I like Alton's show but I'm not sure his material is original. A lot of the time, it sounds like he's quoting from On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.
Which Celebrity TV Chef is actually the BEST CHEF?
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I like Alton's show but I'm not sure his material is original. A lot of the time, it sounds like he's quoting from On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Well I don't know about quoting it, but he absolutely does take information from Mr McGee. He mentions that every once in a while. I am happy he does because that is a great source of excellent information.
ChefJune
Master Chef
yes, Dr. McGee is, and Brown takes so much material from Shirley Corriher that he has her on his show popping up to dispense her wisdom. Or at least, he used to. I haven't watched his show in ages. I find him irritating.
Alton Brown also is not a chef. Graduating from culinary school (which he did) does not make one a chef.
He's a pretty good actor who has found his niche. I don't fault him for that one bit, but I don't care to watch him.
chefkathleen
Sous Chef
Well said June!
I'd call Alton the "Mr Wizard" for foodies.
Chile Chef
Sous Chef
I liked Mister Wizard, He was very cool and he all ways had cool robots.
pennsy
Assistant Cook
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Somebody voted for Jacques Pepin, and I heartily agree. Julia Child was/is iconic. Watching her on TV inspired me to buy her book MAOFC, (ya'll know that one), then teach myself to cook with that book. But, also liked Pierre Franey, who is no longer with us, Sara Molton, a protege of Child's and Alan Harding who had a show called "Cookin in Brooklyn," on the Discovery Channel. Dunno what happened to him, but he was funny, talented, and innovative.
Enough of this geezing. I also enjoy Ina Garten's books.
Later,
Enough of this geezing. I also enjoy Ina Garten's books.
Later,
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Chile Chef
Sous Chef
Why does Sara Molton sound so vaguely familiar?
Chile Chef
Sous Chef
Ah yes, I always fancied her!
I used to watch her a lot, then she poofed from the foodnetwork lines up!
She also had a show the PBS channel Create.
ChefJune
Master Chef
I think she's still on in the mornings in rerun. She got dumped along with the other real chefs.
Chile Chef
Sous Chef
I wonder why?
freefallin1309
Senior Cook
Unfortunately the Food Network sees that talent is no substitution for entertainment. The more entertaining you can be, the more they want you ... cooking skills help but are not required. Guy Fieri and Alton Brown are prime examples.
Chief Longwind Of The North
Certified/Certifiable
I agree. It's always about the money. I enjoy a few shows on the cooking chanel, but not as much as when truly great cooks were actually teaching things I didn't already know.
What did suprise me was how much misinformation was given by Emerill. This is because his cookbooks were well-written and gave sound information. But on his show -Emerill-live, he gave unsubstatiated, and sometimes, just plain inaccurate or wrong cooking info. I quit watching his show early on as it was mostly a lot of schtick with little substance IMO.
Alton, from wherever he gets his info, still teaches me things every now and again. Plus, his quircky sense of humor somtimes makes me snicker, sometimes makes me groan.
Though I like her bubbly personality, Rachel teaches me nothing and so I don't watch her.
Robert whatever-his-name is, from Dinner Impossible, teaches me nothing and is a bit of a prima-donna. But my wife likes watching him.
Guy Fierri is fun to watch, and the dishes I see from some of the places he visits can be inspiring, even if they don't teach me anything, they give me ideas to try.
I used to enjoy watching Sara Moulton. She knew her stuff.
The chef's still on FM that I respect, I see way to little of. Masahara Morimoto, and Mario Batalli. You notice that they rarely get challenged on Iron Chef. That's because they are unbeatable, or nearly so. Those men know what they are doing.
And I have to give the Iron Chefs credit. They are sometimes very creative with the ingredients and dishes that they make. Of course, when you have unlimited budgets, and the finest foods and tools to pick from, making amazing meals is a bit easier.
Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North
BreezyCooking
Washing Up
I've always been a big Sara Moulton fan. If you are too, she has both a lovely website (Sara Moulton), as well as a new show that appears on various public television networks. It's worth it to check your local public television schedules to see if they carry it.
ChefJune
Master Chef
Goodweed, Batali is gone from TVFN except for an occasional rerun. and no doubt if they could find an untalented Japanese cook, Morimoto would be replaced, too...
Hi. I just discovered Discuss Cooking today and it's wonderful!
As for the person I'd choose to prepare a special meal, I'd choose David Wade. He was on Dallas TV in the 1960's (always wearing an ascot and blazer) and as a new bride, I'd have pen poised in hand to write down his recipes as he demonstrated his dishes on the small B & W TV screen. I still use some of his recipes but have altered them for our tastes.
As for choice of other chefs/cooks, it would be a difficult choice between Rick Bayless, Jacques Pepin, Mario Batalli or Natalie Dupree - all very talented people.
As for the person I'd choose to prepare a special meal, I'd choose David Wade. He was on Dallas TV in the 1960's (always wearing an ascot and blazer) and as a new bride, I'd have pen poised in hand to write down his recipes as he demonstrated his dishes on the small B & W TV screen. I still use some of his recipes but have altered them for our tastes.
As for choice of other chefs/cooks, it would be a difficult choice between Rick Bayless, Jacques Pepin, Mario Batalli or Natalie Dupree - all very talented people.
GB
Chief Eating Officer
Welcome to the site TruFoodie! I think you hit on something important here. You can tell who the good chefs are very easily just by looking to see if you grab pen and paper along with the remote control when they are on.
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