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Yeah, I'm not real big on the cooking 'personalities', I miss seeing Jacques Pepin who never tried to be the star but was content to let the food take that position.
The only cooking personality I know is this guy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5c-8gI5V1U
who I just learned is James Tahhan......................but I know him more for being nice to look at than cooking...............though that may change, now.
The primary reason is that while "Un Nuevo Dia" (formally "Levantate") comes on Telemundo while I am still at work, the cooking part usually comes on past the time I am at work. I usually have a good 90 minutes of "Un Nuevo Dia" but then, the boss comes in, he's firmly a FOX News man and is very sensitive to some of the more sensitive subjects that Spanish TV will show openly. Even without the boss, I have to watch my back some because I work in a "fish bowl" place where outsiders passing by can see in, may not be so diversified, and I may switch to a neutral channel such as HLN's Robin Meade.
ANYHOW, there is that question, do I understand Spanish? After 5+ years of watching their stations, I'm slowly learning and do pretty good at reading, at least, the closed captions.
So why the "sudden" change about wanting to learn more at what Chef James is doing? Because, I guess, it is as I said above. After 5+ years, I'm not watching a personalty, I am watching someone who has become "somewhat closer". Perhaps not like family but when you have watched someone alot to be them, I have played Rashel Diaz on stage, you at least pick up some of the chemistry of that show.
What gives?
Frankly the shows I TIVO give me great ideas and recipes. I keep a notepad to remind me to find techniques or recipes on my computer and then I try all sorts of fun new things. I remember life before computers and TIVO. Cookbooks, experiments and word of mouth is all we had.
I think the study the article is about is pretty flawed. The admit there's no proof of causation, and they didn't appear to control for the fact that people who watch more television of any sort generally weigh more - it's not specific to food television.
While the majority of food shows are crap, there are always a few good ones around. I really liked Alton Bron's shows, and Steven Raichlen as well. Nowadays there are a few shows I'll watch - America's Test Kitchen and Mind of a Chef in particular. I've learned a lot of useful info from both.
That's a function of TV, not the culinary arts. Cooking shows are hosted by entertaining personalities. There are 200 channels on cable, and there is never anything on that is better than cooking shows, so that is what gets watched.
In some countries, they are topless (or almost), but not in puritanical America.
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
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Title of this subject:
*We're cooking less but watching more cooking shows*
Kind of ... OK, so what's next ?
You then eat less also,
or eat more outside the home,
or do more take out food ?
I assume you still eat the same amount ... ?
Each time we go out for groceries, I spent considerable time in front of the frozen food section.
Then look at all those suggested ways to serve what ever is in those frozen food packages !
Then I take a pic (hooray for smart phones) and shop for the ingredients.
These so called cooking shows on now are more for the drama than actual cooking. And who has truffle oil in their kitchen? Not everyone is a multi millionaire living in The Hamptons or married to a millionaire rancher in Oklahoma.
Oh come on, truffle oil isn't all that expensive. Not really much more than a bottle of hot sauce. We keep getting gifted them (family of foodies), but use truffle oil so infrequently that they're piling up. That and interesting sea salts. At first it was great, but now I see all of these various sea salts we've accumulated (Hawaiian sea salt, smoked sea salt, hot pepper sea salt) and it feels like "oh boy - I need to find a reason to use this stuff up".
(Yes, first world problems).
But I agree that the cooking competition shows are more about the drama. I lost interest in all cooking shows a few years ago, but I'll watch the recipe-based shows while at the gym and there's nothing else on tv. Nothing like racking up miles on the treadmill while watching the Barefoot Contessa make fried chicken, or some such.
The only cooking show I still liked was Ina's, so two or three years ago, I got rid of all but the most basic cable. The competitions ruined it for me, as well as Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.
I like Michael Simon on The Chew, Ina Garten, and I loved Martha Stewart. Cook's on PBS is great. I watch a lot less than I used to, but I still cook a lot. I think it is because if I want a new idea for something to make I just Google some recipes.
I remember when a friend of ours got divorced. We asked him if he was doing much cooking and he said no, he only watched a lot of Food Channel.
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