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RSS FeedIt’s been a week since Tony opened the floodgates with a post so funny and so withering (I told you getting back on the meds would work, Bourdain) that blogs across the country have been linking to it, commenting themselves, and sparking further discussion. Of all the results from his rant—and yes, while it pains me to say anything kind about this miscreant freak of nature, it was brilliant as so many said (though enough with this god business; the guy’s got a fat enough head already; you guys keep this up and soon he’ll be off adopting kids in Africa)–what astonished me in all this business, for all the railing scorn heaped on the food network in response, was not the scorn itself but the quantity of passionate voices. Tony’s analysis of top chef inspired lively debate but not hundreds of comments! And the passion itself—over shows you don’t even have to watch. You’ve got to listen to George Bush; you don’t have to listen to Rachael. My god people care about this stuff. But will the food network listen? Not likely. They work according to their own methods, whatever those are. They’ve made their decisions based on something, and that something has resulted in the peculiar offerings addressed in Tony’s post. Clearly they know that the way to America’s vast girth is through mediocrity. Mediocrity is America’s main commodity—America is a mediocrity factory, and the food network is no different than any other business trafficking in cheap goods. Why, railing against the Food Network is almost unAmerican, thumbing our noses at the red states, and all those who elected the current administration, twice. Clearly The People know what they want—twice! I’m shocked by you Food Network naysayers. Shocked.
Tony has a facial this afternoon, during which he promised to think about more topics for discussion. Feel free to leave suggestions here.
I’ve got a funny Graham Kerr story.
When I was teaching at the CIA the Institute entered in some kind of deal with Mr. Kerr which had the partial result of him being appointed “Visiting Professor” and being given an office.
Well, whatever the deal was, it did not last very long. The only time I was aware of his presence was on the one occasion when he asked (or was asked) to lecture to my class (Introduction to Gastronomy) which among other things was supposed to introduce new students to some of the big events and ideas of the profession.
I had a meeting with Mr. Kerr (who by the way is an enormously charming and delightful human being)the day before he was to give his lecture to discuss precisely what he might lecture about. Well, since he was going to appear during the time that I usually gave a talk on the historical development of the European professional chef, I suggested that he might talk about that. He agreed and I thought, “good now I don’t have to do it.”
Okay long story short. He began his lecture with a three-four minute treatment of Careme, Escoffier and Fernand Point before leaping forward to circa 1965 when his TV career took off. Soon he was going on about the Minimax diet, low fat food, and I cannot remember what.
Of course the class was thrilled.
Hey Kiki,
I think the Martha Stewart book entitled “The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook” is a pretty good contemporary all-purpose cookbook for the non-professional. The Pro Chef from C.I.A. is great if you have some cooking aptitude. Especially the last edition. I remember when I was at the C.I.A. our edition wasn’t that great but they have only gotten better.
Topic: Pasteurization
I just watched Good Eats pomegranate show extolling the virtues of pomegranate juice. My wife has been drinking it for a while, so we were familiar with the benefits. Unfortunately, as Alton revealed, pasteurization and use of concentrates leaves most juices with a lot less of the nutrients advertised.
This does not stop them from advertising their products as if they still contain these nutrients in the same form.
I don’t mind having pasteurized food available for anal retentives who must kill every germ, but what about those of us who like nutrients and flavor? Must we put up legal roadblocks that kill any initiative for smaller producers to make unpasteurized niche products available?
It’s time to put the almighty Shelf Life on the back shelf.
“I blame a blind following of Christianity in many American’s decisions to just do what ever the Joneses are doing (which is probably only eating the white meat, watching Rachael or god forbid, the View, and thinking the jokes printed on popsicle sticks are funny) — i.e. the “safe” choices because anything else is not what Jesus would want. Or at least that’s what their ministers are telling them.”
Huh? Christianity is not about following the Joneses. I think as a scholar of American culture I can safely say that our obsession with the Joneses has very little to do with Christianity. It might be fair to blame Better Crocker or Barbie, but leave Jesus out of that equation. I hardly believe Jesus would have eaten Kraft dinner or drunk Boone’s Farm wine, at least by choice anyway. But if he had been served that crap he certainly would have been more thankful to his hosts–if revulsed by the food–than most of us would. There’s a difference between having good taste and being a snob, right? Before we go blaming Jesus, of all people, for the whacked attitude many Americans have toward gastronomy, let us remember that his first miracle was turning water into wine at a wedding, and the stuff he produced was primo quality, not Gallo and Sons. Don’t lump Jesus, and for that matter many of his followers–those of us who eat organic, drink good wine and cook real meals day in and day out– in with the sorry state of cooking, eating and thinking about food in this country. It’s a cheap shot, and honestly, not a very informed one. In fact, if you want to rail on someone maybe you should turn to Bourdain himself who seems more intent on dividing people rather than (as the FN seems to do) raising the OVERALL level of understanding about food quality and accessibility.