# Least Favorite, Current Food Themed Shows



## boar_d_laze (Feb 13, 2008)

Number One on my List of Grievances is _Restaurant Impossible_ with Robert Irvine.

BDL


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

Sorry _*BDL*_ my friend. That show is completely tolerable compared to: 

*Cupcake Stupidness*


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## kaneohegirlinaz (Apr 24, 2011)

Wow!

That's a difficult question …

Right _now_ anyway, I'd have to say "The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia", that is BAD!! It's not funny, it doesn't teach me anything...

There are several "hosts" that I feel are annoying and condescending

how they got on television ... a sorry excuse for entertainment, it's just plain NOT!!


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## chefhow (Oct 16, 2008)

Anything with Guy Fieri in it, you want to talk about a total pompus a$$, that is your poster child.


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## petalsandcoco (Aug 25, 2009)

Rachel Ray and Paula Deen. Their voices sound like nails on a chalkboard , besides the fact that they should not be on TV.

Guy Fieri , I didn't know he could cook ?   They are  cooking show hosts.

Petals


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

With only over the air channels to choose from, I pretty much have only PBS and its specialty channel Create to pick from. And most of those cooking shows are quite good.

Christina Cooks bothers me. She tosses off new age nonsense about purifying the blood, detoxifying the body with particular ingredients and so on. And I'm not impressed with her technique as shown on screen.

I started watching Kylie Kwong on Hulu today. She's OK so far.


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

While I usually don't like to jump on these "Who do we hate on Food TV" threads, I thought this article from today's NY Times might interest some of you

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/d...aurant-impossible-leaves-town.html?ref=dining

Mr. Irvine seems to make the same glaring mistake that many egotistic chefs do; that is, overvaluing his unique and personal vision of food and cuisine AND ignoring the needs, desires, scope and limitations of the local market. Mr. Irvine should add a market research team to his corral of design and culinary experts.

BTW, I find Guy Fieri's man-girdle enormously entertaining.


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## jolie4686 (Jun 16, 2010)

I cannot stand the barefoot contessa, everytime she comes on i turn off my tv.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Jolie4686 said:


> I cannot stand the barefoot contessa, everytime she comes on i turn off my tv.


I have no idea who this is, but anyone who calls themselves a barefoot contessa, implying that she may be a countess but is very informal and really just like everyone else, is irritating. Call yourself the barefoot cook, if you like. Why dig up a word that has no meaning now but to imply maybe you have "something" that makes you have the right to specialness but you graciously will concede to be like everyone else. How can anyone use a word like countess, prince, queen etc, today at all!?! aargh.

I haven't watched any cooking shows since the days of julia child. I'd rather read cookbooks. Breakfast is the best time, since i have to sit for a good half hour waiting for my blood pressure to rise up enough to consider myself definitely alive. Watching a show takes a lot more time. I would like do DO one though. That's been my dream since i was a very little kid making mudpies over 50 years ago. I would call it "in cheerful chaos" which is how i cook (don;t anyone dare take that name - it's mine!!!). I think i would only like cooking shows that show real people who work and have real kitchens without anyone chopping things and cleaning up for them but can pull out amazing meals in very little time.


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## foodnfoto (Jan 1, 2001)

The Barefoot Contessa is a reference to the Ava Gardner movie and the style of summer entertaining particular to summering in upscale Long Island NY.

It's unfair to criticize her for identifying a market need and successfully catering to it. 

BTW-she's a lovely person-I've worked with her many times. She knows her stuff.


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

foodnfoto said:


> While I usually don't like to jump on these "Who do we hate on Food TV" threads, I thought this article from today's NY Times might interest some of you
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/d...aurant-impossible-leaves-town.html?ref=dining
> 
> ...


His show is not unlike Gordon R's "Kitchen Nightmares" Pretty much the same scenario.

Interesting though, how they can only see the superficial parts of the failing business but not the real problems behind it.

They do really know, but this wouldn't make for good ratings and viewers so it'l all left on the editor's floor.

I'll watch "Diner's Drive In's and Dives" with the sound off.

I have a hard time even looking at they "Guy."


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

On one episode of RI, Irvine was helping out a BBQ joint.

He (rightfully so) gave the owner a rough time for the fact that their family BBQ sauce recipe started with a gallon of prefab BBQ sauce and had a few mundane ingredients added.

