By Stuart Stein •
October 31, 2008
In a recent post entitled Do TV Executives Think We’re Stupid?, I ranted, with the help of author, critic and food writer John Mariani, about the worst (and best) cooking shows on television. I’m taking another cue from Mr. Mariani, choosing my favorite movies where food is a character.
Luckily, there are some wonderful food- and wine-related films that tell us more about the seductive interplay of food and wine, cooking and canoodling, elation and exhaustion than some pumped-up TV “chef” screaming into the camera.
By Stuart Stein •
October 27, 2008
Since I received such a great and varied response from my post, Do Publishers Think We’re Stupid?, I am continuing the series with Do TV Executives Think We’re Stupid?
Author, critic and food writer John Mariani, (Esquire magazine, Diversion magazine, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Radio and The Italian-American Cookbook among other books) published an article in the August 2008 Esquire magazine, The Worst (and Best) Cooking Shows on Television.
Mr. Mariani writes,
As someone who writes about food and restaurants for a living, I have near-zero interest in watching most of the food shows on TV, where hijinks, hair, and cleavage have replaced the authoritative, careful instructiveness of Julia Child, David Rosengarten, and Sara Moulton — most of whom are either off the air, dead, toiling in obscurity, or relegated to reruns.
The Food Network, which once had all those people on, is now home to a bunch of screaming, loutish characters who read from cue cards with about as much as contrivance as Jerry Springer sympathizing with a 400-pound transsexual. Still, there are some good shows out there that teach you as much about how to cook something as about the culture or reasons behind it.
Here, here! Let me expound on his insight and give you my opinion of the Bad, the Ugly and the Good.
By Stuart Stein •
October 16, 2008
The people over at Slashfood turned me on to an article from the Wall Street Journal entitled Publishers Bet Big on Cookbooks. the gist of the article is that even though people maybe cutting back on luxuries like eating out, the tanking cookbook publishers are counting on all of us to buy their product - especially during the upcoming holiday shopping season. By the way, I hate to be the one to tell you this but there are only 69 shopping days left until Christmas.
My question is, Do publishers think we’re stupid?
By Kelli Best-Oliver •
September 18, 2008
Sometimes when I think about what to cook for dinner, my brain hurts. There are just too many factors to consider, including: what’s in the pantry, what I feel like, what needs to be used up, what my picky husband will actually touch, what I would actually prefer. This is a result of living in a country where our choices and options regarding food are so mind-bogglingly vast for many of us. It’s terribly easy to fall into a rut of only eating five or six different dishes that you know you’ll like, but that can get so tiring. So what’s a conscious cook to do when looking for fast, healthy, meal ideas? Find out, after the jump…
By Alex Felsinger •
September 11, 2008
Science-savvy chef Alton Brown has announced that future episodes of his hit Food Network show Good Eats will include discussions about sustainable and local food choices. Brown said he decided to make the change after noticing that many of his biggest fans were packing some extra pounds from following the typical American diet that his shows often promote.
Brown, who also hosts Iron Chef America, said he hopes to use the popularity he has earned during his time at the Food Network to help the environment. Good Eats attracts an average of 770,000 viewers for new episodes, and then re-runs flood the network for years to come. “After nine years at the Food Network, hopefully I’ve got some credibility and leverage,” the celebrity chef said. “It shouldn’t ALL be fluffy holiday stuff—it shouldn’t ALL be butter, for God’s sake.”
By Stuart Stein •
August 19, 2008
It’s been all over the food blogosphere and several wire services, but in case you’ve missed what Eater SF calls the Death of Society:
The Food Network is getting into the competitive eating genre with a new series, tentatively titled “Eat the Clock.”
The show is described as a cross between an eating competition and “The Amazing Race.” Two teams of contestants rush to various Los Angeles eateries and gorge themselves in face-stuffing challenges.
Reuters, Monday, August 18, 2008
Interesting timing if you ask me with only 11 days until the ultimate celebration of the appreciation of food, Slow Food Nation ‘08.
