Bruce wrote:I do like quite a few shows on the FN. I respect Bobby Flay, Emeril, Mario, Paula and others. I don't care for RR though.

Shows that I like in no particular order are Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives, Dinner Impossible, Secret Life Of, Unwrapped and shows that provide information. I don't like every one of them but occasionally they have interesting parts.

The first Dinner Impossible was filmed on the small rock in the Atlantic my family is from. Incidentally, they filmed the Harvest Supper that happened exactly one week after our wedding was catered, by a family friend, for 115 people, with far more demanding needs (and a far more upscale menu) than the BS they pulled off.

I can say, with absolute authority and knowledge, that Dinner Impossible is the biggest pile of steer excrement this side of a feed lot in Kansas. (Sorry to be so severe, but the BS on that oen is just... stunning)

OTOH, Iron Chef is entertaining, Mario can be a great watch, Alton is wonderful and Giada's lawyers asked me to stop sending her silk underwear.

I miss the old school PBS programs that my father watched with us as children. Great Chefs, Frugal Gormet, Ciao Italia!, Julia Child, Justin Wilson, Yan Can Cook, the list goes on. Every single one of those shows taught me something that my father then reinforced later, that your eyes must always be open and there is a world of food to be discovered. Where did those shows go?

Cheers,

-Andrew

astanley wrote:I miss the old school PBS programs that my father watched with us as children. Great Chefs, Frugal Gormet, Ciao Italia!, Julia Child, Justin Wilson, Yan Can Cook, the list goes on. Every single one of those shows taught me something that my father then reinforced later, that your eyes must always be open and there is a world of food to be discovered. Where did those shows go?

They went into syndication and can be seen on various cable outlets...at least a good portion of the ones you mentioned can.

There is a very interesting article in today's NYT (free registration) about the changing focus of the network, including some surprisingly unconvincing [to me] quotes from senior execs about the direction of the effort. Best of all, for my money, was the quotation from His Mario-ness at the end:

“They don’t need me. They have decided they are mass market and they are going after the Wal-Mart crowd,” which he said was “a smart business decision. So they don’t need someone who uses polysyllabic words from other languages.”

It was intersting to note that their largest viewership drops were in the instructional cooking shows.

rickster wrote:It was intersting to note that their largest viewership drops were in the instructional cooking shows.

this doesn't surprise me at all. i started watching the food network about 10 years ago, and learned a lot about cooking and food. who are people supposed to learn from now? sandra lee? that robin lady that makes meals for the whole week and has an obsession with couscous? sadly this channel has gone the way of mtv and is now a shell of what it's original intent was.

milic13 wrote:

rickster wrote:It was intersting to note that their largest viewership drops were in the instructional cooking shows.

this doesn't surprise me at all. i started watching the food network about 10 years ago, and learned a lot about cooking and food. who are people supposed to learn from now? sandra lee? that robin lady that makes meals for the whole week and has an obsession with couscous? sadly this channel has gone the way of mtv and is now a shell of what it's original intent was.

Well, the question is whether they're creating the drop in viewership or responding to the drop in viewership. I agree, I'd tend to believe the former, but I suspect FoodTV's interpretation will be the latter.

Next on Food Network:

EXTREME stock skimming back to back with EXTREME egg poaching!

It is sad that they're losing most of the classic "stand and stir" shows. Molto Mario is gone, Emerl Live (which was on a MOR collision with Jimmy Kimmel, on whom a Mario re-run was aired last week) gone...

It still has Essence of Emeril, from which I can still occasionally learn something, and Good Eats -- which does go for significant non-cooking edutainment (nutrition, history, etc.).

But the latest crop of Semi-Ho and Rae-Ray imitators, and competitions is seriously straining the value of that channel for me. I find myself on Fine Living or PBS more often.

The old format of ths Food Network (hours of Emeril, Malto and David Rosengarten) was dreadfully boring as 90% of the recipes were not able to be produced by most average cooks.

The current format is entertaining but not very informative.

You would think that there would be a happy medium somewhere.

Bourdain Speaks!

The always entertaining Anthony Bourdain speaks up on the latest Food Network Shenanigans, prompted by the FN's decision to re-run his A Cook's Tour show this month. A fact, he apparently, had to find out from Michael Ruhlman.

I love it when this man rants.

http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchan ... awaii.html

earthlydesire wrote:Bourdain Speaks!

The always entertaining Anthony Bourdain speaks up on the latest Food Network Shenanigans, prompted by the FN's decision to re-run his A Cook's Tour show this month. A fact, he apparently, had to find out from Michael Ruhlman.

I love it when this man rants.

http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchan ... awaii.html

Anthony Bourdain wrote:"They're not putting the show back on because they like it. They're trying to destroy me!" I theorized.