He stressed how ridiculous this was, and how everything should be from scratch.

Then they do a cook off, the owners ribs against his own.

Robert notes that the owner is applying a dry rub to his ribs, rather disdainfully, then shows how his are better by starting with a wet rub of worcestershire and soy sauce.

Not the most innovative wet mop I've heard of.

Then he applies his own dry rub on top of the wet, and rattles off the ingredients. All sounded okay until he said the words "and a seafood seasoning blend".

WTF?

Not much difference buying a BBQ base or a seafood spice.

If I can make it, I make it.

From my cajun seasoning to my steak rub, rib rub, whatever.

I've been trying to stress that to one of my cooks.

He gave me a steak seasoning recipe that consisted of about 20 ingredients. At least five of them were premade blends, like Montreal Steak Seasoniing, Old Bay Seasoning, etc.

I told him if he likes the Montreal season, look at the ingredient list and try to duplicate it, but personalize it at the same time.

I have no problem instructing my cooks in this manner.

Robert needs someone to instruct him as well.


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I remember that I was taken to task by another member on ChefTalk for saying I'd never heard of Mr Irvine and was informed he had catered for royalty and presidents.  Seems THAT story has now been amended to tell the truth....!

I've still never seen or read any of Mr Irvine's stuff  - but as I said at the time, it appears that most of his careers has been outwith the UK...


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

foodnfoto said:


> The Barefoot Contessa is a reference to the Ava Gardner movie and the style of summer entertaining particular to summering in upscale Long Island NY.
> 
> It's unfair to criticize her for identifying a market need and successfully catering to it.
> 
> BTW-she's a lovely person-I've worked with her many times. She knows her stuff.


Ok, i don;t watch many movies either. I guess you can cater to a market, but it wouldn;t be my style.

I actually imagined she was some Italian countess,. fluent in english, who wanted to be "casual" - shows what I know.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Fieri with his eating and drooling all over the kitchen(which is health hazard)  Tell you the truth have gotten sick of all of them lately.  The people they use for judges are in some cases not fit to judge anything.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I believe the seafood seasoning he is refering to may be  OLD BAY, which I have seen many people  use in a lot of things beside seafood. I guess thats their thing??


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Could it be that:

*Chef Robert Irvine.....real live Chef in the culinary world *

would be different than

*Chef **Robert Irvine actor?*

Could this all be pure acting for television viewers and ratings?

HELLO HELLO

Anybody out there?


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## durangojo (Jul 30, 2007)

i don't watch much tv and when i do it's never cooking shows...i'm much more comfortable with a cookbook or a magazine..i cook for a living and the last thing i want to see when i get home is some loud mouthed spiked hair 'dude' yelling at me with a mouth full of food, or an amped up ranting chef hellbent on degrading people, or stressed out competitors out for blood, or the other side of that, the sticky sickly sweetness of paula, rachael, sandy or giada....but amongst all of that glitter and bosums and butter stands Ina Garten, who as foodinfoto says, knows her stuff.  she is simple and elegant and her food while not 'new age' is fresh and timeless.  as a hostess she has an ease and charm about her that comes through in her food.  i don't watch her show...didn't know she even had one, but i have used many a recipe of hers.  she is a lovely contribution to the food world...a true artist

joey

and she's a really smart cookie to boot!


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

chefedb said:


> I believe the seafood seasoning he is refering to may be OLD BAY, which I have seen many people use in a lot of things beside seafood. I guess thats their thing??


I'm sure you're right.

Just struck me as hypocritical to chastise for using prefab, then do the same thing himself.

Old Bay is just a blend, a blend Robert could've added to his rub one ingredient at a time.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

Why? Why go through the trouble to put together all the ingredients, in a small little quantity, that you probably don't use all that much all the time, when you can just open and use a can/bottle of already prepared mix? I do not think that anyone is going to make it better, it's not a 30-second job to make the mix? Is time free? would you not have to pay someone, in one way or another to get the job done, which may not be any better or maybe not even as good? Do you milk your own cows? ... make your own butter/cheese? ... grow and process your own vegetables? I could go on. Why is it always constantly important to reinvent the wheel? _ We work in kitchens ... this aint'e rocket surgery. _


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## mikelm (Dec 23, 2000)

Agree with Joey about Ina Garten... she's really good and really intelligent

She was a nuclear weapons applications analyst, assigned to the White House, before she got into cooking. So, don't make her mad!/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif

Our SIL, an accomplished home chef, loves her work. He owns and uses all her cookbooks. I've been more than pleased with every one of her recipes I've tried, too.

