Posted by Gerard on May 29, 1998 at 14:39:29:
In Reply to: TV Chefs: Another Point of View posted by Pat I. on May 29, 1998 at 12:30:36:
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