Top Chef or Food Network Star
After watching Next Food Network Star for 3 seasons, I don't think any of them has produced a star. Top Chef has proven to have more validity as a food vehicle for the foodie viewer. It's just my opinion, what do you think?
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19 Comments:
I agree -- Top Chef definitely appeals to foodies more, but that's because show's contestants are mostly people who currently work in some pretty high-end kitchens and/or have gone to culinary school.
NFNS, on the other hand, is as much about personality as it is about cooking chops. I like it, too, but not for the quality of food that is produced -- more for the entertainment value.
If you're thinking of entering one of them and you are like me -- someone who loves food and cooking but lacks any professional culinary training or work experience -- then the NFNS is your chance to shine. Top Chef boots the untrained wannabes like me pretty quickly.
Just a quick note -- I actually have submitted a video for next season's food network star. If you want to check it out, click here. Who knows what they look for, but I'd be excited to compete!
Dominic
the zen kitchen
dvchurch at 9:55AM on 07/30/07
Watched your video- I think you should expand on your idea to appeal to kids. I have yet to see that anywhere on tv, though many cooking schools have courses for children. Who knows, maybe you will be the NFNS! Good Luck
Mich23 at 10:05AM on 07/30/07
Probably has to do with the fact that they are more interested in being famous than being well repsected chefs. Fame+chef=nasty ego maniac who opens too many restaurants and cannot maintain any quality.
www.ilsvont.com
ilsvont at 12:09PM on 07/30/07
It is no secret of what I think of Tuschman and company over at the sold out for sponsorship network (sponsored by cheese whiz)
The circus that is the next food network star is exactly what it is. Food network means nothing really other than the programming is about food.
Even though I no longer watch Food Network anymore. I managed to grab one episode of the last series. It reconfirmed why I don't watch it anymore. It is just horrible (and every word I know I cannot type here thats not pg) I would rather watch Gordon Ramsey on Hell's kitchen part 3 emotionally rape the contestants, although painful at least its not crap. Tuschman and crew do not care what we the original foodie audience have to say about anything because he continues to expand the medicocrity to new depths.
Top Chef is the best one of the three because I enjoy the pressure, the pain and the pull a menu out of your butt in 2 hours, just like in real life.
The only thing missing from the judges on Top Chef is Charles Nelson Riley. God rest his soul.
JerzeeTomato at 12:49PM on 07/30/07
All these reality shows lack any intellectual content and only satisfy the narcissitic need of all those involved. Unfortun
Natalie Sztern at 1:09PM on 07/30/07
None of these reality shows have any proven content except to satisfy the narcissistic need of all involved. Unfortunately the internet along with youtube, vlogging et al have us all engaging in stardom and what used to be considered entertainment now has us practicing elements of voyeurism of other peoples lives.
the television medium needs to bring back the drama, the sitcom, the funny, the interesting or we will become a nation void of an entertainment industry and full of narcissistic nincompoops
Natalie Sztern at 1:17PM on 07/30/07
I hate NFNS. None of the contestants can actually cook and none of them have "star" potential since they all lack vision, uniqueness, and are pretty damn annoying. Not only are they untalented when it comes to food, they can't handle being in front of a camera, and they cry all the time. Why did any of these people get casted????
Top Chef is much better. It's not as 'hollywood' and the challenges and prizes are actually challenging and real. The contestants from Top Chef have gone on to do things a real chef would - like open a restaurant or produce food shows.
Chau at 1:21PM on 07/30/07
Top Chef, all the way. These are people who can really cook and are competing for a chance to take their culinary careers to the next level. While I don't always agree with the judging (sometimes I am disappointed when decisions are made based on a single dish rather than on cumulative success throughout the competition and other qualities that truly denote "top chef"), I enjoy watching the contestants' skills and creativity, and respect Colicchio in particular and the talented guest judges who critique the contestants' food.
TNFNS features mostly contestants who might have some cooking skill but really just want to be on TV. None of them deserve their own show, IMHO, and there is a reason why previous winners' shows are on at such prime viewing hours as 9am on a Sunday - nobody watches them anyway. This competition is precisely what I think Food Network needs a lot LESS of: mediocre talent disguised by a mildly entertaining or attractive presenter. Jerzee is right, it is all about promotional plugs now, and since Mario Batali doesn't use too many Kraft or Nabisco products in his food, he's pretty much on his way off Food Network completely. I think we're headed for a real dumbing down trend on FN, and I for one am switching to many programs on PBS that you can really learn from, regardless of how much personality or cleavage the host has.
The one FN exception may be the upcoming The Next Iron Chef; Michael Ruhlman is slated to be one of the judges!
Jeana at 1:25PM on 07/30/07
Food Network, on the whole, has declined severely in the past however many years. Gone are truly instructional shows like Sweet Dreams with Gale Gand, master of desserts at Tru, and Mario Eats Italy, a delightful travel/cooking show; now we just get boobs courtesy of Giada and Ingrid Hoffman (whose fake exuberance makes me want to break things), and quick "healthful" meals courtesy of Rachel and Dave Lieberman (I went to college with him and I have my opinion on him, which I will not share on a public forum). There's little to learn on Food Network except on Iron Chef (because there are real chefs on there) or from Bobby Flay (when he's not doing a stupid throwdown).
So that being said, of course I prefer Top Chef. I want to learn how to make something marvelous from bizarre or even mundane ingredients. I do not want some boring woman telling me how to "morph" an ingredient into three different meals (and by the way, morph means to change form, and I'm pretty sure that Robin Miller's roasted chicken does not change form in the fridge during the course of the week, because if it did, I sure as hell wouldn't go near it).
charm city cupcake at 12:20AM on 07/31/07
Yes, the Food Network has certainly gone down hill over the last few years. I used to be hooked on it several years ago, but since Giada began thinking it was more important to show her breasts than to cook, I decided to turn off the TV and buy some more cookbooks. Did anyone see the latest edition of Esquire? Here's the site to see Giada covered in tomato sauce, trying to look sexy. Instead, she looks cheap and gross.
http://www.esquire.com/women/women-we-love/delaurentiis0807
I'd be interested in knowing how many of you actually think this article shows her off in a good way rather than a gross and disturbing way. Thanks.
