PrintFavorite Food Network Show and Chef
I have always loved watching the food network, but recently I have become addicted! It's all I watch! My favorite chef is Bobby Flay and ANY show of his!!! I especially like "Throwdown". What are some of everyone else's favorite shows and/or chefs?
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
Start Talking!
Need a question answered? Have advice to share? Start a Talk topic now!
Sign up to get your questions answered and share advice.
36 Comments:
I pretty much enjoy them all, even Aunt Sandy (albeit not for the reasons you think). I've learned the most from Tyler Florence. I've made several of his recipes and they came out fantastic.
BITTER at 12:07PM on 05/07/08
The Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten is my fave.
Brownie at 12:51PM on 05/07/08
@Brownie....I like Ina as well.
BITTER at 1:00PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown FTW.
unarata at 1:04PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown--for the nerd in me (he was in one of my dreams recently)
Ina Garten--have all her cookbooks, too.
Giada DiLaurentis--sometimes
You should also check out the Fine Living Channel and Discovery for their cooking shows. I like the guy on License to Grill, he looks like a pro-footballer, but his food looks/sounds great. And Kylie Kwong, love her Aussie/Kiwi accent, and the food porn is up there.
wookie at 1:26PM on 05/07/08
I like Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I like to see the restaurants. Guy is a little too much.
I learn the most from Alton Brown, Tyler Florence, and Michael Ciarello(?) I learned the greatest way to make meatballs from him. Paula Deen I try her recipes sometimes. I like to watch Nigella, Giada and Rachel Ray though I don't try too many of their recipes.
Ina Garten fixed radish sandwiches for a housewarming meal. I'll pass.
She is a good cook but I'm not interested in most of what she cooks.
I'd like to have Bobby Flay's outdoor patio.
eatorama at 2:07PM on 05/07/08
Tyler Florence's Bacon-Wrapped, Maple Glazed Roast Turkey saved my bacon (no pun intended) this past Thanksgiving. I have never tried one of his recipes and not had it turn out beautifully. He really is simple and wonderful. I love Alton, too, but then, I live with a high school band director...have got a teensy weensy obsession with "nerds". Paula reminds me of my grandmother, and when I cook her recipes, I feel as though I should have a cardiologist on speed dial (just a "lil bit" of butter, Paula?). Giada has too many teeth for my liking...her recipes might be great, but I just can't look at her.
rosezilla at 2:33PM on 05/07/08
Totally Alton Brown.
I used to have a crush on Tyler until he got puffy in the face.
charm city cupcake at 2:52PM on 05/07/08
food network is one of my guilty pleasures...
huge fan of mr. florence and mr. brown...i started watching tyler because he is so cute but then really liked his stuff!! alton is just fun to watch and answers things i always wondered "hhmmmm" about. Paula...i just love her 'cause she's everybodies friend and resident gramma. My BF is in love with Giada but not for her cooking ;) I do like some of her recipes but wish she would pull up her shirt every once in awhile.. I really cant stand barefoot contessa....something about that whole shows drives me nuts...
food network is one of my guilty pleasures...and I like Chef Duff and his masterpieces...
hungrygrl7 at 2:53PM on 05/07/08
Another vote for Alton Brown, both Good Eats and Feasting on Asphalt.
I also watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but for the most part, despite Guy, not because of him. And Throwdown with Bobby Flay has grown on me, to my surprise:-). I used to love watching "Ciao America" with Mario, even when they were running it at 4 am once a week.
Hubby and I watch Sandy every Saturday morning as a part of our weekly entertainment/tension release programme. Try it, it's fun (although your head might explode). That said, this is one time I'm very pleased I don't have HDTV.
brooke29 at 2:59PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown and Bobby Flay- hands down. I also love Giada and Jamie Oliver. However, when Michael Symon takes over Dinner Impossible I know that will quickly become my favorite. He is talented and HOT!! Meow!! My only saving grace is that my hubby is even hotter. lol.
sbelle at 3:29PM on 05/07/08
Giada DeLaurentiis and Ina Garten, although I am addicted to anything and everything Food Network! (Even reruns I have seen a dozen times!) :o)
annaliseree at 3:46PM on 05/07/08
Food Network blows. The only cooking shows worth watching are on PBS. Everything else is mind numbingly stupid. Except for Iron Chef. That still rules.
simon at 3:54PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown, Ina Garten and Giada. They always have the best recipes.
stickychewygooeyjen at 4:05PM on 05/07/08
Ina, Nigella.
bessfour at 4:07PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown. He's the best.
Traveller at 4:10PM on 05/07/08
Definitely love me some Ina.
Alton Brown is the television equivalent of attending cooking school.
I'd work for Duff Goldman for free just to learn from the talented staff.
Chiarello is more fun to watch than to try emulating.
Jamie Oliver's new show is his best so far.
Sorry I can't just pick one...LOL.
chiff0nade at 4:23PM on 05/07/08
Ouch, how could I forget Duff and Ace of Cakes! I don't even mind watching their reruns:-).
brooke29 at 4:40PM on 05/07/08
Alton Brown!!!! I almost never miss his shows.
