Food Network Pet Peeve

[Saphire]

Yuck, it creeps me out when cooks wear rings, watches, bracelets, have painted nails and worst of all...long sleeves! What is up with that?!? It distracts me and when the sleeve touches the food it is so unappealing!

My award for best kitchen presence goes to Emeril (though he isn't my favorite cook) and Giada De Laurentiis (love her recipes!). They keep things clean and neat and wear aprons!

[java]

Oh yes. DH goes nuts with Paula deen. She wears that huge ring and shoves her hands into everything(and licks her finger by the way too!) She has commented that she doesn't care if she gets the ring dirty- she'll clean it later.
What she doesn't think about is the DIRT on that ring that's getting into her food.
I'm with you on this one. And yes long sleeves bother me when I am cooking. I have friends that insist on long sleeved chef coats though because of the splatters.

[Imzadi]

My Food Network pet peeve is how they use a pound of butter in almost every dish. The ones that do, and are considered their star, celebrity chefs are all Pooh sized and out of shape: Mario Batalli, Emeril, Ina Garten, Paula Deen and Tyler Florence. It's like this network is promoting heart attack meals.

I saw a show on diners where the chef made a steak fried in butter, piled with onions sauteed in butter, then piled high with a scoop of mashed potatoes made with butter, and stacked with bacon.

The Food Network has an opportunity to slip in healthier ingredient choices in every episode, especially with their star chefs, so that it becomes a lifestyle for everyone. A natural habit, instead of reaching for butters and high saturated fats. They don't have to hit people over the heads with it, like with their Calorie Commando show. All they have to do is have their star chefs automatically use healthier ingredients.

Instead, I've watched Tyler Florence go from a lean chef on Food 911 to being puffy and unhealthy looking. I look at the other chefs and think if I make and eat their stuff, that's what I'm going to look like too, in a few years.

No, I think I'll pass.

[Targsmom]

Long sleeve chef coats are to protect your arms.

nail polish is a big no no, tho.. ew

[clh2]

I love watching the cake shows...Ace of Cakes, Amazing Wedding Cakes...the guy from New York (can't think of the name).

While I love the shows, the cakes look amazing...I don't think I will evey eat a cake that has had fondant on it ever again. There is just too much "non-sanitary" stuff that seems to go on with what is shown on TV. Makes me wonder what happens when the cameras are off.

[Saphire]

I'm not sure I have ever even seen the shows with 'chef coats'. That sounds fine, like an apron on your arms, lol. I can't stand the bell sleeves and big cuffs from cooks like Sandra Lee, Paula Deen, Rachael Ray and (my favorite cook) Ina Garten. Would you just pull up your sleeves and remove the jewelry...please!!

[Randi]

Mine is the way Rachal Ray piles all the packages, cans, raw vegetables, etc. in the bowls she is going to use to prepare the food just so she can joke about making 1 trip

All I can think about is how many people handled that can or package before she puts it in the bowl. Maybe she thinks that EVOO is an antiseptic.....

[Aristomommy]

My pet peeve is when they take a bite of their food at the end of the segment. Then the bite is followed by 10 seconds of silence when I have to watch them try to chew and swallow the food before they say "when we come back....". Come on, I believe the food is great without having watch you digest it...

I also like the cake shows, but when you watch them decorate it, I will never eat a cake with fondant. The decorators' faces are so close to the cake and I can only imagine what happens during the flu season around the cakes...yuck!

[pearlieq]

It has never occured to me to worry about it. I cook with rings (I take them off for messy jobs like meatloaf but I knead dough with them on), nail polish, etc. I wash my hands before I start and when appropriate during. No one has yet died in my kitchen.

We get too caught up in this stuff. Are we expecting a full surgical scrub before cracking an egg? Should we just have the chefs irradiated before they're allowed in the kitchen? Wrapped up in sterilized space suits?

This is bringing back memories of The Anal Retentive Chef from SNL. http://www.hulu.com/watch/4101/satur...ententive-chef

[suejai]

I can't stand the rings either and cooking with long sleeves makes me crazy. I agree about the butter too, I use butter but they use far too much.

