Who is your favorite TV chef and what's your favorite recipe from them?

[kanerf]

Graham Kerr. I used to love watching him get bombed on TV.

 

[1420Elexismc]

I use Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe any time I make a turkey...it always comes out great. I also really enjoyed Good Eats when I was younger. Other ones that come to mind are Yan can cook, Two Fat Ladies, and Galloping Gourmet. I watched a lot of cooking shows(and still do!)

 

[mrodgers]

In years past my wife and I enjoyed The Barefoot Contessa and Rachael Ray’s 30 Minute Meals.

I loath Rachel Ray and her ridiculous 30 minute meals. Sure, if I have a kitchen staff doing the hour of prepwork, I could cook the same things in 30 minutes. But I'll never be able to do that starting at 4:30 and get the meal on the table by 5 because the hour prep isn't shown.

 

[mrodgers]

I don't think A. Brown does any current shows. The ones I have seen in the past always included a lot of what sounded like pseudo-scientific mumbo/jumbo that didn't seem to have anything to do with how the dish was prepared. It mostly seemed like a gimmick he used to be different from other cooking shows.

Alton Brown is about the only one mentioned in this topic I did like, but it was that pseudo-scientific mumbo/jumbo that I liked. It wasn't so much a cooking show as explaining scientifically what is happening when you are cooking.

Example, he made chocolate chip cookies, but changed one thing and showed the result of said changes after mixing them and baking them 14 different ways producing 14 distinctly different chocolate chip cookies.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I love Michael Symon. I miss him on The Chew.

Here is the info on House of Nanking in SF and Peter Fang. https://www.houseofnankingsf.com/about/

Thank you!

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I use Alton Brown's turkey brine recipe any time I make a turkey...it always comes out great. I also really enjoyed Good Eats when I was younger. Other ones that come to mind are Yan can cook, Two Fat Ladies, and Galloping Gourmet. I watched a lot of cooking shows(and still do!)

I miss Alton on my tv. He came to my towns event hall and I missed out. He was apparently amazing live!

 

[Jml813]

I miss Alton on my tv. He came to my towns event hall and I missed out. He was apparently amazing live!

He used to live near me. When I first moved here, I was at the grocery store and ran into him and it was like oh my gosh. He was really nice about my surprise.

He has done quite a few live events in Atlanta and they're all awesome.

One more trivia, his former house in Marietta was used to tape Cobra Kai.

 

[dizneegirl]

Recently my mom and I have discovered a show called Pati's Mexican Table on PBS...

DH and I adore Pati (Jinich)! We'll even rewatch her shows, she's so enjoyable. I really should get her cookbooks.

We also both liked Alton Brown's Good Eats, and have the companion books for the series (both the original, and the reboot).

Can't stand the Pioneer Woman, though I make a version of her pear crisp every fall when our pear tree drops pears.

 

[QueenIsabella]

I loath Rachel Ray and her ridiculous 30 minute meals. Sure, if I have a kitchen staff doing the hour of prepwork, I could cook the same things in 30 minutes. But I'll never be able to do that starting at 4:30 and get the meal on the table by 5 because the hour prep isn't shown.

Funny, I never had that problem with Rachael Ray. In fact, she had a 30-minute show, and she'd cook, start to finish, during the 30 minutes. I don't watch her current morning show, which is longer. But, she definitely did every meal in 30 minutes, including prep work.

The only thing she did for prep was, she mentioned coming home from the grocery store, and doing thing like bagging herbs and putting them in the fridge, that kind of stuff. Not peeling and chopping and so forth.

As to Jeff Smith, the Frugal Gourmet--he had a thing for teenaged boys, that's why he vanished from the airwaves.

Edited to add: Rachael Ray DID make liberal use of her grocery store's salad bar for prepped vegetables. I personally wouldn't do this--I'm not paying $6/lb to get shredded carrots and chopped peppers. But certainly, you could, and it's a classic college hack--bring plastic bags to the dining hall, get stuff at the salad bar, then make a stir-fry in your dorm room. It's also not a bad way to get a small amount of something--mushrooms, say--if you know you won't eat a larger container's worth.

 

[bcla]

Martin Yan. I know he seems like a caricature, but he's actually quite good at what he does. Came to the US to study at UC Davis for grad school.

 

[Her Dotness]

Graham Kerr. I used to love watching him get bombed on TV.

Me, too.

My favorite, though, is still Emeril Lagasse. His recipe for spinach salad with warm bacon dressing is a longtime favorite.

Emeril was such a hoot to watch. Definitely stagey but fun anyway.

 

[mrodgers]

Martin Yan. I know he seems like a caricature, but he's actually quite good at what he does. Came to the US to study at UC Davis for grad school.

Assuming Martin Yan is Yan can Cook. Loved watching him when I was young.

 

[fly girl]

Ina Garten guacamole!!

Giada's (she gets non my nerves too, but her food is a separate issue) chicken piccata, olive chicken, easy spicy tomato soup!

As for overall personality I loved to watch, Carla Hall. She just exudes happiness. Saw her in ATL years ago when I was working. Another flight attendant and I screamed, "Hootie!" and got an immediate comeback, "Hoo!" with HUGE smile and blown kisses.

 

[sasywtch]

I'm not big into following recipes or doing elaborate dishes since it's just my daughter and I. However, I do like to watch the cooking shows for the chefs. I like Molly Yeh, Michael Symon and Trisha Yearwood. They seem to be more down to earth and fun to watch. I think I've mentioned this on here before. When I lived in OK, I knew people who had lived by the Drummonds. Yes, they have a $$$ of money. Years ago when she was a blogger and taking pictures, she made it known to everyone in town that she wanted to be on Food Network. She hired professional PR people that arranged the episode where Bobby Flay went to her ranch to a supposedly "unknown" to do a throw down. That was set up by her PR people she hired. I'm sure there are others that have done the same. I just don't like her not being honest. She doesn't live that far out of town for her to whine about it. 15 minutes.

 

[RoseGold]

DH and I adore Pati (Jinich)! We'll even rewatch her shows, she's so enjoyable. I really should get her cookbooks.

I love cookbooks, and I don't think I'm a bad cook, but there's nothing from her cookbook I would make. I'm not even sure I could make most of it, and I have easy access to Latin ingredients. It's just so complicated and niche.

 

[RedAngie]

Does the Food Network have any actual cooking shows anymore? All I notice is marathons of the competitions and silly games.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Does the Food Network have any actual cooking shows anymore? All I notice is marathons of the competitions and silly games.

They do on the weekends during the mornings. My mom watches Pioneer woman and Molly Yeh religiously for their new episodes

 

[katiebelle21]

Tyler Florence: Ultimate Cheesecake and Enchiladas
Barefoot Contessa: Grown Up Mac and Cheese

 

[_19disnA]

I agree that Foodnetwork now has too many silly games or contests where people race around cooking unusual ingredients. Maybe appeals to some but not the reason I watch a TV cooking show. And who cares to watch someone who is a bad/inexperienced cook? Anyone can pretend to be bad just by not following directions or making obvious errors when cooking. Have zero interest in those.

 

[footballmouse]

She's not really a chef but I like Joanna Gaines. Magnolia Table is on the Magnolia Network but it shows up on one of the cable channels. I think she's down to earth, she makes mistakes, she uses ingredients that are easily found. I've made her chocolate chip cookies and her pineapple cupcakes. OMG, they were so good! I would love to make more of her meals but it's just me. I need to start cooking and freezing the meals. I did buy one of her cookbooks, lots of good & easy recipes.