AdamH Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Glad you asked. I'll do it by category since you also asked for that RECIPES: A tough choice, but Mario Batali HOT: Nigella Lawson! Plump, English...like a deep-fried Mars Bar with legs! PHILOSOPHY: Anthony Bourdain. Because he stnads up for all of the things that are bad for you. Hot dogs, pork fat, steak and especially butter, which I can't imagine life without. I'm sure there are foodies on this board. If not, well you can take your McDonald's and stick it in your colander Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meggo Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 ooooh fun thread. i have a lot of favourites, too: jamie oliver: i like the setup of his show the best, the food he makes is neat, he's a musician and he's hot. nigella: she makes yuuummmeee looking food, and she's hot in a nice way, she's not a spindly girl. kinda like the girl version of jamie oliver, or vice versa. martin yan: funny ken kostick: funny, when he used to be on 'what's for dinner'. his new show is boring, and i'm pretty sure that's why it's on at 3am. rocco: italian food, and cause he's rocco. mmmmmmm. the 2 fat ladies: for their liberal use of lard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 "RECIPES: A tough choice, but Mario Batali" Personality - none! Nobody beats Rachel Ray!!! Best celebrity chef would have to be Alton Brown!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I'm a big fan of Alton Brown and his show Good Eats. The chef from whom I've learned the most, though, is a Canadian: James Barber, who I first saw on his show, "The Fry Pan Man", on channel 11 when I lived in Toronto. His kitchen on that show was about as primitive as you could get: one two-burner Coleman stove, one cast-iron skillet, a sauce pan, and a jug of water + a garbage pail instead of a sink. With just that, he made some of the best food I've ever seen made. His current show is "The Urban Peasant", and it's a joy to watch (I've also got one or two of the cookbooks, and they're also great). Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 How bout that Brad...I guess great minds think alike! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I like Bobby Flay because he's so obnoxious on those Early Show appearances. Another vote for Bourdain (check out egullet.com where he is/was a regular board member) and a tip of the cap to Chin Kunichi of Iron Chef fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Bruno Gerusi's show had a LOT of wine! ken kostick was funny on what's for dinner because his female costar (can't remember her name) was a snarky girl. He was mainly her straightman. heh pun intended Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberdinghy Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Screw Bobby Flay too...He's just an a$$hole...Doesn't even know how to BBQ on his new show...How many times have I seen something get burnt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jakis Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Wok with yan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberHippie Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 For pure entertainment value, I always got a kick out Wok with Yan. Pasquali is pretty funny to, when he start busting out tunes! For coolness factor I really dig Anthony Bourdain. I haven't read his book "kitchen confidential" yet, but his show is pretty cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimafleck: the living legend. Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 alton brown is pretty good.... rachel ray gets on my nerves.....but i probably use her recipe's/ideas the most bobby flay is a douche bag i like that big tall canadian lumber jack looking guy with the beard and long hair....his new show is Chef at Home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I'm not sure he's my favourite, but the one I am most envious of is Kevin Brauch, a.k.a. The Thirsty Traveler. He goes around the world, and finds out about, samples, and cooks with various local alcoholic beverages (everything from beer to mezcal). Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CyberHippie Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 (everything from beer to mezcal) Hey thanks for reminding me, I have a big bottle of mezcal that I totally forgot about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patchoulia Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I gotta go with James Barber--I just *love* him! He's so adorable! I wish he was my grandpa. Anyway, the thing I like about him is the practicality of his cooking (and, really, his pragmatic cooking philosophies). "It's your kitchen--use what you've got!" For the inexperienced cook, this may be a daunting credo, but James Barber cooks in such a way that he provides you many options in recipes, and, in doing so, teaches you the basics of cooking: "If you haven't got wine, use apple juice. If you haven't got apple juice, use water. It's your kitchen! Use what you've got!" He also gives great, basic, common sense-type tips that are useful to cooks at all skill levels. As for recipes, I'm vegetarian, and I'm not really familiar with any "celebrity" vegetarian cooks. I once watched a "vegetarian" cooking show and they were using chicken stock, which pretty much turned me (and the TV) off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 As for recipes, I'm vegetarian, and