# Issues with Chef Lorena Garcia



## chefmannydlm (Jun 22, 2013)

OK, so besides being the new "face" of Taco Bell, which is a crime unto itself, I have a huge beef with "Chef" Lorena.  Basically, I hate the latest Taco Bell commercial.  For those of you who have not seen it "Chef" Lorena talks about her latest creation to all of her assistants or cooks or whatever all while waving her knife carelessly around in the air.  The others all dart out of the way while she is doing this.  I'm sorry but I call major BS on that.  I don't care who you are, but you don't do that.  I know that anyone who has worked in a professional kitchen knows you just don't wave your knife around.  It is just common sense. I know they are doing this just for the commercial and effect, but C'MON!! Maybe I am getting worked up over nothing, but does this not bother anyone else?


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## pollopicu (Jan 24, 2013)

Idiotic deceitful commercials have always bothered me, which is why I stopped subscribing to cable tv altogether.


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## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Forget about it Jake, its Chinatown.


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## michaelga (Jan 30, 2012)

TV...

... something about not real...

TV...

...so stupid...

TV...

...some-person I've never heard of...

----

Calling major BS on some-unknown person who claims to be a 'chef' for a commercial on TV?

... get your doctor to adjust your meds and don't wave your knife around!

(seriously - i'm not kidding here... most food TV stuff is terrible... ie. rot-your-brains-bad... I can't imagine what the I won a Chef-Job-On-TV types are like but i'd probably guess It's bad... really bad)


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

http://shine.yahoo.com/latina/celeb-chef-gets-gig-taco-bell-194200005.html

Alot of market research goes into what these big businesses do.

So whether we like or dislike these celebrity chefs ... the public-at-large loves this stuff. 

Yes, they appear to be moronic to a trained professional, and I would be willing to wager some good money that these TV Cooks would feel the same way as you... asking the director, why am I doing THIS? ... it's called theatrics and folks eat it up with two spoons!


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## left4bread (May 8, 2009)

I hate, HATE reality TV, especially the "chef" line of reality TV.

So that means that I don't know who you're talking about.

I do, though, understand your displeasure at having a spokesperson completely sell out

http://www.yumsugar.com/Alton-Brown-Welch-New-Spokesman-2491481

Rick Bayless slinging for BK... 




All proceeds go to.... It doesn't matter. There are way more respectable ways to make money for non-profits.

To be a lamprey, to parasitically attach yourself to a corporation that is spreading harm...

To help spread their filth...

Unforgivable.


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

… everybody's gotta make a buck!

Whether or not REAL chefs like this stuff or not, 

Mr. & Mrs. Joe Q. Public eat this stuff with two spoons, 

that's one of the reasons Corporate America 

signs these 'celebrity chefs' on to HUGE deals.


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I don't like this commercial any more than the old Tide commercial, where a supposed chef would talk about how Tide gets all the stains out, and as he's plating he takes his hand and smears what looks like yellow bell pepper puree across the front of his coat.

What chef does that in reality?

Waving a knife around while speaking is idiotic, fortunately it can't lower my opinion of taco bell any further than it is.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

I too can not watch any of those reality Chef's programs.

They are not entertaining. 

Actually, the (Chefs) on the program remind me of my days in the kitchen working side by side with cooks who couldn't

and customers who have no clue how to cook telling me how to.

Remember that this type of stuff is not for us. It is entertainment for "them."

...And to sell their product.....


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/story?id=8147630&page=1

I guess he was just too dear to our hearts to be replaced with just any dog from a barrio street corner.

They had to find one in a professional kitchen.

RIP little guy. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/crying.gif

mimi

Oh....No yo quiero Taco Bell....just IMO.

m.

*had a bit of trouble with the above Mexican translation is it (no yo) or (yo no)?


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## cheferin (Jul 8, 2013)

I just tweeted yesterday about how disgusted I was at that commercial...  I feel like most kitchen shows only show the most negative a kitchen could ever be.  And no this commercial is only perpetuating those negative views.  She should be completely embarrassed of what she is portraying while wearing a chef coat and representing this industry.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

C'mon people...lighten up!

The company is getting just what it hoped for.

Comments and arguments on blogs and forums just translate into free ad time.

mimi


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## cheferin (Jul 8, 2013)

Not when all the comments are about how embarrassing it is.


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## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

The Pepsi Company owns Taco Bell as well as many more heavy hitters (translate....$$$$) and it doesn't really care if the comment is favorable or not..

Every time one of the companies is google searched (or just mentioned by name anywhere) on the 'net a little counter goes *tick*.

This is one way of getting your product or ad closer to the first position on a search page.

So good or bad it is still free advertisement.

mimi


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

I dunno....

