Yup, he’s single handedly decimated take-up of school meals in low income areas and closed down dozens of school kitchens.[/quote]
Really? Wow! It doesn’t say that on his programs. Whose fault is it about that, do you think?
Yup, he’s single handedly decimated take-up of school meals in low income areas and closed down dozens of school kitchens.[/quote]
Really? Wow! It doesn’t say that on his programs. Whose fault is it about that, do you think?
Yup, he’s single handedly decimated take-up of school meals in low income areas and closed down dozens of school kitchens.[/quote]
Really? Wow! It doesn’t say that on his programs. Whose fault is it about that, do you think?[/quote]
I really, really could not care less what or whether poor British kids eat, if I’m honest. I just wish it were their parents’ responsibility, not mine. However much tax I pay, wherever I go there still seem to be legions of greyfaced idiot dwarves in expensive sportswear, chavving it up all the lifelong day. Access to rocket and chickpeas has not made the depressing little trolls any less repellent on a rush hour bus (also subsidised).
Just read about the huge reduction in uptake of school meals in low income areas in the The Guardian; poor kids go without or eat fast food, whereas at least they got something before. His programs were obviously about him doing it, not the effects of it. You could google ‘Jamie Oliver school dinners’? A giant publicity nightmare that backfired massively for him, especially after the next wave of stupidity ‘Jamie’s Ministry of Food’ went tits up too.
His restaurants are nice, though, although queueing pisses me off. Me and (Italian) boy went for breakfast a couple of times, but I could hardly hear myself think through his derisive snorts. That’s mediterraneans for you, though. Do I roll my eyes when he orders egg fried rice and sweet and sour pork? Well yes, actually.
Sorry, mega-off-topic.
Ah, so it all went mega tits up! A shame really. Now he’s just at home with his gardener and organic tomatoes. That’s life, eh? (Sorry, couldn’t find a grinning, winking cockney emoticon.)
[quote=“whitetiger”]Anyone seen “The Surreal Gourmet”?
[/quote]
Oh yea, I forgot him. Odd show, preparing gourmet burritos or fancy parfaits out of a cheap travel trailer. But his food looks good.
And, I’ve got to give him a thumbs up cuz I saw him last week cycling up the toughest hill climb in the Tour de France route (followed by a good dinner at the top). I doubt that Nigella or Floyd could do that.
I’ve watched a wee bit of most of these, but I find I learn far more by reading cookbooks, even more by Googling for recipes to studiously compare side by side, and and most of all by trying them on a near daily basis (and experimenting heavily in the process) than by watching TV shows – among other reasons, because the ingredients and instructions aren’t written down when presented on the tube, and I just don’t remember everything that way.
I’m into cooking in a pretty serious way, so the shows where you just watch people travel, get drunk, eat, get drunk some more, eat some really gross stuff and/or then bitch about things because they’re hung over aren’t even in the running for ‘best TV cooking show’. They’re just mindless boob-tube time, IMO. Fun, sometimes, but rather a waste of time.
Anthony Bourdain can be fun, but I haven’t seen him prove he can cook yet, and l don’t learn much from his show. His griping gets old, too. Keith Floyd was a riot, but seems to have disappeared. Liver failure, perhaps? I would like to see him recover. Jamie Oliver: He may talk about healthy food for the kids, but just recently I saw him whip up some dishes with way too much cholesterol and fat for my tastes. He doesn’t get on my nerves the way he does for some people – I think he’s quite alright. Nigella Lawson takes the cholesterol to the absurd extreme, and pretty much anything she makes gets a chorus of ‘yeah, and that’s why you’re fat and heading for an early heart attack!’ in our house. I like shows like theirs where I can occasionally learn something and get some ideas to try, but I can’t try it if it’s all heavy cream and butter, now, can I?
Kylie Kwong’s show is good, although I’ve only seen it once or twice, as is Curtis Stone’s (the take-home chef), although I don’t learn much from the way the show is presented.
Andrew Zimmern: not only is this not a cooking show, but the man lacks vocabulary beyond ‘oh, wow’, which is pretty irritating. He doesn’t seem very bright. If he had the ability to describe what he is eating in a more interesting way, I might watch.
What, hitting on pretty housewives is gay now?
Yup, his is a food show, not a cooking show.
But I find his show entertaining, and inspiring me to be more adventurous in my own eating. His Taiwan episode prompted me to visit some of the places he went and try what he ate. Shenkeng? Dai’s House of Unique Stink? Taiya Popo? Been there! (Still have no idea why he featured Jason’s in this episode.)
He does get a little old, with his constant use of terms like “gamey” and “minerally” to describe the delicacies he tries. And his reaction to things he loves and detests is identical: he closes his eyes, winces, shakes his head, and starts his description with “Here’s the thing.”
As for Nigella Lawson, all I can say is :lovestruck: :lick:
I love Jamie Oliver recipes, specially the roast chicken pre-marinated with sea salt, lemon and olive oil. And then you bake with lots of rosemary and thyme inside and on the top e add some potatoes and bacon. The smell is heavenly in my tiny apartment, many neighboors love that smell.
I love travel and humor, and I hate any pretention.
Bourdain and Floyd are my favorites.
