Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

This would be a wonderful thing. Think about it, AMC runs classic movies. Fox has reruns from years ago. FN or PBS should belly up and do the same thing.

If nothing else at least a special documentary on 'the History of Cooking Shows'. And then stretch it out to include a DVD Collection for $29.95 and if you order in the next 30 minutes they can throw in a set of Rachael Ray knives! :0) It would go along with my 'unseen footage' of WWII films. Or Seinfelds complete collection.

In all seriousness - there is some history here and I agree with you it needs to be presented to the public. Would make a nice thesis project for a college student.

Thx

The PBS station in my area shows Nick Stellino and Julia Child. Sundays at 2:30...NJ area.

I love watching PBS - I get to see Cook's Country, Hubert Keller, Lidia, Jacques Pepin, Joanne Weir, all the greats.

@dbcurrie... I love the idea of TVLand for Cooking.

The format could be old cooking shows during the day and late night with a "new lineup" for primetime. Shows that are foodie approved and not of the variety you see on TVFN.

I have never seen a Julia episode, and I would absolutely love to be able to watch them. As some may know, I am relatively new to this whole 'cooking' thing, and FN definitely served a useful purpose in getting me into the art. When I was growing up, my mom and dad were very good about always having a hot meal on the table for dinner (and breakfast, actually - I was very lucky). However, cooking was not an art that was praticed/passed down in their kitchen. It was a matter of 'hurry and get it on the table so we can have time to sit down together before rushing off to school/soccer/choir/ballet.' So I never really learned cooking techniques, etc. Somehow I got into the programs on FN and learned that 'Hey, this is relatively simple. I could probably do that.' The programs they show, I assume, are targeted to people like I was at that phase - how do I do this simply and efficiently? Therefore, cake mixes and taco seasoning packets didn't seem bad - they were useful in getting me to explore how my oven and stove worked.
As I progressed with my on-the-fly 'culinary education,' I started thinking maybe cooking really isn't all that simple, if you want it to be consistenly good, anyway. And that's okay. In fact, I kind of like that cooking isn't that simple. It shouldn't be a process of grabbing everything out of the cabinet and fridge in one fell swoop, balancing it all on a sheet tray, and flinging together in 30 minutes or less, finishing it off with a carton of whipped topping. At least not all of the time. I believe there should be more thought, care and attention to cooking. I'm sure once I get more of the hang of it, I will be able to complete it a little more efficiently and simply, but I still need to get my basics up a little bit higher before that happens.
The point of this ramble, I suppose, is that I believe FN serves a purpose for people who are/were like me - very much beginners who for some reason, want to know more. I think my progressive desire to learn more about how ingredients come together means that I am not really in the target demographic anymore, and would really appreciate an outlet for more invested cooking shows.

Where's the petition? ;)

I grew up watching Julia Child! Martin Yan was my favorite to watch though. I would be all for seeing reruns since there's always stuff to learn. I watch Made in Spain and learn all sorts of new things (and I grew up on Spanish cuisine).

Within 3 years, you will rarely watch programming at a scheduled time on television that is not a live event. DVR and web broadcasting, such as Hulu, are already eliminating the need for this, and I would suggest web broadcasting will render the DVR obsolete shortly.

PBS (Made in Spain) and FN (16 shows) already uses Hulu for content distribution. It's a matter of time before all those shows are available for immediate viewing, most primetime shows are available within hours of the original broadcast time, free with short 15 second commercials. It's better than cable, some shows, such as Three Sheets, are available on Hulu for free but only available on premium Time Warner Cable in NYC.

May be a worthwhile exercise to request more content from these partners.

I used to looove watching the "Great Chefs" series after school. Such incredible food, made to look so effortless in the hands of real professional chefs (faces only minimally seen on screen).

@Heartof Glass...thank you for that JC video. I watched the entire thing and had a lump in my throat when it was over. She was something else. There will never be another Julia. I'm on my way over to Ebay to see if I can pick up a bargain on a used set of her shows (and maybe even Great Chefs if it exists). Thanks for the inspiration!

@Heartof Glass.....and that brings me to the point I was trying make when I started this thread. I doubt anyone feels good or actually learns anything after watching foul mouthed people on those reality cooking shows. I'm sure Julia would be horrified and I certainly wouldn't want young children to think you have to have a potty mouth, questionable grooming habits and chain smoke to be a good cook. They certainly don't portray the noble side of cooking like the pioneers of TV cooking shows did.

I remember when I was in high school and I would get up at 4:30 in the morning to watch Galloping Gourmet reruns. I loved being up early anyway, because I felt like the whole world was my own before my parents woke up, but I loved the Graham Kerr stuff. He was great, and I wish I had a video library of all of his shows just to enjoy. I wish Food Network would do a kind of "Food Classics" series and replay all these great old shows.

DVR + PBS = great television!

@soozm32 -- wasn't he the one who ended every show making a salad which every show was half a head of iceburg, a couple veggies, and a vinagrette?

"If Yan can cook so can you!"

Also the Frugal Gourmet.

And if we can get some Bob Ross shows where he paints food that would be good too.

@kathyvegas - When I read your comment referring to "foul-mouthed," I immediately shuddered as that conjured up an image of Paula Deen making VERY obvious innuendos to anyone who crosses her path. I realize you were specifically referring to those network elimination shows, but I the reference fits in other ways, too!

I'd watch The Frugal Gourmet, Great Chefs and Julia any day any time. I wonder if the brain trust and Food Network scans this blog, maybe something will sink in. How many times can people complain before they respond? Gimme that petition, I will sign!

A couple of ideas... As I was reading this, I used the search function on my cable guide and found several Julia Child and Jaques Pepin shows on the PBS channels. DVR'd!

I also searched by Theme > Lifestyle > Cooking and found shows on Jose Andres and Baking With Julia that are on today, there were 700+ found.

It would be wonderful to have the old stuff available, I grew up on PBS cooking shows.

Galloping Gourmet, Biba, Lidia, and Hubert Keller! OMG - a veritable culinary who's who!! Those are all great shows.

I have a book from the old Great Chefs of the West series and I have made so many recipes from it, I've lost count. Recently BF saw a show on PBS called This Is Atlanta Cooking - it was EXACTLY like GCOTW! A chef, in her restaurant kitchen, cooking away - with an occasional voice over. I was thrilled. A place called Ria's Bluebird Diner was featured. The chef made a pot roast breakfast served in a soup bowl with broth and 2 poached eggs. It was served with a big hunk of baguette. We went there the next day. It was out of this world and I even got to shake the chef's hand. When I told her we saw the show, another patron sitting nearby joined the conversation and said he saw the show too.

I was one of those people who as a kid scanned my seven channels in search of that overhead shot of a pot being stirred. I loved TVFN so much when it first aired. It's deteriorated into such a disappointment so much as to be a non-entity.

Hi there - all the listed chefs are from public television... you can find them all on Create TV... Julia Child's series "Baking with Julia" is also on this channel. www.createtv.com