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Is Food Network's Chopped a Ripoff of Top Chef?

partysugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:15:09 -0800

If you watch Food Network on a regular basis, you must know - by the bombardment of promotional commercials - about its new culinary competition, Chopped.

The show, which is described as a series that "challenges four up-and-coming chefs to turn a selection of everyday ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal. After each course, a contestant gets 'chopped' until the last man or woman left standing claims victory," is hosted by former Top Chef judge, Ted Allen. Although Chopped does not air until Tuesday, Jan. 13 (at 10 p.m.), many feel the show is a complete ripoff of Top Chef.

After watching the promo video, Eat Me Daily declared that "Food Network is totally trying to mimic Top Chef's more professional veneer, especially in the light of the more amateurish low-budget feel of the Next Food Network Star."

Spurred by the Internet's backlash against Chopped, Ted Allen has taken to his blog to defend the series. To find out what he had to say, read more.

Following a long, detailed description of each episode Allen states:

There also is a culinary straightforwardness about this show that I find really satisfying, and particularly appropriate for a company called Food Network. There is no sleep deprivation, no "Big Brother" house full of bunk beds and cameras, no booze-fueled personal drama (as much as we all love the brainwashing and catfights on that certain show I used to judge). There are no team or catering challenges. Best of all, there is no product placement, so you never see passionate lovers of good food being forced to use packaged convenience junk thanks to Kraft/Altria/Exxon's sponsorship.

I'll admit when I first heard about the show, I wondered if it would be too similar to Top Chef. What do you think about the competition's resemblance? Is Chopped a cheap, made-for-the-masses knockoff?

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Gwyneth Loves to Cook, Set For Second TV Food Tour

YumSugar — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:15:00 -0700

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow is shunning personal chefs and raw-foods-only diets for the joys of home cooking. She recently told People magazine:

I cook all the meals for my house. I really love to cook. Breads and pizzas is what I'm cooking and we all love it. We have a wood-burning pizza oven in our garden. Right now the weather is nice in London, so I'm using that oven a lot. You can cook anything in there. It's amazing.

It's no surprise that Paltrow is so passionate about cooking, her first travel food show, Spain . . . On the Road Again with Mario Batali, debuted on certain PBS stations over the weekend.

The dynamic duo has already signed on to do a second series that will take place in Italy further cementing Gwyneth's love for food.

Did you tune in this past weekend to see the pair eat their way through Spain? What did you think of it, and will you be watching their follow-up in Mario's motherland Italia?

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Gwyneth and Mario Share Their Kitchen Must Haves

partysugar — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 09:00:39 -0700

Yesterday Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow were featured guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The celebrity chef and actress promoted their food-related travel series, Spain . . . on the Road Again, which debuts Sept. 20 on PBS. Gwyneth and a newly slimmed-down Mario each shared five kitchen items they can't live without. To find out what they were, read more.

Mario Batali loves:

His Kitchenaid pasta-maker attachment
His home cured olives
His microplane
Extra virgin olive oil
His nesting mixing bowls for the perfect mise-en-place

Gwyneth Paltrow loves:

Her steamer
Global knives
Cast iron skillets
Her digital timer
Her wine sealer

What are your kitchen must haves? Will you watch Spain . . . on the Road Again this weekend?

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Will You Watch Top Chef Junior?

partysugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 17:15:48 -0700

This morning Bravo announced its plans for Top Chef Junior. Similar to Top Chef, the eight-episode series will feature teens battling it out in the kitchen and competing in culinary challenges. Frances Berwick, the general manager of Bravo Media, explains the network's decision to expand the Top Chef brand:

With Top Chef as the No. 1 food show on cable comes the natural expansion in our food domain. With Top Chef Junior we're reaching a growing market and are developing a series that will teach and test the skills of younger aspiring chefs and appeal to the whole family.

Bravo is also planning another untitled, food-related reality series highlighting the life of "the world's sexiest chef," Jean-Christophe Novelli.

Knowing Bravo's track record, these shows have the potential to be smashing hits. Will you watch?

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Who Do You Want to Win Top Chef?

partysugar — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:15:29 -0700

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Ted Allen to Join Food Network

partysugar — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 10:15:12 -0700

I'm not sure if you've noticed, but the Food Network is overhauling its programing schedule. It seems like every week a new series debuts. It started back in February with the introduction of Pat and Gina Neely followed swiftly by Danny Boome. Other recent newcomers include Sunny Anderson and Mary Nolan.

Although I find it overwhelming - new chefs, new concepts, new shows, how can I get to know them all? - I'm looking forward to checking out Ted Allen! The Network announced today that they've nabbed the Top Chef judge to host a new primetime program called Food Detectives. Good Eats meets Myth Busters in the show, with Allen answering popular food questions like: Can an apple a day keep the doctor away?

The show sounds informative and interesting, and I look forward to checking it out when it debuts on July 29. What do you think, will you watch? How do you feel about all the new shows on Food Network?

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How Well Do You Know The French Chef?

partysugar — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:31:31 -0800

On today's date, February 11, in 1963 Julia Child's The French Chef cooking show first appeared on national television. To commemorate the anniversary I've put together a quiz about her show. To learn more about this culinary icon test your knowledge now.

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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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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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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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