I miss seeing more of Mario Batalli.
and Tyler is cute but too young.
OOPS were we talking about cooking skill? oh well I'll still stick with my list;)
huney_bumper at 4:40PM on 05/07/08
thank you chiff for reminding me about Ace of Cakes i moved from a small town outside of balitimore last year and am still bitter i didn't get a cool cake :). if i had know but i discovered the awsomeness shortly AFTER moving. that is the only reason (beside Alton Brown) I miss having the food network. When did bakers get me hot to bake :)
love2cook at 5:08PM on 05/07/08
The Real Food Contingent used to get accused all the time of being "jealous" of Shamdra Lee. That was never the case. However, I am jealous of the entire staff of Charm City Cakes. What a totally rockin' cool place to work. I mean - you have a psycho lunatic cake frippin' genius making a veritable playground in which his friends get to work.
I have six tattoos and will scrub sheet pans. Can I work there??
chiff0nade at 9:15PM on 05/07/08
I couldn't agree with you more, chiff! It always boggles my mind when I hear the big pro-Sandy argument being "you're all just jealous". On the other hand, every time I watch Ace of Cakes I tell my hubby: "imagine how much fun it must be to work there!" They are so bloody talented! This, if at all, is truly something to be jealous of!
brooke29 at 9:51PM on 05/07/08
Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten
Essence of Emeril, Emeril Lagasse
Tyler's Ultimate, Tyler Florence
Paula's Home Cooking, Paula Deen
Good Eats, Alton Brown
They are my favorites, I have made many of their recipes successfully and own some of their cookbooks.
I also like, but don't watch as often: Nigella Lawson, Bobby Flay, Jamie Oliver, where is Dave Lieberman?, Mario Batali, Ellie Krieger, Robin Miller. I would have liked to have seen Amy Findley - I liked her ideas.
Can not tolerate Gina Neely and Rachael Ray in any way, shape or form. Occasionally watch Sandra Lee for the shock factor and sheer entertainment value. I love to try to mimic her bizarre way of talking and I'm getting pretty good. I may take that comedy act on the road with corn nuts, angel food cake, cool whip and kiddie cocktails.
PerkyMac at 10:32PM on 05/07/08
Love - Alton Brown, Ina Garten, and Nigella Lawson (more for the accent and implied lifestyle than the recipes)
Hate - shows based on chefs running around frantically and shouting (Dinner Impossible, anything with Guy in it), and those endless Las Vegas competitions (World's Fruitiest Fruitcake Shaped Like a Disney Character), where the fruitcake ends up splattered on the floor during the pointless "Move the Fruitcake" phase. Oh, and Sandra Lee. She's insane, yet pathetic.
pourgirl at 12:58AM on 05/08/08
Iron Chef America is starting to wane...
Alton still has the goods on technique and knowledge..
Ace of Cakes, greatest comedy and cake show EVER
Jamie Oliver makes me want to plant a garden and build a stone oven outside...or maybe move closer to an open air market and use a grill more...
And I kind of like Bobbies setup and location (maybe even kitchen, grill, and patio) on Chillin and Grillin, or is that what its called now?
But PBS and Anthony Bourdain (travel channel) are closing the gap and pulling people away from FN, I don't get cable (or TV) where I currently live on a ship, but my Dad takes requests and sends them to me on DVD-R.
I would like to see what Fine Living and Discovery offer now, because everybody seems to be getting on 'the band wagon'.
tyronebcookin at 9:00AM on 05/08/08
It would be nice if they had a newly aired show, not the same repeat over & over again. I know Scripps wants "evergreen" programming, but it has become ridiculous. They are going to put on Pierre Freney, the Frugal Gourmet & repeats of dining out soon. Diners, Drive ins & Dives is good, but some of these places are a real stretch....they can go prettey low & disgusting. The trhow downs are not bad, but this Robin Miller & Sandra Lee with the outfit matching the kitchen is just wrong! Rachel Ray is phoning in her shows & Iron Chef America is soon going to have the chef from the Olive Garden on.
hondo3777 at 9:56AM on 05/08/08
barefoot contessa. i just love ina sooo much no matter how many hundreds of pounds of butter she puts in her recipes.
and i also love tyler's ultimate for some reason. it's always a good episode no matter what.
betsyg at 10:55AM on 05/08/08
Barefoot Contessa and Nigella Lawson.
lakeloverhh at 12:03PM on 05/08/08
@brooke: "...every time I watch Ace of Cakes I tell my hubby: "imagine how much fun it must be to work there!"
My BF went on their website after I said, "I'd intern there for free." He proceeded to tell me (sadly) that they are not accepting interns, help, assistants, etc. and they're about a year out on cakes. (BF is a real gem, I think he went on the site to try to get me a gig...LOL.)
@pourgirl: "Oh, and Sandra Lee. She's insane, yet pathetic."
Sister, you owe me a keyboard. That line sent my beverage through my nose.
