Hard disagree. I would argue it MADE the Food Network.
There’s a space for the Julia Child “How to Cook” but I think that space is YouTube and on demand spaces. Entertainment, engagement, excitement, comes from conflict….how do you bring that to food? Make your shows competitions! It’s the same formula you find everywhere because it works. It brings in audience and Food Network is an ad sales business, the audience is the product.
You rag on Chopped but I would say Chopped takes the Iron Chef concept and elevates it by pitting normal chefs against each other with a challenging set of ingredients that each chef has to solve. You get both the excitement of completion against chefs, a ticking clock for pressure, and even some camaraderie as the 4 chefs fight against the basket as well. The judges are also talented and well respected chefs themselves (and yes Scott Conant can be a swarmy dick) even if maybe the average person might not know them, the chefs do.
Oh the argument is that it made Food Network watchable to the masses? I understand if you want to watch some person show you how to make something, but the masses rather see cooking/baking competitions.
I just hate that it basically ended every other format of cooking show on the network save for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. My friend is a minor celebrity chef who had two series on PBS and when she had a meeting with Food Network they were insistent that she do a competition show. She turned them down and went to a regional PBS network then for her second series National PBS.
The original Iron Chef, with Chef Sakai and Chairman Kaga, was pure gold.
Hard disagree. I would argue it MADE the Food Network.
There’s a space for the Julia Child “How to Cook” but I think that space is YouTube and on demand spaces. Entertainment, engagement, excitement, comes from conflict….how do you bring that to food? Make your shows competitions! It’s the same formula you find everywhere because it works. It brings in audience and Food Network is an ad sales business, the audience is the product.
You rag on Chopped but I would say Chopped takes the Iron Chef concept and elevates it by pitting normal chefs against each other with a challenging set of ingredients that each chef has to solve. You get both the excitement of completion against chefs, a ticking clock for pressure, and even some camaraderie as the 4 chefs fight against the basket as well. The judges are also talented and well respected chefs themselves (and yes Scott Conant can be a swarmy dick) even if maybe the average person might not know them, the chefs do.
I just hate how they knew the secret ingredient before they started filming.
Oh the argument is that it made Food Network watchable to the masses? I understand if you want to watch some person show you how to make something, but the masses rather see cooking/baking competitions.
Capitalism… capitalism and the need to make more money, that’s what “ruins” niche cable networks
I just hate that it basically ended every other format of cooking show on the network save for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. My friend is a minor celebrity chef who had two series on PBS and when she had a meeting with Food Network they were insistent that she do a competition show. She turned them down and went to a regional PBS network then for her second series National PBS.
On the other hand “BEEEEERRR!”
I’m just here missing Cutthroat Kitchen.
Mario Batali
/agedlikemilk
Up until a few years ago I thought Chairman Kaga was a real person…I’m 31