My mom is PISTED. Like super crazy mad, sad, frustrated, disappointed, pisted. My mom is a soap opera fan. She’s been watching All My Children for almost 40 years now. Yea, I said 40.

Every day she tapes the soap, which airs at 1pm EST, to watch later that night. Growing up I would watch with her. We would paint sea shells at the kitchen table and engage with our “friends” as they married, divorced, cheated, gave birth, died, mysteriously found the way back to Pine Valley with amnesia, and died again.

But no more. ABC yanked both All My Children and One Life to Live off the air…for a food (and lifestyle) show. My mom is someone fairly unconcerned with food. She eats to survive, not for pleasure, so you can imagine her fury knowing a food show (that has plenty of its own channels) will replace her soap. Luckily, AMC will transition online and continue to dazzle audiences with outrageous plots.

Starting September 26th, the one o’clock hour will feature The Chew staring Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Top Chef Carla Hall, “entertaining expert” Clinton Kelly and “health and wellness enthusiast” Daphne Oz (says press release.) ABC is furthermore calling its new food show “innovative and groundbreaking.”

Yesterday ABC released a “behind the scenes” (aka totally staged with fake moments of enormous laughter) teaser. Everyone’s giggling and super buddy buddy. I’m sure the show will be lighthearted, filled with quick tips for busy parents and party ideas for yuppie couples. But I hope it’s more.

This country needs help. We have a food addiction. Do we need another fluff show about pomegranates or the next new super food? No. We need to educate the public. We need to take serious steps to further our health. We need to combat obesity, food deserts, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), failing school lunch programs and any other problem Mark Bittman identifies.

I hope The Chew—with a large audience, on a major network—will tackle these crucial issues and actually make a difference. At least for my mom’s sake.

The Chew: Behind the Scenes video [ABC]

RIP AMC on TV!

Maybe it was the flamboyantly dressed and incredibly intense Asian gentleman simply called “The Chairman.” Maybe it was the exotic ingredients like river eel and udon. Maybe it was the hastily dubbed frenetic pace of kitchen stadium. Whatever the reason, Iron Chef was the first show that truly sparked my interest in cooking and the limitless options cooks have when they use their imagination. To be fair, I was in college when I came upon the Iron Chef series, when my diet consisted of things like Easy Mac, the cafeteria salad bar and PBR, so it was all outside my small comfort zone. But still, it was amazing.

This was the time when the Food Network was beginning to gain a foothold and many of the programs were as much about technique as the recipes.  Shows like Iron Chef, A Cook’s Tour, Good Eats, Food 911, etc.. really sparked a whole generation to step into the kitchen. Unfortunately since then, much of food television has moved towards personality and recipe driven programming. Even Top Chef seems to be shifting this way.

Today, my favorite food related show airs on the Travel Channel, but I still catch some others and I’ve really enjoyed the 2 seasons of The Next Iron Chef. Through that competition and Michael Ruhlman’s book The Soul of a Chef, I have come to  appreciate the way Chef Michael Symon approaches food. While this appreciation is nowhere near TVFF’s foodie man crush on Season 2 Next Iron Chef winner Jose Garces,  I still jumped at the opportunity to speak with Chef Symon about his new shows, Philly cheesesteaks, and his thoughts on tofu bacon. Click play above to watch my video interview with Michael Symon.

The Next Iron Chef premieres 10/3 on the Food Network. Michael’s new Food Network show, Food Feuds premieres 10/14. His current show, Cook Like an Iron Chef, airs Thursdays on the Cooking Channel. Phew.

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

- You can be the proud owner of a Rachael Ray nude fantasy portrait.  Be sure to rush for Christmas delivery!

- Eli’s coming.  Time to update the handy Endless Simmer NYC Top Chef map.

After the jump…just a small bite for me, Sorvino gets saucy and Sandra sinks to new depths (!?!).

- The idea of a show called Little Chocolatiers, which is about “two little people who own a chocolate shop” was enticing until I realized the idea has already been fully explored by the Keebler Elves.

- Actor Paul Sorvino, who may be best known for his jailhouse cuisine in Goodfellas, is coming out with a line of marinara sauce.  Nice tie-in.  I guess we should all be glad that Paul Newman didn’t try to market hard boiled eggs, right?

- In Slashfood’s recap of the year in food TV, they criticize Sandra Lee’s newest show for being even more pandering and uninspired.  Wow…I would have thought that topping the crap that’s usually there would have impossible.  Bravo, Sandra!

The latest and greatest news about celebrity chefs, served up buffet style.

- It may be great, it may be terrible.  I don’t care.  I’m having geek overload:  Star Wars-themed beer.

- Nah, I don’t care that Tiger Woods is apparently a serial philanderer.  Wait…he eats at Perkins?  Take him for all he’s worth, Elin!

After the jump… grilled meat beats MREs any day of the week, a celeb who won’t capitalize on her fame and I don’t think that’s kosher.

- Al Roker went to Afghanistan to grill with the troops.  I’m a little disappointed he didn’t go the locavore route and prepare smoked camel.

- Looks like won’t be seeing the Central Perk cookbook any time soon.  Wow…Jennifer Aniston today and John Mayer the other day.  ES is turning into a 2007 gossip blog all of a sudden.

- I’m no rabbi, Michael Symon, but doesn’t frying your  latke in bacon fat cause some…issues?