Cooking Shows and Food Culture

I admit, I was never a Julia Child fan. The shows were boring to me when I was a child, and as an adult they seem dated and unhelpful. So we can cross off Julia as an influence in my interest in food and cooking. However, the PBS cooking shows in the early '90s, though I remember them only dimly, did capture my attention on Saturday mornings. Nathalie Dupree made perhaps the biggest impression on me then; her cooking style was accessible, her personality sweet and goofy (she, more so to me than the legendary Julia, is who I think of when I think of cooking show hosts who drop things, spill things, or just generally screw up and cheerfully move on). All of Ms. Dupree's cookbooks are worth a look, particularly her beautiful "Southern Memories." Rare is the recipe of hers for which you have to search out a special grocery store or ethnic food market, and rare is the use of convenience products, and yet the vast majority of her recipes couldn't be simpler and more flavorful.

There are a few other PBS chefs I remember, if not always by name. There was an Italian-American woman (not Lidia), who I have a faint memory of cooking vegetables from her garden. There was the late Justin Wilson ("I gar-on-tee!), and John Folse, of course (remember I was watching in Baton Rouge, so Louisiana shows took precedence). There was a very large chef whose name I do not recall, but who also, I believe, specialized in Louisiana cooking; I remember him mainly because his kitchen looked like, well, his kitchen--not a set. No six-burner range or Sub-Zero refrigerator there, as I recall.

Then, sometime in the mid-90s, I discovered the Food Network. My early loves were Michele Urvater, "Ready, Set, Cook!" and "How to Boil Water." If they put the original "How to Boil Water" on DVD, I'd buy it; I just loved it. I never did much care for Emeril's shows, which was inconvenient since he was on A LOT, but there was enough other programming that I liked that I could live with it.

Over the years, I lost some shows I liked, gained some I liked (and a lot I couldn't stand). I really dislike the competition shows for the most part, especially anything that has to do with building fancy cakes. I can't express how uninterested I am in that entire topic. Some of the travel shows are ok--I love Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," for example. He's the perfect host for that type of program, as he's genuinely friendly and outgoing and seems to get along well with the cooks he meets. It's fun to see restaurants across America, in places I might someday go and others where I'll never set foot. On the opposite end of the spectrum, I don't care for Giada di Laurentiis, and her travel show did not interest me in the least, nor do her regular cooking shows.

I know a lot of people online complain that FN is "dumbed down," that they treat cooking like it's a chore that needs to be gotten over with, in as little time as possible and for as cheaply as possible. Foodies want to be catered to a little more, with programming reflective of upscale lifestyles. While I don't dispute that FN has erred on the side of quick/easy cooking shows, I think the reality probably is that that actually is what most people are looking for. Particularly in this economy, I would guess most people would probably like to have their need to reduce the food budget acknowledged and addressed in creative ways. Of course, Sandra Lee is not the answer, but most of the TV chefs do a pretty good job using "real" ingredients that are not too expensive, Ina Garten's occasional lobster mac n' cheese excepted. I would like for the FN to order some new programming that shows us how to cook some cuisines that people are more likely to think of mysterious and complicated: Indian, Lebanese, Japanese, you name it. A vegetarian/vegan show would be nice (what happened to Curtis Aikens?). I guess Ellie Krieger isn't on any more, but I loved her approach to healthy cooking. There is room for the FN to improve, but I, for one, think that improvement can come from programming reflecting a wider variety of cooking styles. And if those shows demystify certain cuisines and are still showing how to get in and out of the kitchen quickly and cheaply, then that's all the better.

Recommended reading: "Barefoot Contessa Family Style," by Ina Garten. Yes, there are a few expensive recipes in here, but most of them aren't, and most are also easy to prepare and delicious. The Pumpkin Banana Mousse Tart may change your life, at least at Thanksgiving. Suggestion: Ina's salads are wonderful, but I find it's best to cut back her dressings by at least 1/3 to 1/2.