Mike


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

Iceman!

  Here in Florida we have a unique problem. Because of the hi humidity and the interiors of food service places being one temp. daytime open hours and closed evening hours. Many things form condensation. Even salt and peppr shakers and sugar bowls on tables.

   Some time this condensated moisture runs down the container and goes into the  product, like a rub in a container .> It sits on shelf between uses and in fact forms a toxic  mold.

    I can;t tell you how many cases of food poisoning have occured here because of this. In one place a powdered MoJo powder in shakers on guest tables  was the culprit. It caused the place to go out of business. Every state and climate has its own unique problems. We just have to be aware of them.


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

IceMan said:


> Why? Why go through the trouble to put together all the ingredients, in a small little quantity, that you probably don't use all that much all the time, when you can just open and use a can/bottle of already prepared mix? I do not think that anyone is going to make it better, it's not a 30-second job to make the mix? Is time free? would you not have to pay someone, in one way or another to get the job done, which may not be any better or maybe not even as good? Do you milk your own cows? ... make your own butter/cheese? ... grow and process your own vegetables? I could go on. Why is it always constantly important to reinvent the wheel? _ We work in kitchens ... this aint'e rocket surgery. _


In context of the episode, yes, Irvine should have gone through the trouble.

No need to take it to the extreme ridiculous.

On spice blends....I love Paul Prudhomme. Always have. I like his spice blends, and have used them over the years. I still like to make my own.

Is mine better?

Not necessarily.

But to chastise someone for using prefab in one breath and then basically do the same in the next struck me as hypocritical.

Had he not ridiculed the owner for the sauce, I wouldn't have taken any issue with his use of Old Bay.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

_OK._ So I'm holding this bottle, _"Weber Chicago Steak Seasoning"_ in my hand. It contains 2.50 oz / 71 g. It cost me $1.50 _(2 for $3)_ + tx. I use 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs. trimmed out steak. I gotta believe that there is at least 10 teaspoons seasoning in this bottle, so I can do 100 lbs. of steak _(I know it's more)_. For a restaurant I would buy this bulk, so it's gotta be cheaper still. There is no possible way that the cost of making this stuff, after figuring out the blend specs and the cost of the same ingredients and including the time, is it worth making it yourself. Now that's just me and my opinion. *YOAMMV*. 

(*Y*_our_ *O*_pinion_ *A*_nd_ *M*_ilage_ *M*_ay_ *V*_ary_)


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

Again, you miss the point.

I don't make EVERYTHING myself.

I do buy some prefab season blends.

I prefer to make my own, but have and will use prefab.

The point was Irvine basically saying prefab is BS, then does the same thing himself.

I have been consistent throughout the thread on this point, not sure why you are choosing to take the thread in a different direction.

Want to use prefab?

More power to you.

I support your decision.

Use prefab but call out someone else for doing it, on national tv......ludicrous.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

_I'm just having conversation._ If you're taking that as _"going in a different direction"_, well ... sorry. 

I think _Irvine'_s show kinda sucks. I like _Ramsay'_s show, that is originally the same show. Lately there are a new bunch of shows trying to _re-do_ or _out-do_ the original shows. No matter however much I like _Anne Burrell_, her _"new chef"_ show sucks compared to the original. I'm not even going to watch _Bobby Flay_'s new show. Too many new shows suck.


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## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

I think Irvine's show kinda sucks too.

As far as Ramsey, the only good show he's done (IMHO) is the BBC version of Kitchen Nightmares.

A totally different animal than the US drama laden version.


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## mommat (Jul 29, 2012)

Just Jim, You crack me up!  But, it's true.  If you brow beat someone for using fre-fab stuff then you can't use it in your "own" rub.  Learn how to make it yourself.  MommaT


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## margcata (Sep 18, 2011)

On the Iberian Peninsula, there is a Breakfast Programme on Channel TVE 1 or Primera = First, and the female and male presenters have a cooking segment that is fairly awful.

I am unfamiliar with the Culinary Shows in the USA ...

The best are: Karlos Arguiñano, Canal Cocina ( a variety of Guest Chefs, from throughout the world ) and in English, The BBC ...

Have lovely August,

Margaux.


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