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Did You Watch Last Night's Kitchen Nightmares?

partysugar — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 10:31:42 -0700

Last night on the second episode of the new season of Kitchen Nightmares, Gordon Ramsay was on a mission to turn Long Island's Handlebar around. With a chef who doesn't like to cook, an unmotivated owner, and an emotional train wreck of a wife, the restaurant was a complete disaster. I've always liked the concept of Kitchen Nightmares more than Ramsay's other television show, Hell's Kitchen. I greatly enjoy watching him transform the restaurant and feel so happy when, in the end, it succeeds. How about you? Did you catch it?

Photo Courtesy of Fox.

Michelle Obama to Appear on Paula's Party

partysugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:15:40 -0700

Possible first-lady-to-be Michelle Obama is scheduled to make an appearance on Food Network's Paula's Party. On the primetime television series, Southern belle Paula Deen speaks with Obama about the first meal - seafood gumbo complete with lobster, shrimp, and mussels - she cooked for Barack.

After the conversation Deen invites Obama into her kitchen where she teaches her how to make fried shrimp and Creole french fries. The episode airs on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. My tivo is already set; I'm excited to see how Michelle moves in the kitchen.

How about you? Will you watch?

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Get Excited For Food Network's Fall Lineup

partysugar — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:15:14 -0700

Two of the Food Network's new shows for Fall have been announced. The first, features FN favorite Giada De Laurentiis in Giada at Home (debuts Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.). The show is described as a "stylish lifestyle and cooking series that follows her as she plans and prepares meals for her families and friends." I've always been a huge fan of Giada's recipes and am thrilled to check out what she has to offer outside the realm of Italian cooking.

The second, entitled The Chef Jeff Project is an interesting experiment that helps troubled youth. The series will follow Chef Jeff Henderson, a "former prison inmate turned successful executive chef," as he teaches six struggling young adults how to cook.

Highlighting the power and passion of food, the Chef Jeff Project airs on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 10 p.m. Will you be watching?

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Are Cooking Television Shows Too Unrealistic?

partysugar — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 12:50:52 -0700

In his blog on the New York Times, food journalist Mark Bittman makes the claim that food television - particularly cooking shows that teach a viewer how to make something - are too unrealistic. Unlike the real world, the chefs never make mistakes and each dish always comes out perfectly. He says:

When you watch most celebrity chefs go to work on TV it is a) baffling and intimidating, and b) a charade. Baffling and intimidating because nearly every ingredient is usually prepared in advance, and what isn’t is selected so that the chef can show off his (almost never “her”) knife skills, which are bound to intimidate nearly all of us who can never aspire (and why would we, really?) to chopping an onion with our eyes closed.

While I understand how the lack of miscalculation may isolate a viewer, I disagree with Bittman. I enjoy the Barefoot Contessa because her world is an escape from my reality: In her sunny Hampton house the food is consistently delicious. Rather than feel intimidated, I feel inspired! What's your take on Bittman's perspective?

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Kim Kardashian Is Latest Face of Carl's Jr.

YumSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 05:50:27 -0800

Guess who's joining the ranks of Paris Hilton, Padma Lakshmi, and Audrina Patridge as Carl's Jr. spokesperson? None other than reality show temptress Kim Kardashian.

Kardashian is teaming up with the burger chain - known for its risqué commercials - to promote its new premium salads. It'll be the first commercial spot the company has done for a menu item that's not a burger. The reality TV star tells People that while she's a healthy eater today, she has a number of fond memories involving Carl's Jr.

"Driving to Las Vegas, my dad would take the family and we'd stay at Circus Circus and we always stopped at Carl's Jr," she says.

"I remember this food fight my sisters and I all had in the back of the van – it was so funny. We got in so much trouble!" Do you think Kim Kardashian and Carl's Jr. will make for fun viewing?

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Invite Rocco Into Your House!

YumSugar — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:01:18 -0800

Any Rocco DiSpirito fans in the house? If you answered yes to that question then you'll be excited to hear that Rocco is returning to television, and this time he might just cook for you. In his new show on A&E - no date set yet - called Rocco to the Rescue!, he will come to your house and teach you how to cook a special meal for a special occasion. The premise sounds a bit like Food Network's Rescue Chef - or like Ted Allen's role in Queer Eye - only with DiSpirito at the helm.

Now for the part that fans will really be excited about. If you live in the New York City area, you can try and get Rocco to come to your house. The casting call says:

A&E is looking for people in and around the New York City area who need Rocco’s help. To apply for the show, email CookWithRocco@gmail.com with your name, age, phone number, a recent photo, and the reason you need to cook with Rocco. You can also call our casting hotline: 818-752-5559. Everyone loves to share the important moments in life over food, and Rocco knows exactly how to make those moments memorable!