That's true. I noticed the marathon of A Cook's Tour around Christmas and was shocked, shocked, shocked. I attended one of Tony's early talks (after he left FN but before he was the food nerd's Mick Jagger), and he blasted the FN and made it appear as if those bridges were burned forever. But it's clear that the FN is absolutely attempting to play hardball by undermining his Travel Channel show by confusing viewers as to the real thing. I'm sure Tony has two one-fingered gestures for that kind of a thing. But it's business, and it's a tough world out there. It is funny, though, that the person who was once deemed "unsuitable" for the warm and fuzzy FN is now not-so-unsuitable. Sounds like a lot of executives need to be fired there.

On the upside, I noticed that the Travel Channel has upped the hype on Bourdain's new season - so it appears that they're not going down without a fight.

Anthony Bourdain wrote:I finished my Hawaii shoot in a state of agitation, dreading the FN promos to come, figuring it'll be like being publicly identified as a Milwaukee Brewer long after having moved to the Yankees.

Hey, now. I'm no Brewers fan, but geez, the Yanks are nothing to brag about anymore and have no cause to look snot-nosed at the Brewers (or their fans). (And no, Joe Girardi is not their savior. But I digress.)

Don't even get me started on Paula Deen...
what is up with that woman? she is just scary to look at!
What has she done to herself?
I only want to to know so I don't do the same thing..
and frying jellied cranberry sauce was absolutely the ultimate gack for me.

I can take the others with several grains of salt,
sometimes I think Sandra has something interesting to add,
jazzing up something half store bought is OK for a week night when I haven't gotten home till 6PM and don't have all day to cook,
and her table decorating ideas are pretty, even if I hate term "tablescape".
but Paula is an instant channel flip!

earthlydesire wrote:Bourdain Speaks!

The always entertaining Anthony Bourdain speaks up on the latest Food Network Shenanigans, prompted by the FN's decision to re-run his A Cook's Tour show this month. A fact, he apparently, had to find out from Michael Ruhlman.

I love it when this man rants.

http://anthony-bourdain-blog.travelchan ... awaii.html

I really wish Bourdain had something new to say, or at least something intriguing. Sorry that you'll receive royalties from a show that you've already done and don't have to do any work for. Ranting for the sake of ranting makes him sound a lot like his idol is Andy Rooney.

maybe so, but his comparison of Guy Fieri to Poochie was totally priceless.

sweetsalty wrote:maybe so, but his comparison of Guy Fieri to Poochie was totally priceless.

It's so easy to take potshots at Food TV, the thing is, in a lot of ways, Bourdain isn't on a much higher level anymore.

jpschust wrote:

sweetsalty wrote:maybe so, but his comparison of Guy Fieri to Poochie was totally priceless.

It's so easy to take potshots at Food TV, the thing is, in a lot of ways, Bourdain isn't on a much higher level anymore.

Sure he is. He took his show -- after refusing to dumb it down for Food Network by focusing on only domestic destinations (as they requested) -- and went elsewhere with it. Eventually he sold the show he wanted to do to Travel Channel. The guy was willing to not be on TV rather than make a show he didn't want to make. That's fairly unusual, especially after a star gets a taste of major tv fame.

Then, as his popularity continued to grow across the globe, Food Network decided to take a 6 and 7 year-old series and re-air it. To me, that's a clear thumping of Food Network by Bourdain and it illustrates just how much higher a level he's on than Food Network.

The fact that it's easy to take shots at FTV is merely a function of their smarmy, pandering objectives and methods, and it doesn't diminish those taking the shots at all, IMO. And who better to do so than someone who told them to 'stick it' and ended up wildly successful in the process?

=R=

jpschust wrote:

sweetsalty wrote:maybe so, but his comparison of Guy Fieri to Poochie was totally priceless.

It's so easy to take potshots at Food TV, the thing is, in a lot of ways, Bourdain isn't on a much higher level anymore.

The scary part is how much BETTER the old shows were over what he is putting out on the Travel Channel. Watching the Travel Channel programs make me glad that I don't watch TV.

jlawrence01 wrote:

jpschust wrote:

sweetsalty wrote:maybe so, but his comparison of Guy Fieri to Poochie was totally priceless.

It's so easy to take potshots at Food TV, the thing is, in a lot of ways, Bourdain isn't on a much higher level anymore.

The scary part is how much BETTER the old shows were over what he is putting out on the Travel Channel. Watching the Travel Channel programs make me glad that I don't watch TV.

If you don't watch, how would you know?

In all seriousness, I liked the food focus of A Cook's Tour but the current show is superior, in my opinion. Some of those scripted "bits" in A Cook's Tour were pretty awful.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:In all seriousness, I liked the food focus of A Cook's Tour but the current show is superior, in my opinion. Some of those scripted "bits" in A Cook's Tour were pretty awful.

=R=

Read the book to see how much Tony hated them too.
Try pretending you're sober after the Russian Vodka consumption, for instance.

JoelF wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:In all seriousness, I liked the food focus of A Cook's Tour but the current show is superior, in my opinion. Some of those scripted "bits" in A Cook's Tour were pretty awful.