Also @pourgirl: "Hate - shows based on chefs running around frantically and shouting (Dinner Impossible, anything with Guy in it), and those endless Las Vegas competitions (World's Fruitiest Fruitcake Shaped Like a Disney Character), where the fruitcake ends up splattered on the floor during the pointless "Move the Fruitcake" phase. "
Right on so many levels. #1 - the "running around chef" shows. (Maybe with the exception of Iron Chef.) This is the reason I don't watch Ramsay or Top Chef. It's so much running around and drama, the whole "cooking" aspect is lost. ("Drama" also accounts for why I didn't like the early reality TV show "The Restaurant.")
#2 - Cakes shaped like WTFever, then have to be moved. Come on. If any self respecting baker made a cake that had such fragile decorations on it, certainly they'd be applied at the venue where the cake was to be served. The whole "moving the cake" thing is so utterly stupid and unrealistic.
@perkymac: "Sandra Lee for the shock factor and sheer entertainment value. I love to try to mimic her bizarre way of talking and I'm getting pretty good."
LOLOL! I participate on another site and half the time when we're discussing Shamdra, we use her phoenetic spellings. i.e. "Groshery store;" "russipes" and "rose peppers." And don't forget the "whoot" she throws in every now and again. For me it's the word "nice." She inserts that word wherever she has a gap in dialogue as though every on camera second needs to be filled in with blabber. If she'd demo something halfway worthwhile, she could actually do it without speaking a word!
chiff0nade at 7:59PM on 05/08/08
ROFLMAO @ chiff, as usual!
I like Ina and Alton first and foremost. I'll watch them every time they're on unless it is a repeat.
I'm liking Jamie Oliver more than I did when he was first on TV. I love his passion for food- caught a snippet of the ep where he went wild 'shroom hunting with his 'mate'. Loved it!
I've started watching Molto Mario on Fine Living and I'm liking him more and more, too. I love how he says 'season agressively'!
I like Tyler Florence but can't stand his incessant use of "Ok" and "all right" as he's explaining something. He sort of mutters it so it probably doesn't bother anyone else and I'm just an over-observant weirdo....
I also watch SLop for entertainment value. She truly causes my head to want to burst. "Quasi-homemade meals for people who like to pretend that they've cooked". That's what her show should be called.
AuntJone at 1:32PM on 05/09/08
I like Essence of Emeril. When you can watch Emeril cook without having to be a performer for a live audience, you can trully appreciate his passion for food (both for the ingredients and techniques of preparing them) and for the people who work for him. He's a class act. Besides that, I find myself looking to Fine Living and PBS for cooking shows.
beth1 at 1:51PM on 05/09/08
Alton Brown for being unabashedly and delightfully technical. And zany. Bee puppets! He uses honeybee puppets! Amazing.
Matcha at 4:24PM on 05/09/08
Alton is by far at the top--GE and FoA are two of our few "appointment viewing" series, and he's responsible for about 80% of my cooking skills that I didn't pick up from a relative.
2nd tier, I.E. the show's we'll watch if they're on when we flip past, would be Paula Deen, Molto Mario, Jamie Oliver (mmm), Iron Chef America (if it's an interesting ingredient/challenger), the current reruns of A Cook's Tour, Unwrapped (Marc Summers is fun) and occasionally 30 minute meals if she's doing something interesting (most of her stuff I already know, but I've picked up a timesaving tip or two)
Hate: Dinner "Slightly Difficult", Guy "Fee-eddi" (eyeroll), and most of the travel/competition shows that don't feature Alton ;-)
Dark Lord of the Sith: Sandra Lee
OKLibrarian at 1:16PM on 05/10/08
I would love to see Ina and Paula together. Head-to-head, teamed as "buddies"--the contrast between Ina's haute-New York and Paula down-home Savannah just seems so funny and interesting to me. Southern-boy Alton could assist Paula and Manhattan-bred Bobby Flay could help Ina.
Sorry. I appear to be having one of those "If I was an Executive in Charge of Programming" fantasies.
So I like Bobby, Paula, Ina and most of all Alton. I agree with all the people who said they've learned from Alton--whenever I have a new ingredient with which I haven't worked before, I see if Alton has a recipe/technique for it. And I love how many of his shows start at Kroger's or Bed Bath and Beyond, because that's where I do all my shopping and it makes it very accessible.
I also love Iron Chef America. I agree with the people who said the "Challenge" shows are time-wasters. And Guy Fieri should be shot out of a cannon. And hey, whatever happened to charming Amy Findley?
annien at 5:10PM on 05/10/08
#1 Alton, #2 Ina - love her style and her kitchen!, #4 Tyler - he's cute and his food looks great, #4 Bobby Flay - Throwdown, #5 Jamie - I liked his old show too when he cooked in the european style kitchen with the tiny fridge.
Sandra Lee is one of the reasons why remotes were invented - so I can quickly change the channel!!
kathyb at 10:28PM on 05/10/08
I can't be the only one who likes Guy Fieri. I think most people who don't like him are women. Guy is a guy's guy cooking guy food for guys. He does stuff like hot dogs smothered with spicy meat sauce. And beer-can chicken. I can see how that kind of thing won't appeal to most women.
Personality-wise, he's loud and immature, like a too-successful frat boy. But who cares? He's enthusiastic about what he does and he communicates that enthusiasm well.
minstrel at 4:23PM on 05/18/08