Posted by Lorri Royle(weechef) on May 29, 1998 at 23:45:47:
In Reply to: Re: TV Chefs: Another Point of View posted by Gerard on May 29, 1998 at 14:39:29:
: Pat, first off,
: you write well!,
: But, we were responding to "so who ARE the great chefs".
: On occasion you'll see a great chef on...great chefs. Often you'll see mediocre cooks with good PR agents.
: Theres no disputin Emeril is a clever man, in person he's the oppsoite of his persona.
: Whether TV promotes the food biz isn't an issue, publicity promotes period, its the quality of that which it promotes which is questionable.
: >>The best demo was by Roberto Donna and a scant 15 people showed up
: for it >>
: The food industry benefits from Emeril(or TV) as a whole?..hmm. I don't know...and its sad that ignorance just gets worse if you watch TV.
: I started when no-one knew what kweechee was (quiche), things have changed but the competency I see in new hires is not great.
: Theres great instability in a lot of young chefs, mixing and mis-matching foods which sound like mixed metaphors on menu's.
: A lot of the fusion cuisine dabbles in silliness , but given a few hundred years..who knows.?
: How many restaurants in America have Michelin stars now? 20 - 25?
: Actually none.
: I agree with you in principle , we were just talking about something else.
: Cheers, Gerard
I'll tell you what I see is a direct result of TV Chefs, crowded culinary arts programs.
Students see these guys on tv and they think they are going to be the next "Emeril". We have a
bunch of kids in our class that have never worked in the restaurant industry. They don't have a
clue about what to expect. Most of them have no talent or passion what so ever. They see these
guys on tv and they say, "That looks easy, I can do that." So the next day they enroll in classes.