=R=

Read the book to see how much Tony hated them too.
Try pretending you're sober after the Russian Vodka consumption, for instance.

LOL! Yes, I know

=R=

astanley wrote:

Bruce wrote:I do like quite a few shows on the FN. I respect Bobby Flay, Emeril, Mario, Paula and others. I don't care for RR though.

Shows that I like in no particular order are Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives, Dinner Impossible, Secret Life Of, Unwrapped and shows that provide information. I don't like every one of them but occasionally they have interesting parts.

The first Dinner Impossible was filmed on the small rock in the Atlantic my family is from. Incidentally, they filmed the Harvest Supper that happened exactly one week after our wedding was catered, by a family friend, for 115 people, with far more demanding needs (and a far more upscale menu) than the BS they pulled off.

I can say, with absolute authority and knowledge, that Dinner Impossible is the biggest pile of steer excrement this side of a feed lot in Kansas. (Sorry to be so severe, but the BS on that oen is just... stunning)

I actually find Dinner Impossible entertaining despite the fact I know it's completely contrived. I'd be very interested to hear some behind the scenes stuff and why it's such BS.

I honestly don't get the adulation for Bourdain. I agree -- ranting for the sake of ranting. When that's your gimmick, it doesn't really matter if you start off by lashing out at your former network for re-airing your old show because you're embarrassed by how dated and amateurish it looks... then a few sentences later reveal that you were planning to put it out on DVD. It doesn't have to make sense; just take a few potshots at obvious targets whose fans move in completely different circles from yours and everyone's happy.

However, those of you who do like Bourdain (and even those who are indifferent) might enjoy this.

Bonus -- yours, if you act now!

cilantro wrote:I honestly don't get the adulation for Bourdain.

I didn't like Bourdain at first. He seemed a poseur and too self-consciously a pain in the arse. Then I read "Kitchen Confidential." Then "Nasty Bits." Then a bunch more. And now I like him. I think he's a good writer with an interesting perspective and, beneath the tough guy persona, a decent fellow with sincere opinions.

David Hammond wrote:beneath the tough guy persona, a decent fellow with sincere opinions.

To me, that comes across in interviews but not his own writing.

But I also think that a substantial portion of his fanbase is just there to hear him smack Rachael Ray around.

Here's the ultimate thing for me- there are so many food writers out there who are writing about food in a genuine way, not in a extremely sarcastic, negative way, that I just can't figure out why Tony Bourdain is so popular. He's mean spirited, offers very little insight, and is often angry for the sake of being angry. I get that he was a cook in a kitchen, and I get that he was a chef de cuisine (I still have a hard time considering him an executive chef), and I get that it's hard work, but I also get that he's exaggerating a lot of what went on and that not every kitchen is Les Halles in New York.

He's entertaining to read in a way that reading page 6 of the Post is entertaining to read, but a little goes a terribly long way.

I'll go back to reading Reichel, Steingarten, Baker, Fisher, Beard, and so on any day of the week over Bourdain.

jpschust wrote:Here's the ultimate thing for me- there are so many food writers out there who are writing about food in a genuine way, not in a extremely sarcastic, negative way, that I just can't figure out why Tony Bourdain is so popular.

He's funny.

Seriously, I think that's the beginning and end of it right there. Yeah, the finer points can be debated -- whether he's genuine, whether he's knowledgeable, whether his sarcasm and bitterness are to be respected or reviled -- but the humor is what separates him from the pack.

Of course, humor is subjective, so YMMV. Personally, I find him hysterical.

And incidentally, you don't like the sarcasm and the negativity, so you read Steingarten? I love Steingarten too, and he's far more eloquent, but how is he any less nasty and brutal than Bourdain when he gets going? He may be the rapier rather than the cudgel, but he's no less prone to mercilessly and bitterly attacking something or someone he doesn't like. I feel like it's just a matter of time before he reduces Marine Bakhoum to tears. Not that she doesn't almost deserve it, at times.

The biggest difference is that Steingarten picks his negativity very selectively and also treats those almost all those who he dislikes with somewhat of an element of respect, not entire disdain. Think of the contrast between how Bill Bryson treats small town America versus someone like Bill Geist.

I love Bourdain because he's extraordinarily funny and because he tells it like it is. Kitchen Confidential remains one of the most important, informative and entertaining restaurant-industry books ever written. His genuine appreciation for cultures and cuisines of the world also distinguishes him. With Tony, what you see is what you get. There are a lot of other writers/personalities I enjoy but there are very few folks about whom that can be said.

=R=

Dmnkly wrote:Marine Bakhoum

Took me a while to realize who that is. I didn't know she was amphibious....

cilantro wrote:

Dmnkly wrote:Marine Bakhoum

Took me a while to realize who that is. I didn't know she was amphibious....

I would like to state for the record that K and M are adjacent on the keyboard