really I'm kind of disappointed that he's gotten unhealthy, but people never say they hate the guy chefs because they're thin and they can't trust that. Some commenters have noticed, which is great, but it's such a double standard. The show is the personality, the recipe, the approach. Apparently for women, also how the viewers would imagine you naked.

Besides - it's not always what you cook. It's how much you eat of it and how active you are. Certainly some of what Rachael Ray makes isn't as healthy as I think she advertises her meals to be.

Anyway, the reasons I find Giada and Rachael annoying have nothing to do with their body size.