The Food Network

Scott: People ask me if I like the Food Network, and most often I say yes. Other cooks say they do not like the channel because it shows how to "push a meal out in 30 minutes." I have to disagree, I think a network that convinces someone to try and cook something at home instead of going to McDonald's, is a good thing. Not everyone has the access to a restaurant kitchen, not everyone has the time to spend hours prepping and cooking a meal. A home cooked meal in 30 minutes is better than KFC any day.

Stew: I agree with you. While many people will scoff and hate on Rachael Ray, I personally am annoyed every time she opens her mouth, but you have to see the merit in her cause. Lets say you are a single parent trying to put quality food on your table for your kids so you don't have to resort to the take out menu every night. Its for this reason you will never see a cooking show with Grant Achatz, author of Aline, or Ferran Adria, executive chef of El Bulli. What they offer does not have any appeal to the home cook because its ten steps ahead of their abilities or needs. And that is fine because it is not what the Food Network is all about, its about giving the frustrated home cook new ideas that are easy to make with items that are easy to procure. Put a show on tv about sous viding and see how long that lasts.

Scott: It'll last 24 hours, about the time it takes to sous vide a flank steak. Once people realize they can cook a flank steak in 15 minutes they will never watch again. Instead they will watch Alton Brown, who makes learning about the science behind the food, fun. While his recipes are not all winners, they provide a good launching off point to encourage experimentation at home. Rachel Ray provides 2 or 3 shows daily showing how to make a full dinner in 30 minutes. Watching her show for one month, while driving you crazy, will give you 90 meals that are simple and quick to make. There is a strong benefit to what the Food Network does. However, there are somethings that I do not like about the network, its constant airing of competition shows. I've seen enough cake competitions to last a life time, and they have no redeeming value, they are not teaching the viewer anything they can do at home.

Stew: Agreed its like what happened to MTV when they stopped showing music videos and started showing The Real World and Date My Mom. It all started with Iron Chef Japan, which showed culinary competition using ingredients many of us stateside had never even heard of, and people loved it. Now we have countless Food Network Challenges that don't do anything for the home viewer except to say, "Look what you can, and will, never do." If Food Network could get back to the shows they were putting on even 5 years ago, we would appreciate and respect them much more.

Scott: Speaking of dating your mom, what's the difference between you and a mallard with a cold? One's a sick duck and I can't remember how it ends, but your mother's a whore. But, back on topic. Cooks who can not see the benefit of what the Food Network is, are pretentious, arrogant, pricks who see cooking as a means to reign their "superiority" over someone who chooses to not spend 10 hours making a meal, who after a long day at work, just want a warm meal for their family. As a cook, I am grateful for the shortcuts I have learned from the Food Network, and will continue to use them when I work, and when I cook for friends.

Stew: Hey my mother is a saint, while your mother put you through college servicing 15 now 16 year old wanna be chefs. But back to the issue, the Food Network has made food and cooking a desirable area of society, and an accepted one. Before them if you told your parents that you wanted to be a chef they would tell you to go to your room and wait till you came down off whatever drug you were on. Now we have thousands of people competing to be cooks and chefs. Culinary schools are sprouting up all over the country and our dark and secret world now has the spot light firmly fixed upon it. All in all the Food Network is a good thing, even if the do show competitive food styling.

First Post

Scott : Pretentious, what does it mean to you? To us, it means acting better than you really are, talking about things you have no real idea of, "sous viding" things that do not need sous vide. Flank steaks, for one.

Stew : What next, "Sous Viding" bread? Now I am not saying that sous vide is not a new and exciting area of cuisine, but really there are certain traditions that should be left alone. When I want to cook my short ribs low and slow I am going to braise them in my oven and bask in the smell of braised shorties for the next few hours, not just "pretend" to smell them.

Scott : Well, I am saying sous vide is not an exciting area of cuisine. You know what cookbook no one in the world needs? This one. Why would you want to cook something for 24 hours, when you could easily cook a flank steak in 15 minutes. Like you said, the best part of cooking short ribs is smelling them in the house for 2 hours. Sous vide is a waste of time.

Stewart : Ok well we will agree to disagree. My main point with this blog is to illuminate people minds to the terrible road that our society has decided to follow...

Scott: And sous vide is that road!

Stewart : Shut up, let me finish. My main issue is when a person that should be ridiculed and shunned for their arrogance and pompousness are celebrated and awarded, especially when they are just old enough to drive a car. These are the people that give our trade the terrible name and re-enforce negative stereotypes usually only reserved for the French. We can stand ideally by only so long, our time is now, it’s on fool.

Scott: I agree, cooks are usually very arrogant when working on the line or over a beer afterwards. They do not blog about how awesome their food is and how everyone should be thankful for it, and tell them how great it is, when it's not.

Stewart : Right, old seasoned line cooks have the right to be arrogant because they have been through the old school kitchen brigades. They took physical and mental abuse and stuck around to become the best at what they do, cook. In my time on the line and working around cooks and chefs I can safely say, no matter how bad or tough you think you are there is someone else in that kitchen ready to smack you down and check you back to reality.

Scott: Yes, and that's what some blogs need, getting smacked back down to reality.