Like several others, I don't have cable anymore, don't "do' the cooking shows or any TV for that matter.  Radio is another story.  Here in Canada we have the CBC, the radio is commercial free and suprisingly good programing-- great news and sports, good music.

I understand the need of advertising, the need to make a buck.  What I don't understand is the need to insult viewers, to stereotype people/races/professions, and basically to pi** the audience to a point where they reach for the remote to change channels or even better, turn it off.


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## rbrad (Apr 29, 2011)

Would Taco Bell even have a knife in any of their kitchens?


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## chefboy2160 (Oct 13, 2001)

rbrad said:


> Would Taco Bell even have a knife in any of their kitchens?


Perhaps a box cutter and scissors/img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


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## rbrad (Apr 29, 2011)

That's exactly what I was thinking.


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

I just saw the commercial for the first time. I actually found it to be mildly amusing. I don't think anyone in their right mind mistakes it for a documentary on chefs and our profession. It is a commercial for god's sake. People need to lighten up and not take themselves so seriously.

""Laughter is good for you. Nine out of ten stand-up comedians recommend laughter in the face of intense stupidity."
― Jim Butcher


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

cheflayne said:


> I just saw the commercial for the first time. I actually found it to be mildly amusing. I don't think anyone in their right mind mistakes it for a documentary on chefs and our profession. It is a commercial for god's sake. People need to lighten up and not take themselves so seriously.
> 
> ""Laughter is good for you. Nine out of ten stand-up comedians recommend laughter in the face of intense stupidity."
> ― Jim Butcher


Okay cheflayne do you see commercials on television where a doctor is in the operating room with nurses, and others specialists making stupid comments and acting out of character?

NO?

Why not? Because the medical profession is respected. Same with plumbers, electricians, lawyers...( Ahem...aside from the lawyer jokes) etc......

Chef Erin is right...


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## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)




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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

There are entire TV SHOWS around stupidity in hospitals, forget commercials.


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

flipflopgirl said:


> C'mon people...lighten up!
> 
> The company is getting just what it hoped for.
> 
> ...


Thank you FFG! It's TV, what do you expect? I personally love the reality shows having to do with food. Nothing makes me smile more when people get yelled at by Ramsey for undercooking lamb. Donkeys. And Joe Bastianich? He makes MasterChef worth watching. His stern face and calm voice reminds me of his role as the killer in Seven.

Then again I flip through my roommates US weekly and People magazine occasionally. I might not be the best person to reply to this kind of thread.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

cacioEpepe said:


> Thank you FFG! It's TV, what do you expect? I personally love the reality shows having to do with food. Nothing makes me smile more when people get yelled at by Ramsey for undercooking lamb. Donkeys. And Joe Bastianich? He makes MasterChef worth watching. His stern face and calm voice reminds me of his role as the killer in Seven.
> 
> Then again I flip through my roommates US weekly and People magazine occasionally. I might not be the best person to reply to this kind of thread.


I dunno about that. Seems to me TV makes a sh*tty role model for customers.

Take for example a few months back, had a customer who has ordered cakes from me in the past, ordered a b-day cake on a Sat, and on Mon comes back and wants her money back. Couldn't tell me what the matter was, but it was her favorite (mile high dbl choc) the same she ordered the last few times. Was super p.o'd when I asked her for the remainder of the cake before I could refund her--she didn't see that one coming, in never was in any TV script....


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## someday (Aug 15, 2003)

You guys are funny. It's all well and good to be up in arms about this kind of stuff, but when was the last time any of you were offered, say, a million dollars to endorse something?

I'd take it in a heart beat. Forget about "integrity" or selling out, or respecting the profession, or whatever other euphemism you want--someone waves a million bucks, hell, even at this point, tens of thousands would be a lot, I'd endorse Taco Bell. Or Diet Coke. Or whatever. Why?

Well, I don't have a 401(k). I don't have a retirement fund, I don't have a college fund for my 4 year old, I drive a shitty car, live in a shitty apartment, etc. But boy, do I have integrity. A million bucks? Five hundred thousand? I could put that money away, and be happy knowing that someday in the future I won't have to work so hard for so little money. I'm a sous chef and I don't even crack 40k (almost). And hey, thats better than a lot of sous chefs. I know sous who make 30-35k. 

Now, we all make our choices, so I'm not necessarily complaining, but it's easy to judge people like chef Lorena, and Bayless, and Colicchio, etc/all when we aren't the ones getting fat stacks of cash waved in our face. And hey, just remember, she got the opportunity to endorse Taco Bell because she is a good chef. She didn't look like one for 30 secs on TV, but she's a good chef.