I'm not really familiar with any "celebrity" vegetarian cooks. I once watched a "vegetarian" cooking show and they were using chicken stock, which pretty much turned me (and the TV) off. If you can't use chicken stock, use vegetable stock! If you don't have vegetable stock, use apple juice! If you don't have apple juice, use water! It's your kitchen--use what you've got! :: Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlemonkey Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Dom Deluise, hands down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamH Posted October 27, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 I forgot about Barber - That's an insult to forget about: 1. His imaginary friends phoning him Mid-show 2. The biggest pepper grinder I've ever seen 3. His love of scotch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonberry Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 No question about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaRed Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Chef....from south park!He makes the best salty chocolate balls! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpaceWrangler Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Is Emeril just too obvious a choice? I'm really just learning to cook, with the help of my own personal favorite chef, but she has taught me that Emeril is king of the kitchen. Cooking with beer is a very good thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradm Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Another good one is Bob Blumer, The Surreal Gourmet. While he often goes pretty far into the campy/silly stuff (some of his presentations are a little cheezy, IMO), a lot of the actual preparation/cooking he does is pretty cool, and, like Alton Brown and James Barber, he demystifies a lot of dishes that are considered sacred or too hard for us average people to make. (He did zabaglione once, and it looked so easy, I may even try it some time.) Aloha, Brad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bokonon Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 if anyone needs a vegan chef i'm in! i'll host your show, i got what it takes, i'm cute, charismatic and have no qualms about delving in to writing my own book, developing my own sauce line and promoting the show on oprah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarcO Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 Now this is *my* kinda topic! I have a small, life-long obsession with cooking shows. I don’t know why, exactly, it’s not like I usually try out the recipes they provide, it's more trying to pick tips, approaches, attitudes, etc. So, my favorite celebrity chef has to be Anthony Bourdain. What can you say about an ex-junkie who travels the world eating cobra hearts and maggots? He's absolutely hilarious, a dark sense of humour mixed with a real passion for culture. One thing I like about his show ("A Cook's Tour") is that it's not at all a cooking show - it's a food show, plain and simple. And yes, "Kitchen Confidential" is priceless, a must-read for anyone looking for a case study in culinary arts. Growing up, I fondly remember James Barber, "The Urban Peasant". His approach has been delineated laready here, but he was sweet and approachable, taking a simple theme for each program ("tomatoes") and he always called for his magical ingredient: booze. Apparently that sweet old man hobbling around his BC kitchen was also a bit of a lush! Then there was Jeff Smith,"The Frugal Gourmet", on PBS. I used to watch his shows on Sunday nights. He always made down-home, wholesome foods in the Julia Child school of cooking, but without the emphasis on classical French technique. It was the perfect mesh of information and entertianment, nothing flashy but he and his sous-chef kept the show moving along nicely. Unfortunately, in his later years he was saddled with child-abuse allegations, which were dismissed but not before his passing. As for these days, I enjoy Jamie Oliver's "Oliver Twist" show, Bob Blumer's "The Surreal Gourmet" and anything with Mario Molto, although I must say his new show "Ciao America" is a bit fluffy fo my tastes. Tyler Florence's "Best" show is quite good too - in 30 minutes, he'll take off around the world looking for the "best" appraoch to whatever the theme is (pizza, paella, etc.) and then make his composite version at the end. The ones I cannot stand are Rachael Ray, that twit who is the "Manic Organic", Christine Cushing and Emeril. Just too self-absorbed and shallow for me. Which is a shame - a little more attention to details and information and less on style would improve these shows immeasurably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bouche Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 ALTON BROWN of GOOD EATS is one of my favorite shows on television! You can even find his episodes on www.suprnova.org We learn so much from that show, and he's pretty hilarious. The fundamentals and chemistry of cooking are more important than simply recipes. He's like the teacher I never had. Cook Like A Chef has many different chefs and themes and you can have favorite chefs on different episodes of that show. There's one guy who's name I can't recall, who's a great one. He's actually got a restaurant in HULL which I'm dying to go to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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