http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QipA3lW1pI8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzG0PdiDJcI

While his fans giggle and smirk as he lambastes fake personalities, it’s a comfort to know that it’s not just a show to him, he really does care. And certainly you do as well–not nearly as cynical as ‘tony of course, but we love ya anyway… In all honesty though, I just want to take a moment as say how terrific and insightful your blog is.

Oooh and thanks for posting the links Erinn, I’m going to go watch ‘em now!

Man, today is just getting better and better…

Michael, you are dead on the money when you talk about mediocrity. And Tony wields his sledgehammer well while pummeling the FN.

Both of you, in your own way, go a step further to address these criticisms. You write books about food. Tony continues to make his television show about what he loves — travel and eating.

What bothers me though is how easy it is for other readers to jump on the bandwagon, but do little more than that.

Sure, the FN stars are easy targets. And I, for one, would rather watch Jacques Pepin than Rachel Ray. But it is reasonably clear that the only motive behind the FN is one driven by profit. They are making money on their model, so why would they change it?

But, what are all these passionate people doing about it? As high-speed internet access expands the possibilities for content delivery, we should be thinking about ways to develop and deliver better content, rather than bitching about the FN.

“Give Bill Buford or Michael Ruhlman the job next. These are two guys with the most impressive combination of cooking and writing experience going and I can’t think of two people better suited for the job.”

I take your point. However, I’m guessing that most readers are (like me) interested observers who are passionate about food, but don’t have the time or skills to necessarily contribute something better (we have jobs in unrelated fields, family obligations, other passions, etc.)

If there was no bandwagon, what Bourdain, Ruhlman and others are doing to “go a step further” would have no point or chance at success.

We can’t all hold public office, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t vote.

I disagree. There’s a difference between supporting Tony and Michael’s commercial efforts, and spending time railing away at an institution.

I agree and understand many of us are passionate about food, but have neither the time, skill (perhaps), and money to turn that passion into a profession.

On the other hand, we can offer positive ideas about things we’d like to see, so that those — such as Michael and Tony — that do have the time, inclination, money and skill can be encouraged to move forward.

The only way to stop Rachel Ray is not to tear her down, but to offer something better.

Thank you for clarifying. I now actually think we’re saying the same thing. Even at the most basic level of just engaging in discourse, it should be about offering suggestions/solutions, not JUST highlighting problems.

In RR’s case (or Sandra Dee or Paula Deen…), I’d start with “stop watching and don’t buy products they endorse.”

For an avid amateur such as myself, there is already enough “good” content out there (yes, even on FN…I could watch Boy Meets Grill, Good Eats and, yes, Iron Chef America, all day), so it’s just a matter of tuning out what I don’t like personally.

*cough, cough* I’ve been, uh, doing that for quite a while with some shows. Though I’m not entirely sure that I’m supporting any of the shows by doing what I do per se, be sure that if Bourdain, Buford, Brown, or Ruhlman pass through my neighborhood anytime soon I’d stop by to listen to the talk and get my books autographed.

Unfortunately, my money’s on RR or SL getting a booking in my parts before any of them pass through.

echoing what tess just mentioned.

1. youtube is your friend.
2. let’s visit this idea of the fracturing of television.

youtube is not going to give you the content you want. the content on youtube can be separated into two groups, A. done by people who make no money from the video. B. ripped from tv/movies (i.e. – ppl who got paid to offer the content)

do you think mario batali did those FN shows for *free*? who’s going to make cooking shows about charcuterie? you notice that ruhlman publishes *books* on it, but he’s not putting up a youtube video for every recipe in his book?

even with youtube easing the barriers on content distribution, you still have the problem of who controls the content. no one wants to sell content for free if they can make money from it. and even if ruhlman makes youtube videos on charcuterie, in essence he’s taking time away from the pool of time he can use to make money.

anyway, you still have to find someone willing to pay to create “music” [see previous posts on music vs. muzak] otherwise fractured content distribution is just another way to watch clips of south park 5 minutes at a time.

I think TV programs like FN will be around for a while. It’s the only place you can sit in comfort and involuntarily be exposed to new, interesting programs – Especially from overseas.
The internet is great for downloading programs you missed, or didn’t hear about until it was too late.

From watching the YouTube clips, we can now safely assume that Tony Bourdain IS an official Culinary Activist. “FN, the drug of the nation, breeding ignorance and feeding irritation”

Let those two act like children, waste newspaper space, I don’t care. But to suggest that “it only hurts my employees” – that takes a lot of nerve.

It only hurts your underpaid, overworked staff if you let it.

If you have made a good living off of the work of your staff, then you have an intense, unquestionable obligation to protect them.

And don’t tell me they’re paid well unless the servers get at least minumum wage PLUS tips.

Our most popular local coffee shop is run by two very progressive guys. THEY DON’T TAKE HOME ANY MORE PAY THAN THEIR WORKERS. If the owners have a bad year, they still split the money equally with their staff. And they have the best place in town.

Don’t give me any bull about childish behavior “affecting my employees”. Please.

We’re a little slow on the soap-operatic doings in NYC out here on the Left Coast — where we are still recuperating from the effects of basking, however briefly, in the glow of a Bourdain visit to our humble burg of Fresno before Tony boarded a plane for South Beach and the Food/Wine chefscapade.

Speaking of Mikey, he has a MySpace page:

http://www.myspace.com/114603912

–parkbench

i personally believe that a culinary background can make you a better critic but i don’t think it should be be prerequisite. the only prerequisites in my opinion are a love of the subject, a huge curiosity, and the ability to write.

Not only does Tony beard the lions in their den, he throws in a free soul patch for their trouble.

Hey, they invited him.

Chodorow showed balls, too. He could have assumed the submissive pose, but decided to play the gunslinger. Only time will tell if he pressed the right trigger.