Highbrow Magazine - Paula Deen https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/paula-deen en The Rise and Fall of the Food Network https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/12357-rise-and-fall-food-network <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 06/25/2021 - 10:23</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1foodnetwork_veesees-flickr.jpg?itok=5uD2F6Gj"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1foodnetwork_veesees-flickr.jpg?itok=5uD2F6Gj" width="480" height="387" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>Opinion:</strong></p> <p>When I first moved to the United States in the early 1980s – after living in Europe and Asia for all my life – American cuisine was considered by and large as a nonentity in international circles, and mainly contained dishes such as meatloaf, hamburgers, hotdogs, and chicken pot pie in its repertoire.</p> <p>The late, great Julia Child had already introduced the knowhows of French cooking to Americans through her book and a TV series on PBS, but in most American households at that time, it’s safe to say that a nice dinner probably consisted of Salisbury steak instead of Beef Bourguignon.</p> <p>But something magical happened in the 1990s: A cable TV show called the Food Network arrived on the scene, and millions tuned in.</p> <p>The beauty of the channel was that in its early days, it featured a roster of talented professional chefs who actually cooked and taught us their recipes. They opened a window onto the rest of the world, and taught American viewers that there is so much more than the usual fare they cooked and ate.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2foodnetwork_mike_mozart-flickr.jpg" style="height:350px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>There is no disputing the fact that the Food Network – and its sister, the Cooking Channel – helped prompt Americans to become a nation of gourmets, eager cooks, and foodies, and opened the door for the appreciation of more diverse and ethnic cuisines.</p> <p>Viewership exploded as acclaimed chefs such as Emeril Lagasse, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, Jacques Torres, Gale Gand, Paula Deen and others highlighted our TV screens with clever tricks of the cooking trade.</p> <p>It’s important to note that the Food Network was also the home of the late acclaimed chef and globetrotter Anthony Bourdain – before he ventured off to the Travel Channel and then CNN. This is where Bourdain got his start, even though he later scorned the network and in particular, its former president, Brooke Johnson. </p> <p>Reflecting his disdain for his former employer, Bourdain is quoted by the <a href="https://observer.com/2012/05/anthony-bourdain-scripps-cnn-05292012/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Observer</a> as saying: “2007 was also the year that Food Network canceled ‘Emeril Live,’ and stopped ordering episodes of ‘Molto Mario,’ a calculated break with the idea of the celebrity chef as a seasoned professional and a move toward an entirely new definition: a personality with a sauté pan.“</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3foodnetwork_joshua_dickens-wikimedia.jpg" style="height:450px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Bourdain was absolutely right. As its fame grew and millions of devotees tuned in to watch, things began to escalate around the time that Paula Deen was fired from the Food Network. Deen, who is labeled as the queen of Southern cooking and was a bona fide star of the channel, was fired in 2013 after horrendous <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/22/dining/paula-deen-is-a-no-show-on-today.html" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">racial slurs</a> she had made in the past came to light. However, scores of Deen’s fans came to her defense, claiming that the past is the past and that Deen had apologized for her mistakes and should be allowed to move on. But the axe fell, and Deen was chopped (pardon the pun). Martha Stewart can serve a prison sentence and get her own shows on PBS, but Deen was banished forever, even after apologizing and begging for forgiveness for her past sins.</p> <p>At lightning speed, a never-ending array of cooking competitions -- and Guy Fieri – began to wallpaper the network – coupled with the appearance of celebrities with their own cooking shows –the same ones, remember, that Bourdain had described as “a personality with a  sauté pan.”</p> <p>Fieri is the biggest offender and the reason why so many of us have lost respect for the channel and don’t watch the network as frequently. He is one of those “personalities” that Bourdain frowned upon, but instead of a sauté pan, Fieri boasts a red convertible.</p> <p>In a 2014 article in <a href="https://www.salon.com/2014/08/08/how_one_man_destroyed_the_food_network_guy_fieri_has_made_culinary_tv_into_a_viewers_hell/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Salon</a>, aptly titled “How one man destroyed the Food Network: Guy Fieri has made culinary TV into a viewer’s hell,” Farsh Askari hit the nail on the head and wrote “…we get Guy Fieri screaming at us to adopt a diet that will at best yield diabetes. I get it – Guy won your first ‘Food Network Star’ competition so you had to give him his own show. Yet, unless I’m mistaken, you only had to give him one show. Instead he is all over Food Network’s primetime programming.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/4foodnetwork_poncephotography-pixabay.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Another culprit is Ree Drummond, aka “The Pioneer Woman,” an affable and popular home cook who has managed to take over significant air time with her show about life and food in rural Oklahoma, and whose claim to fame appears to be devising 16-minute dinner recipes. Drummond, who seems to be running out of new recipes of late and is constantly revising standard ones as mash-ups – chicken jalapeno poppers quesadillas, anyone? -- should think about limiting her time on TV and take a page from Ina Garten’s book: only appear on the network on occasion – when you actually have something new to say.</p> <p>At the end of the day, though, the joke is on us, because both Fieri and Drummond are laughing all the way to the bank.</p> <p>Fieri continues to bombard the channel -- in between “Spring Baking Championship,” “Chopped,” and other competition shows that have nothing to do with teaching us the joys of cooking -- with his tiresome vocabulary, which appears to be a riff on the dialogue in the movie <em>Swingers</em>.</p> <p>Yes, the network <em>does</em> have an array of great talents – such as Michael Symon, Bobby Flay, Ina Garten, Kardea Brown, Roger Mooking, Trisha Yearwood, Molly Yeh, Tyler Florence, Damaris Philips, Alton Brown, and Eddie Jackson.