I like Giada, her kitchen is so clean and streamlined, and the view out the window is amazing (if it's real)

[Imzadi]

Another peeve is that Giada DeLaurentis can't talk and cook at the same time. She will be in the middle of chopping or stirring and literally have to stop & explain something. I know Italians talk with their hands, but it's not like she's using her hands to demonstrate the size of something. She just can't talk & stir at the same time. I wonder how much shorter the show would be if she could do both.

Originally Posted by Randi

Mine is the way Rachal Ray piles all the packages, cans, raw vegetables, etc. in the bowls she is going to use to prepare the food just so she can joke about making 1 trip

I hate that too. Tyler Florence started doing that on his show too. He'll go over to the refrigerator to pull out vegetables or will pile cookware in the sink. (Like he's going to wash them, himself, later. )

I guess they think it makes them seem more homey to us.

Originally Posted by Aristomommy

My pet peeve is when they take a bite of their food at the end of the segment. Then the bite is followed by 10 seconds of silence when I have to watch them try to chew and swallow the food before they say "when we come back....". Come on, I believe the food is great without having watch you digest it...

I wish Tyler would chew and swallow his food. I hate when he talks with a mouth full of food.

[LisaR]

I saw a show recently with Ina Garten where she was making some kind of roast (I wasn't paying much attention). I looked up just as she got done rubbing the roast with herbs and she walks over to the oven with her disgusting hands and shoves the pan in. She walks back over to the counter and picks up a vegetable and starts slicing. My son and I started screaming at the TV, "WASH YOUR HANDS!" Yuck!

[Nancyg56]

Originally Posted by Aristomommy

My pet peeve is when they take a bite of their food at the end of the segment. Then the bite is followed by 10 seconds of silence when I have to watch them try to chew and swallow the food before they say "when we come back....". Come on, I believe the food is great without having watch you digest it...

I hate that! The silence is followed by some moaning and groaning though ....I can do without the sound effects! Just cook it, I know you love it!

I hate the hair. Pull it back, don't touch it. Hair needs to be out of your face, off your shoulders and no where near the food. I get that you are on TV but I have never worked in any kitchen that allowed stray hair.

[NMAmy]

Originally Posted by pearlieq

It has never occured to me to worry about it. I cook with rings (I take them off for messy jobs like meatloaf but I knead dough with them on), nail polish, etc. I wash my hands before I start and when appropriate during. No one has yet died in my kitchen.

We get too caught up in this stuff. Are we expecting a full surgical scrub before cracking an egg? Should we just have the chefs irradiated before they're allowed in the kitchen? Wrapped up in sterilized space suits?

This is bringing back memories of The Anal Retentive Chef from SNL. http://www.hulu.com/watch/4101/satur...ententive-chef

We used to call my dad the Anal Retentive Chef. Not because he was all caught up in cleanliness but because the man could make 1000 meatballs all exactly the same size and shape. When we had to help, he'd pull out any slightly misshapen ones and make us re-do them. My chopping drove him insane, as well--my onion or green pepper pieces were NEVER uniform. It was the one thing he was goofy about but we loved giving him a hard time.

Back on topic--I agree with your post. For the most part, the sets for the shows are made to appear as though someone is cooking in their own home. In my own kitchen, I wear long sleeves and jewelry and don't have my hair in a hair net while I'm cooking. I wash my hands frequently and follow safe food procedures but I'm not wearing gloves to prepare meals.

[DWGal210]

Originally Posted by clh2

I love watching the cake shows...Ace of Cakes, Amazing Wedding Cakes...the guy from New York (can't think of the name).

While I love the shows, the cakes look amazing...I don't think I will evey eat a cake that has had fondant on it ever again. There is just too much "non-sanitary" stuff that seems to go on with what is shown on TV. Makes me wonder what happens when the cameras are off.

OOH this drives me nuts too!!! I just see them rolling out all that fondant WITH THEIR BARE HANDS and it makes me feel sick...I can't imagine eating a cake where some has literally man-handled the frosting and decorations with no gloves. Does no one from their (Ace of Cakes) Health Department watch this show?!