Cory at 9:28AM on 07/31/07
DISTURBING! Now, that was gross. If anyone thinks Giada looks good in that feature, they need a good doctor. All I can say is that her bobble head looks even larger, and her body does not fit that huge head. It really is gross, especially for someone who believes she is so sexy. I honestly think she needs to see a good psychologist or something. She has some major problems with her image, and the tomato sauce doesn't help!
elpida at 9:38AM on 07/31/07
@Cory & Elpida- is that Giada or Stephen King's 'Carrie'? GROSS!
I haven't watched either show this season. I don't have Bravo (cheapie cable!) and have weaned myself from FN. Even Hell's Kitchen is too much for me to bear these days. I think they are encouraging people to aspire for stardom because of their faces and antics and not concentrate on creating good food. Food is a passion for me. I wouldn't want a show, magazine, blog or what-have-you that didn't make that passion obvious readers or viewers. I think alot of that gets lost amongst lavish sets and spokesperson money.
If I'm ever home on a Saturday morning again I'll tune in to PBS, the original food network, to watch Julia, Jacque and the dorks at America's Test Kitchen. Oh, here's my dirty little secret....I used to love the Frugal Gourmet! Jeff Smith entranced me until he was busted as a pedophile. I was crushed and creeped out at the same time. Still miss him to this day.
AuntJone at 11:06AM on 07/31/07
Top Chef rocks.
sawyerriley at 1:54PM on 07/31/07
That Esquire link grossed me out completely. How could anyone think that looks good. While I generally dislike Giada anyway...too concerned about the boobs...I dislike her even more now. What was she thinking? She'll do anythink at all to get attention. That's usually the sign of someone who gets little or no attention from their spouse. If that's the case, who can blame him? YUCK!
vb at 4:00PM on 07/31/07
I definitely think Top Chef is more popular! I like it better too :) More addictive!
Chew on That at 6:31PM on 07/31/07
If that is what a food network star(Giada in Esquire) is supposed to aspire to , no wonder no one of quality will apply. I actually did not mind her until I saw that. Long live Top Chef!!!
Mich23 at 6:35PM on 07/31/07
I agree, that Esquire photo was ill-considered. Whats the most icky squicky thing for guys re: girls? Squishy..., red, oh my goodness .. it absolutely evokes Carrie.
This last episode of TC with Rocco (who I have a negative bias against but want to give him credit, if I can).
Tom came off looking like a jackass. It looked like the producers were working overtime to make him look like an ass. I wonder if there is a rift there and they are starting to edge him out.
Jackass moments:
the whole truffle pissy fit of his including his stud-fest against Rocco.
the whole prissy thing about the tinned artichokes and the precious 6th grade girl look he gave.
the whole nasty trash talk for the camera right outside the kitchen door after his walkthrough
there is more but, well, its tedious really
I gotta say, I really loathe Tom. Padma, eh, she is benign to me. Tom, he is a loathsome egotistical..., I better stop before I say something unkind.
Food Network Star? pathetic. It makes me sad to watch only because well, because I wasted some time of my life when I could have been doing something really important, like cleaning my range top or dumping the kitty litter or even scraping my deck. These things are of great life importance in comparison to TFNNS.
I personnally prefer Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares and Iron Chef to any other food program.
Oh can I say I find that wine parings chick fantastically creepy?
She is like this minute alcoholic elf in the kitchen who is sneaking about making queer meals that are meant to showcase vague wines which she quaffs, gulps oddly, eyes bulging, and gasping she says how it absolutely compliments the peanut-cabbage-foie gras burritos she just made.
Nika at 1:31PM on 08/03/07
Cory & others: You nailed it on Big-Head and her two talents. OK, she has three: she CAN cook. But it's the emphasis on personality over cooking that has turned me off to Food Network, even as I couldn't turn off the channel a few years ago.
I watch Hell's Kitchen but don't like it so much anymore: Ramsey has bought into the American reality TV ideal that each season must be more XTreme than the previous, in order to keep some perceived impression of audience interest. I far better liked his BBC America show, the one with the turkeys. He seemed a lot more natural in that series.
Remain a fan of Rachel Ray, because so many Americans I know can't cook a freaking can of pinto beans and they need her help. However, I'd rather see her in the kitchen cooking a 30-minute meal than traipsing around Lower Cape Butt, ME, cooing over lobster simmer in Budweiser, or whatever.
Still like that Canadian grill fellow for running a sane TV show. Alton Brown still works for me; I like the geek-meets-chef presentation.
And there remains that Belgian chef whose name I never got, who ran a weekend show in Brussels in which everything was prepared on a flat-top stove humming at the same temperature, and food preparation was based on the temperature of the stove. Now THAT guy could cook!
TikiPundit at 12:46PM on 08/11/07
Nika I find Andrea an automaton. She grinds out wine pairings with very little elan. I have to say thought over the years she has managed to fake smile. Her whole face fights it but she manages it. They have given her an extreme makeover and she looks better than she did 5 years ago. Back then she looked like someone had drug her out of the kitchen and wound her up. She also was less (if you can imagine) animated. So after an extreme makeover and some vocal/camera training we now get the sneering automaton. I personally do not like people sneering when they talk about wine. I think that her shows are (IMO) flagrantly smug.
JerzeeTomato at 9:39AM on 08/12/07