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

foodpump said:


> I dunno about that. Seems to me TV makes a sh*tty role model for customers.
> 
> Take for example a few months back, had a customer who has ordered cakes from me in the past, ordered a b-day cake on a Sat, and on Mon comes back and wants her money back. Couldn't tell me what the matter was, but it was her favorite (mile high dbl choc) the same she ordered the last few times. Was super p.o'd when I asked her for the remainder of the cake before I could refund her--she didn't see that one coming, in never was in any TV script....


What does that have to do with TV? People change their minds about things all the time. Sure, some people have ridiculous expectations because of TV, but it also helps us stay in business. If it wasn't for the national celebrity (and local celebrity) chefs I doubt we'd have the excitement about food as we do today. Exposure = interest. Sure, we can all wish that Rachel, Paula, Bobby, Gordon, Tom and Padma (ok, maybe not Padma) would go away, but they've done a lot for this business. To be mad about their contributions is kinda silly.

Going back to Lorena, the fact that she's slinging tacos made with who-knows-what and fronting like its fresh, sure, thats a problem. The fact that Gordon, Graham and Joe are advertising Wal-Mart meat on MasterChef, sure, thats a problem. I'd rather they be true to great products than have them "educate" people on how restaurants really work.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

Customer got the idea from a TV show, figured "what the (deleted), it's worth a try". Thing is, how do I make a buck--or even cover my costs when the customer wants her money back and has already eaten her cake?

Perhaps you think Seinfeld has done wonders for the hospitality industry? Like it or not, exposure it was....

Perhaps the "Groupon" a.k.a "Swarmjam" craze two years back had a positive influence on the hospitality industry? Where the restaurant is demanded to lower it's prices by 50% so a media corp can get _their_ customers a goodie and then take the restaurant an additional 25% for their cut? Real exposure there, eh? Well, it was, no arguement there. Just no way for a business to make a buck, or even cover it's costs.

No, the future for food and hospitality businesses, IMHO, is with education, not exposure. Educate the great unwashed public on how many processes a fast food item goes through, on the impact that product has on the producers/growers, on the cost of transport and packaging--all in the name of bland consistency so Joe Schmuck an enjoy a egg-product-like sangwich in Boston and the exact same thing in Singapore or Madrid. Does bland consistency trump everything else? Time will tell.

.


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

foodpump said:


> Customer got the idea from a TV show, figured "what the (deleted), it's worth a try". Thing is, how do I make a buck--or even cover my costs when the customer wants her money back and has already eaten her cake?
> 
> Perhaps you think Seinfeld has done wonders for the hospitality industry? Like it or not, exposure it was....
> 
> ...


Not really sure where the Seinfeld or Groupon example fit in considering that Groupon is something a restaurant or company signs up for themselves. Which in any case is up to the owner, not the pressures of a media corp, is the one that ultimately agrees to fold under pressure from whomever.

I feel as if you're confusing what a TV cooking reality show is supposed to be, entertainment. If there's a bit of education, great. I doubt you or the anyone else is picking up People magazine with Tom Cruise on the cover for "education" on Scientology. If they want an in depth read on such subjects perhaps they should pick up Discover, Time or Newsweek. It's the same for TV. You can't trust FOX tv to 'educate' someone on food just because Gordon is on the cover. Same goes for Lorena Garcia.

I do agree that ultimately education is the key, but education is something a person must seek for themselves. We can't expect TV to be the teacher.


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## cape chef (Jul 31, 2000)

Haven't seen the commercial in question.Why not work on our craft/art and not worry so much about the stuff we have no control over.

Happy cooking


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## cacioepepe (Apr 3, 2011)

cape chef said:


> Haven't seen the commercial in question.Why not work on our craft/art and not worry so much about the stuff we have no control over.
> 
> Happy cooking


Fair enough! On to the next thread!


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## mittgrund (Jul 24, 2013)

She's supposed to be an acknowledged expert chef of Mexican cuisine, but this idiotic commercial discredits her and Taco Bell, whose executives obviously see the stupid knife gestures as amusing.  And Ms. Garcia goes along with that.  Sad.  I stay away from places with stupid commercials.  But aren't Taco Bell and Pizza Hut connected?  Will have to stay away from Pizza Hut as well.  Note that the Taco Bell facebook site has apparently removed negative comments about this ad.


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## skipstrr (Jun 8, 2013)

I still crave taco bell


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## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

> She's supposed to be an acknowledged expert chef of Mexican cuisine,


Is she? Not really. The delicious irony here is that Ms. Garcia is Venezuelan.

BDL


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## shootoo (Jul 15, 2012)

cacioEpepe said:


> The fact that Gordon, Graham and Joe are advertising Wal-Mart meat on MasterChef, sure, thats a problem. I'd rather they be true to great products than have them "educate" people on how restaurants really work.


This...

I love Gordon, he's my boy. I've watched almost all of his shows... But him plugging Walmart? What in the hell? I was sooooooooo disappointed


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