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/5foodnetwork_discovery-flickr.jpg" style="height:511px; width:524px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>And these above-mentioned acclaimed chefs and stars, including the chefs on the Saturday morning show, “The Kitchen” – Katie Lee Biegel, Geoffrey Zakarian, Sunny Anderson, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Jeff Mauro – and also Ted Allen, the host of “Chopped,” who is intelligent and charming and should be encouraged to host other shows in addition to “Chopped” -- offer viewers informative and entertaining programs, where they actually cook and introduce a wide array of new recipes from various cultures and cuisines.</p> <p>But Food Network programming executives fail to understand that the network, which was once a beacon of light for talented and renowned chefs who actually performed an important culinary service, has become nothing more than an annoying roster of amateurs and wannabes who compete against one another in a senseless array of back-to-back competitions, and a home for second-rate celebrities who consider cooking as a hobby, not a profession.</p> <p>Typical Tuesday programming includes reruns of “Food Paradise,” followed by a 17-hour block of “Chopped.” And a typical Friday lineup includes episodes of “Cake Wars,” Food Paradise” and a never-ending block of Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” which runs until 5 a.m. the next day. And on June 23, 2021, the entire Food Network lineups featured “Guy’s Grocery Games” <em>all day</em>. Are you kidding? Would it be possible to break up the numbing stream of The Guy Fieri World Domination with an hour of “Delicious Miss Brown” and “Ina Garten: Cook Like a Pro”?</p> <p>And now, with the arrival of Discovery-Plus, it appears that the new and interesting cooking shows are reserved for streaming only.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/6foodnetwork_kelly_huston-flickr.jpg" style="height:600px; width:400px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>It’s as though the Food Network has given up on itself and doesn’t recall its former glory days. We want more cooking shows; more “Cook Like a Pro”; more “Symon’s Dinners”; more “Brunch With Bobby”; more Kardea Brown, Molly Yeh, Eddie Jackson, and Alton Brown.</p> <p>Dear Food Network: We are tired of the endless back-to-back episodes of “Cake Wars,” “Cupcake Wars,” “Holiday Baking Championship,” and Guy Fieri wallpapering our TV sets. We are tired of your laziness and apathy. Please elevate and promote the wide array of acclaimed professional chefs and culinary experts who appear on your network and showcase their works more expansively. This is what propelled us to rank you as a must-see channel years ago – instead of now changing the channel and skipping over your current coma-inducing lineup of programs.</p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size:16px"><strong><span style="font-family:Times New Roman,Times,serif">**Editor's Note: There is an error in Farsh Askari's quote (from his 2014 article in Salon): The Hearty Boys won the first "Food Network Star." Guy Fieri won the second. Thanks to Jimmy and Gale Gand for bringing this to our attention. </span></strong></span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p><strong><em>Tara Taghizadeh is the founding editor and publisher of </em>Highbrow Magazine.</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>For Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><em>--Mike Mozart (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/39160147@N03/16219783966" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Joshua Dickens (</em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bobby_Flay_Throwdown_3.jpg" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--</em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Food_Network_New_Logo.png" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikimedia</em></a><em> (Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Ponce Photography (</em><a href="https://pixabay.com/photos/mixed-berries-pavlova-pie-cake-1470226/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Pixabay,</em></a><em> Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Kelly Huston (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/86865815@N00/3552546478" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Veesees</em> (Flickr, <a href="https://search.creativecommons.org/photos/e4e30a3b-8610-4ed6-9d53-3aef5cb64e8b" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline">Creative Commons</a>)</p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/food-network" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food Network</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/guy-fieri" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">guy fieri</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/pioneer-woman" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">pioneer woman</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ree-drummond" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ree drummond</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chopped" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">chopped</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cake-wars" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cake wars</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/television" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">television</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kitchen" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">the kitchen</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/bobby-flay" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">bobby flay</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/michael-symon" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">michael symon</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/paula-deen" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Paula Deen</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/eddie-jackson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eddie jackson</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/kardea-brown" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">kardea brown</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/damaris-philips" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">damaris philips</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ina-garten" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ina garten</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/cooking-shows" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">cooking shows</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/emeril-legasse" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">emeril legasse</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/anthony-bourdain" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Anthony Bourdain</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Tara Taghizadeh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 25 Jun 2021 14:23:12 +0000 tara 10463 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/12357-rise-and-fall-food-network#comments Cool It, Mr. Bourdain https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/cool-it-mr-bourdain <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/food" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 19:34</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/MediumBourdain.jpg?itok=XAbzU8F5"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/MediumBourdain.jpg?itok=XAbzU8F5" width="480" height="319" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> Chef, author, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain established himself more than a decade ago as the unlikely hero of the culinary world: With tongue placed firmly in cheek, Bourdain first burst onto the scene with an exceptionally well-written and colorful tale of behind-the-scenes life in restaurants in <em>Kitchen Confidential</em>.