Now I’m sure that our ES readers feel so completely satisfied with our coverage on all things food related that you don’t have the desire to check out other, less funny, less entertaining, less informative food blogs. But if you do, you may want to check outThe Amateur Gourmet. Adam Roberts really nails the New York-gay-lawyer-Jew thing. Plus he makes some pretty great food.
Through my Express freelancing, I had the chance to gChat with the blogger behind the blog, who also is a published author and a new Food Network personality.
Food Network gave you a cooking show, even though you aren’t, you know, a chef. Oprah gave you a talk show, even though America can’t stand the sound of your voice. Magazines, books, indie rock, etc…if a medium exists, Rachael Ray is intent on conquering it.
Now comes word that the Rayster will be going animated for her very own cartoon show. Here’s the news from PopCrunch (via Slashfood)
Rachael is developing a cartoon, featuring herself as a young chef, for a January 2009 release thorough Oprah’s Harpo Productions.
“It’s in the very early stages of production,” an insider says. “Rachael is working with illustrators, trying to get the right look for her character.”
This might be the first thing since Fraggle Rock that gets me to wake up early on Saturday mornings – but only if she recruits Anthony Bourdain to voice a Gargamel-esque villain.
Editors Note: Our favorite and most knowledgeable commenter, JoeHoya, got a sneak peak of Mr. Bobby Flay, right here in DC. Below he shares his brush with Food Network fame.
About three weeks ago, local blog FrozenTropics informed readers that the Food Network would be filming a piece at Granville Moore’s, a Belgian beer and mussels place that describes itself as “A Gastropub with a Healthy Belgian Fetish.”According to the network, this would be a profile of Chef Teddy Folkman and his mussels and frites for an upcoming show called “America Eats.”
Why choose such a new and relatively low-profile locale instead of heavy-hitter Robert Wiedmaier’s Brasserie Beck?Hard to say, but Teddy submitted an audition video to the Food Network– over the top, to be sure, but a great insight into his personality and the enthusiasm he brings to the restaurant – and they liked it enough to come calling.
On Monday, they shadowed Folkman as he shopped for fresh fish for the evening’s special, prepared mussels, and served the first few folks who came into the restaurant that night.Though it had been billed as a full night of taping, the crew had packed up and left by the time I arrived at 6:30.
Food Network fans smelled something fishy, and the abbreviated taping wasn’t the first clue.Nothing about “America Eats” could be found on the network’s site, and they asked Folkman and his staff to plan a party this afternoon at which Teddy would tape another demonstration of how to make his mussels with blue cheese, bacon, spinach and shallots.It didn’t take a rocket scientist to smell a Throwdown in the making.
Editors Note: You might remember BK from his earlier rant on ES fav Alton Brown. Well, this time he has more shit to throw at another Food Network star. But this time, it’s way more legit. Here’s BK on resume writing.
Who among us hasn’t padded our resume a bit? That was my first reaction when I saw that Robert Irvine was being sacked by the Food Network for lying about his previous cooking experience. After reading some of the things he tried to get away with, you can’t help but wonder if he is a little nuts though. Regardless of his indiscretions, I can’t help but be a little disappointed, and here is why.
There are two things I like about going out to eat. I love the artistry involved in a well crafted dish. But just as much, I love watching the machinations of a restaurant when it is trying to pump out 250 covers on a jumping Friday night. Having worked in several capacities at different restaurants, I know every second of a busy Friday or Saturday: the entire place is walking a thin line between flawless service and utter insanity.
Most of the Food Network programs make cooking look so easy. Every time someone tastes one of their own dishes, they gesticulate and moan about how wonderful it is. Never once have even I witnessed anyone say, “this could use a little more salt.”
Like Bob Ross whipping together a perfect landscape painting in a half an hour, it is all a bit unrealistic. Robert Irvine’s Dinner: Impossible was probably guilty of over dramatizing the stress of his situations. But it brought something entirely different to the network. It demonstrated to people how challenging cooking for large groups of people can be and hopefully added to their appreciation of the cooking business. He seemed like an affable guy and his food always looked really good.
I hope he lands on his feet somewhere soon. I would definitely go out to eat at any restaurant he opens. Now I hope no one finds out I wasn’t Kim Jong Il’s personal chef. Kimchi anyone?
If you thought that Dangerous Minds song was the pinnacle of Coolio’s career, well you were wrong, wrong, wrong, because the flamboyant 90’s rapper “is ’bout to teach yo’ ass how to cook.”Yes, you read that correctly. In a definitively amazing attempt to heighten his post-Gangtas Paradise career to Flava Flavian proportions, Coolio now has an online cooking show, complete with video hos and and a creepy sidekick. Take if from me, learning to love “Cookin with Coolio” is as easy as 1-2-3-4.
In episode one, Coolio doesn’t actually cook anything, but he does prepare a beautiful caprese salad that is allegedly “better than ‘yo momma’s titties.” I don’t know about all that, but you’ve got to admit, it does look pretty delicious.
Other words of wisdom from Chef Coolio:
– This dish will come in handy if your girlfriend is “one of those salad eating bitches.”
– Go light on the Extra Virgin, because “an oily salad ain’t shit.”
– Also, try to finish off your caprese with a healthy dusting of what may or may not be marijuana, and it helps if you end most sentences by inexplicably yelling “Shaka Zulu.”
Rachael Ray he is not. He is, however, one million times more entertaining than Rachael Ray. And – if you send in the best video response to Coolio’s lesson, you can win an autographed bell pepper!
Yes, I’m obsessed with the WaPo chats. Okay, so here is an a-mazing excerpt from Kim OD’s chat. Surely this reader is also a fan of ES! (Or just observing the Chinese New Year – the Year of the Rat.)
Fairfax, Va.: Do you have any rat recipes?
Kim O’Donnel: I think this is a question better suited for the most intrepid eater on the planet, Mister Anthony Bourdain.
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No Rat on the Menu!: Actually, the Chinese government passed a resolution or some such thing asking the people to respect and honor (or something like that) rats for the next year…..I don’t think that includes eating them!