Although she does remind zender of the chief, Nigella is dead last.
zender usually hates it when someone refers to himself in the 3rd person, but it seemed okay when Yan said, “If Yan can do it, so can you!”
I miss Yan can cook. What a fun, goofy guy . . .
The saddest part of watching that show is the realization that I have an ice cube’s chance in hell of ever replycating those recipes in Taiwan -without breaking my bank account’s piggie.
Nigella’s recipes -believe it or not- are more plausible. I love stuff you can cook in 10 minutes or less. We are both fans of precooked, prewahed and rinsed and frozen, or canned veggies.
Why? It sounds simple enough. You can pick up some potted rosemary and thyme at the flower market for about the same price as buying the picked stuff just once at a gourmet supermarket, and then use them for many months in many dishes. I don’t see anything else expensive in that list.
Why? It sounds simple enough. You can pick up some potted rosemary and thyme at the flower market for about the same price as buying the picked stuff just once at a gourmet supermarket, and then use them for many months in many dishes. I don’t see anything else expensive in that list. [/quote]
I’ve recorded a few programs. Some herbs he uses -well, he grabs them from his garden, organically grown- are really hard to find. Last time I checked at they organic store they were like 300 a small pot.
Not to mention squash and other vegies which are like 70nts a piece. A very small piece.
Now get me a plot of lad to rent and we’ll talk about making some of his dishes as he makes them.
ps.
can’t grow herbs in pots, my cats like to garden, too.
:discodance: [quote=“whitetiger”]Anyone seen “The Surreal Gourmet”?
http://images.google.com.tw/imgres?imgurl=http://www.kiteaddict.com/images/1g2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.kiteaddict.com/foodnet.htm&usg=__EADyU7DhUrF2RYmJk93PuUQAh3E=&h=192&w=222&sz=42&hl=zh-TW&start=13&sig2=_CdGdslbMMKEbB-9s8O0oA&um=1&tbnid=HoQSm6i-5qFDAM:&tbnh=93&tbnw=107&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsurreal%2Bgourmet%26hl%3Dzh-TW%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1&ei=d60BSoFop-DqA56YlWk
[/quote]
Yes! I watch this guy not for the food, but because he reminds me of Bill Nye, THE SCIENCE GUY. (doing the bill nye dance) :discodance:
Ok, I’m a dork.
I also like the Rubino brothers a lot, but I watch them not for their food. They are hilarious. I really should have gone to their restaurant in Toronto before leaving the continent.
Otherwise I like that guy in Licensed to Grill. I don’t bbq but Yum.
Taiwanese cooking shows never seem to have that passion for food that we see in Western television. I miss the Food Network. I haven’t seen a decent cooking show in ages…
Sorry, double post & dont’ know how to cancel.
So if you can’t afford or find organic, use regular stuff, silly rabbit! As for your cats, well, how hard is it to cover a pot with a chicken-wire cage? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Me, I’ll be making that recipe shortly.
So if you can’t afford or find organic, use regular stuff, silly rabbit! As for your cats, well, how hard is it to cover a pot with a chicken-wire cage? Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Me, I’ll be making that recipe shortly. [/quote]
This rabbit will stick to well-known herbs. Hierba mala, nunca muere.
As to covering pots, you underestimate my cats’ persistence, sir. These are cunning, evil creatures you’ll be dealing with.
Bourdain is funny as hell, but like you guys said he has yet to prove that he can actually cook, but great show anyway, love that little Korean girl that travles with him, would love to see more of her in the show
Kylie Kwong is probably the worst Chinese cook I have ever seen, tries too hard to do that infusion crap, where as Yan can cook is probably the funniest chinese cook on TV, love it when he counts his knife strokes.
I like this brit speaking Taiwanese lady cook. She makes dishes easy.
Curtis Stone and crew were spotted in the Jason’s at 101 today. Had they shown up a little bit later, he might have picked Dragonbabe!
[quote=“Icon”][…] Some herbs he uses -well, he grabs them from his garden, organically grown- are really hard to find. Last time I checked at they organic store they were like 300 a small pot.
Not to mention squash and other vegies which are like 70nts a piece. A very small piece.[/quote]
You should check out the No. 1 Fruit and Vegetable Market by the Huazhong Bridge in Taipei (maybe the largest wet market in Taipei). It’s divided into three large warehouses, the first selling fresh fish and seafood, the second fresh fruit, and the third fresh vegetables. In the last row of the vegetable market there is a guy selling delicious Taiwan grown zuchini and yellow squash for reasonable prices. I got two zuchini and two yellow squash last Saturday for NT$120 total. It’s a huge market and its good to do a tour of the whole thing the first time you go to compare prices and see what’s where before actually buying. (I ended up buying way too much stuff the first time I went because I just kept thinking wow, I want this…and this…and this…)
I think I’ve seen cheaper potted herbs (also organic) at a stand at the weekend flower market on Jianguo that specializes in potted herbs for cooking.
Her show is one of the few cooking shows I just can’t watch. Way too much of her, her, her. Just can’t enjoy the show.
And if Nigella Lawson could stop fawning over the crap she puts together for 2 seconds, I might actually want to watch her show. It’s a turn off though.