Posted by Pat I. on May 29, 1998 at 12:30:36:
In Reply to: Re: another dumpy French bakery??? posted by Gerard on May 29, 1998 at 09:32:02:
While I do agree with both Gerard and Francois, I feel that the
TV Food Network has done a lot to promote the food business.
I am the perfect example. I grew up in the restaurant business,
cooking in my dad's place since I was 11. Although we used
only the best and freshest ingredients my father would not attempt
to cook nor eat any dish that was not Italian. But by watching Julia Child,
Great Chef's, Taste and the bane of this thread, Emeril Lagasse, I
have learned so much about food. I now actively seek out
food stuffs that I would never have tried before. I have bought
tons of cookbooks (not all of them "Celebrity" books). Our
friends and family almost never pass up a dinner invitation at our house.
Also, as a result of cooking shows (and magazines, tapes and cookbooks)
my wife and I go to restaurants that we would have otherwise
passed up. We know know of Le_bec Fin (excellent!), Le Cirque 2000,
Lespinasse, Park Ave Cafe and tons of other restaurants. We plan
our vacations (to a certain extent). We recently spent an extended
weekend in New Orleans simply to try all the great restaurants
down there (Bayona was my favorite, Emeril's second).
Call them obnoxious, loud or egotistical but everyone in the food industry benefits
from their work. They may not be the greatest chefs in the world,
but they are exposing a lot of people to alot of different
foods and cuisines and that translates into a more learned
consumer which means more business for everyone.
Also, keep in mind that although Emeril has his own restaurant
empire, he CONstantly pays tribute to other restaurants and chefs
including guys like Roger Verge (sp?). I agree that his live show
is obnoxious, but he still teaches and more importantly, gives out
food for people to try. I think the worst part of his show is not
him, but the fans, which he caters to. C'mon, guys can you really
see Paul Bocuse do a show in front of a bunch of fat obnoxious
women wearingt-shirts emblazoned with slogans like, "BAM!" or
PORK FAT RULES"? Emeril is following an old and time tested business
philosophy: KNOW THY CUSTOMER.
The down side to all this are the obnoxious fans. We went to the Philadelphia
Book and The Cook, only to be surrounded by idiots who were
there simply to get a glimpse of Emeril or swoon over Bobby Flay.
Emeril had to cut his segment short because of the oversized,
obnoxious crowd (he grilled a steak. Big deal). These people
were not interested in seeing him cook - they were there for his shtick.
The best demo was by Roberto Donna and a scant 15 people showed up
for it - less after Emeril and Michael Lomanco were escorted past his
stage by security guards.
So that's my two bits. Hope I didn't insult anyone.
PS: My favorite shows?
Great Chefs Series
Taste (especially for food history and wine)
Chef Du jour (except when inept hollywood types are on making
their mother's lasagna)
Cooking secrets of the CIA
Essence of Emeril (you can keep Emeril Live)
Anything with JAcque Pepin
Julia Child with Master Chefs
Ready Set Cook (Purely for fun)
...and a new show on PBS with Steven Pyles
..a baffling (and annoying)show currently on PBS is
Jacque Torres "Dessert Circus". We could do without the animation
and fawning audience.