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> The sardonic prose and rapier wit that had escalated his book into a hit also landed him a plum TV spot as world traveler in “A Cook’s Tour” on the Food Network. But bigger and better things were in store and the ever-ambitious Bourdain later jumped on board the Travel Channel as the host of “No Reservations,” dubbed by many fans as the best show on television.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But along the way, as his fame escalated and Bourdain made the leap from cult hero to mainstream giant, his formerly delightful cynicism and off-color humor turned sour, and, for lack of a better word, dull. Fans have come to expect his highly vocal and frequently profanity-laced criticism as a given, but lately, Bourdain has hit other culinary luminaries below the belt, and now the tide is turning. What were once considered clever jabs and witty repartee are now merely irritating, irate rants, similar to scratchings on a chalkboard.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The latest brouhaha involves legendary chef Paula Deen, who unwittingly became the subject of Bourdain’s wrath. In an August <em><a href="http://www.tvguide.com/News/Anthony-Bourdains-Celebrity-1036482.aspx">TV Guide</a></em> interview, Bourdain referred to Deen as “the worst, most dangerous” person in America (as a result of Deen’s rich, high-caloric recipes) and added that “her food sucks.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> The match was lit and a roaring fire ensued as every blogger and news site reported on the Bourdain vs. Food Network star feud.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Deen appropriately responded that she had never even met Bourdain or cooked for him, and in an exclusive interview with the <a href="http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/paula_tells_tony_get_life_jswHsIgTk3teIhd7cXJTFI">New York Post</a>, shot back that “Bourdain needs to get a life….not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine. My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills….” Touche.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <em>New York Times</em> scribe (and former restaurant critic) Frank Bruni then wrote in a column titled “Unsavory Culinary Elitism” that “[Deen is] otherwise 100 percent justified in assailing the culinary aristocracy, to which even a self-styled bad boy like Bourdain belongs, for an often selective, judgmental and unforgiving worldview.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> But this is not the first time that Bourdain has foamed at the mouth about the shortcomings of others. Whereas <em>Kitchen Confidential</em> was a charming, informative and often humorous take on chefs and restaurateurs, Bourdain’s latest book, <em>Medium Raw</em>, seems more like an exercise in vengeance and (as Bruni described) elitism. The question remains, who died and made Anthony Bourdain the doyen of the culinary world?</p> <p>  </p> <p> In <em>Medium Raw</em>, he wields his sword against longtime <em>GQ</em> food critic, Alan Richman, with whom Bourdain has reportedly had an ongoing feud. In a chapter titled “Alan Richman is a Douchebag,” Bourdain attacks Richman for his many ills, with particular focus on Richman’s less-than-flattering description of the culinary scene in New Orleans (after Hurricane Katrina) and Richman’s sheer audacity to get even with Bourdain by writing a negative review of Les Halles, the New York restaurant with which Bourdain has a long-standing affiliation. Bourdain then sums up Richman by calling him an unspeakably crass word.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Though Richman has many faults and not everyone is a fan of his writings (he was clearly in the wrong for reviewing Les Halles simply to settle a score, and his magazine should have never published it), Bourdain still went too far.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In <em>Medium Raw</em>, Bourdain then backslaps his buddies, praising renowned chefs Eric Ripert and Jose Andres (with whom he is good friends and who have made appearances on his TV show) while badmouthing practically everybody else.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Perhaps Bourdain has grown a little too big for his britches. It’s unlikely that his hit show on the Travel Channel will extend beyond five or six more seasons. Eventually, “Top Chef,” where he serves as the occasional judge, will also fall into the great dustbin of canceled TV shows. Though Bourdain recently landed a gig at the prestigious HarperCollins, where, according to <a href="http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/48650-anthony-bourdain-gets-his-own-book-line-at-ecco.html">Publishers Weekly</a>, he will “be acquiring roughly three to five books annually,” it’s unclear how long his adventures in the refined world of publishing will last.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Bourdain would do well to focus his efforts on “No Reservations” and less on unleashing his wrath on lesser mortals who unknowingly offend him or cross his path.  As the late, great Voltaire once said: “The best way to become boring is to say everything.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Tara Taghizadeh is the Founding Editor &amp; Publisher of</em> Highbrow Magazine. </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/anthony-bourdain" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Anthony Bourdain</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/no-reservations" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">No Reservations</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/televison" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Televison</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chefs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chefs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/paula-deen" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Paula Deen</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/alan-richman" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Alan Richman</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/food-network" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Food Network</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Tara Taghizadeh</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">LWP Kommunikacio, Flickr</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:34:31 +0000 tara 131 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/cool-it-mr-bourdain#comments