So are you going to invite Rocco into your kitchen?

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Top Chef Producers to Create NBC Restaurateur Show

YumSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:10:49 -0800

From Magical Elves, the producers of Bravo's Top Chef, Top Chef Masters, and the soon-to-air Top Chef: Just Desserts, comes yet another reality TV show, tentatively titled United Plates of America.

Unlike its sister productions, United Plates will air on NBC. The premise: aspiring restaurateurs compete in a number of challenges involving the restaurant's concept, cuisine, management, and marketability. The judges' panel will include wealthy investors in the culinary and business world.The prize is being called "among the biggest in reality show history" - the winner will receive a restaurant chain that opens in four locations across the US - funded by the investors themselves. "It's a culinary competition that anybody can take part in," said executive producer Dan Cutforth. "All you need is a great idea for a restaurant."

Finally, a different foodie reality TV concept. This show could be wildly captivating and educational, because the average American viewer doesn't have an inkling of knowledge about the operations behind a restaurant. I would definitely tune in to check out the show. What about you?

Yummy Links: From Dungeness Crab to Turkey Cookies

partysugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:50:32 -0800

San Franciscans get excited: it's dungeness crab season! - SFoodie
This holiday season, why not bake a beautifully festive cake or cupcakes? - Hostess With the Mostess
Eating dark chocolate may help you handle stress. - The Epi-Log
The FDA has withdrawn the ban on the sale of Gulf Coast raw oysters during warm months. - Eater
Introducing: people talking on bananas. - People Talking on Bananas
Could Jose Garces be the next Iron Chef? - Grub Street Philadelphia
Rachael Ray on the Martha Stewart Show makes for some uncomfortable television. - Eat Me Daily
Learn how to fight wine snobbery. - Chow
Turn Keebler Fudge striped cookies into Thanksgiving turkeys. - Serious Eats

Food Network Aims to Entertain With 2010 Lineup

YumSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:30:20 -0800

Looks like Food Network's switching gears to focus less on cooking expertise and more on entertainment. On the roster for 2010: more Brian Boitano, and a new show, Worst Cooks in America.

Worst Cooks in America, which premieres Sunday, Jan. 3, features 12 "hopeless cooks" who are divided into two teams, one under the tutelage of network vet Anne Burrell and the other led by Arizona chef Beau MacMillan.

The show's premise: bad cooks undergo a five-week "culinary boot camp" where they will learn kitchen techniques from Burrell and MacMillan that they must apply in weekly elimination challenges.

After the contestants have been narrowed down to two, they will compete for a grand prize of $25,000 in a final challenge that has them preparing a three-course meal for a panel of food critics who think the dishes have been prepared by chefs Anne and Beau.

For even more entertainment, Brian Boitano fans should also stay tuned for the return of the Olympic medalist, who's back with a second season of the screwball show What Would Brian Boitano Make? in March. Will you tune in to watch either of these shows - or are they too far a departure from the classic cooking shows that once dominated Food Network?

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Should TV Chefs Be Responsible For Promoting Eco-Friendly Cooking?

YumSugar — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:26 -0700

When we recently disagreed with the assertion that cooking shows are too unrealistic, many of you seemed to share our opinion that food TV can actually be rather inspiring. Well, here's another question for you to ponder: Should TV chefs serve as role models?

In a Huffington Post article titled "Nasty Habits of Food Network Celebrities," columnist Isabel Cowles criticizes Food Network chefs like Giada De Laurentiis, Sandra Lee, and Guy Fieri for "encouraging wasteful, unhealthy behavior."Cowles derides De Laurentiis for using (and not recycling) nearly 1,000 square inches of aluminum foil on an episode of Everyday Italian. She frowns on Sandra Lee's use of packaged foods that come in more bags, bottles, and packaging. She doesn't approve of a chili recipe by Guy Fieri that calls for four pounds of meat from three animals, which, she maintains, encourages the reckless consumption of big-agriculture meat. Cowles argues:

The image these chefs are creating of our country's food ethos and practices wreaks of wastefulness, over-indulgence, and laziness. The Food Network and its celebrity chefs should inspire Americans to savor quality food and the entire process of making a meal . . . It's a shame that these chefs don't use their popularity to truly help improve how Americans cook and eat.

I'm curious to hear what you think. Are television chefs being wasteful? Is it their responsibility to serve as an example for the rest of us? Should cooking shows lead the way in encouraging America to reduce its kitchen carbon footprint - or is society expecting a little too much?

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