Celebrity Chefs

dragon_girl26

Do you have certain celebrity or famous chefs/cooks that you like to watch/follow? If so, why?
I have a pretty extensive list of them, but here are a few of my top favorites:
Alton Brown - I'm a nerd, so his approach appeals to me. I like how he tries to explain the science behind what goes on in his recipes, and seeks out the "best" ways to make them.
Nigella Lawson - I like her shows and the way she describes food. I've made several of her recipes and have not been disappointed so far. I don't feel like they are overly complicated, either.
Nadia G - Her shows are entertaining, I like her style, and both of her recipe books have a good variety of meals that appeal to me. Also have never been disappointed with any of the recipes I've tried.
Thomas Keller - I'm primarily a fan of his books. Ad Hoc at Home is a massive book, but it's almost like a cooking school textbook. If you want to acquire a good grasp of cooking, his are great books to check out.

So..what about you?

Idle_Moon

Jamie Oliver! He is such a charming guy. He tries to get eating healthier more approachable for the public. He also helps young folk to learn cooking. And he makes cooking more fun in general.

Rudolph van Veen is also a nice chef to watch. I like it how he explains everything he does, even when it seems obvious. But I wouldn't cook lots of his recipes.

dragon_girl26

Idle_Moon wrote: »

Jamie Oliver! He is such a charming guy. He tries to get eating healthier more approachable for the public. He also helps young folk to learn cooking. And he makes cooking more fun in general.

Rudolph van Veen is also a nice chef to watch. I like it how he explains everything he does, even when it seems obvious. But I wouldn't cook lots of his recipes.

Forgot about Jamie Oliver...I like him too. Funny enough, I haven'theard of Ruddolph Van Veen. Does he have a certain cuisine he makes, or are his recipes just too involved for you? That's how Alton Brown''s recipes are for me sometimes.

Hamsibian

I seriously would love to follow Jamie Oliver around to help bring healthy meals to schools and communities. I would also love to travel and eat local foods like he does...I just find culture and cooking so fun!
Alton Brown is great because I love learning about some of the science behind foods. The Farmhouse Rules woman (I forgot her name) - her food looks amazing and fresh, plus I love her enthusiasm. I couldn't make any of her food though lol

Idle_Moon

@dragon_girl26: Rudolp van Veen is a dutch chef doing a lot of Dutch shows. He does varied things. Showing 15-minute recipes, but also fancy recipes. He has a baking show too, showing how to make cakes, cookies, etc.

rainbowbow

i've been a huge food network fan since i was in kindergarden! LOL I remember watching shows like ready, set cook! Emeril. The naked chef (jaime oliver). And so much more!

I love alton brown, Michael Chiarello, and Ina Garten. Alton because he is fun and i grew up learning to cook through him, but michael and ina because their recipes and style have always kicked BUTT for me. i think their cooking style is very similar to my own.

oh, of course i watched the original iron chef (If memory serves me right...) and Rokusaburo Michiba and Hiroyuki Sakai are my favorite. (I had a crush on the chairman, don't judge)

I also really like Kerry Vincent and duff goldman... because.... obviously.


on a side note: I HATE THE FOLLOWING: rachel ray, giada, sandra lee, and most of all.... bobby flay.

JeromeBarry1

I just heard this afternoon that one of my church ladies is going to be on Fox Masterchef, so yeah.

dragon_girl26

Hamsibian wrote: »

I seriously would love to follow Jamie Oliver around to help bring healthy meals to schools and communities. I would also love to travel and eat local foods like he does...I just find culture and cooking so fun!
Alton Brown is great because I love learning about some of the science behind foods. The Farmhouse Rules woman (I forgot her name) - her food looks amazing and fresh, plus I love her enthusiasm. I couldn't make any of her food though lol

Oh, yeah..Nancy Fuller, I think? I've never seen her show but I've heard about it.
I think that would be fun to travel, too. Jamie Oliver seems like a pretty standup guy.

dragon_girl26

rainbowbow wrote: »

i've been a huge food network fan since i was in kindergarden! LOL I remember watching shows like ready, set cook! Emeril. The naked chef (jaime oliver). And so much more!

I love alton brown, Michael Chiarello, and Ina Garten. Alton because he is fun and i grew up learning to cook through him, but michael and ina because their recipes and style have always kicked BUTT for me. i think their cooking style is very similar to my own.

oh, of course i watched the original iron chef (If memory serves me right...) and Rokusaburo Michiba and Hiroyuki Sakai are my favorite. (I had a crush on the chairman, don't judge)

I also really like Kerry Vincent and duff goldman... because.... obviously.


on a side note: I HATE THE FOLLOWING: rachel ray, giada, sandra lee, and most of all.... bobby flay.

I first got into Food Network because of Emeril...LOVED his show! I mean, who ever had a cooking show with a live band before him? He made me want to be a chef, too. Wonder what he's up to these days?
I can't stomach Rachel Ray. Her voice grates at me..just something about her. I'm a little that way about Guy Fieri, too...I'd change the channel anytime his shows came on.

dragon_girl26

Idle_Moon wrote: »

@dragon_girl26: Rudolp van Veen is a dutch chef doing a lot of Dutch shows. He does varied things. Showing 15-minute recipes, but also fancy recipes. He has a baking show too, showing how to make cakes, cookies, etc.

After seeing this, I went out and did a Google search. Just looking through the photos from the recipes on his site, it all looks incredible!

Cahgetsfit

OMG I LOVE cooking shows.

I love Jamie Oliver - he makes yummy foods and is informative and I like his style.

Nigella is lovely to watch because she's so voluptuosly attractive that even if I don't feel like eating the food she makes, she still looks good and makes the food desirable.

I love the Hairy Bikers!!! I used to love the Two Fat LAdies too - OMG! Everything had LARD in it and was just... divine.

And just recently they added a new food channel to free TV here in Australia and I've got a bit of an old lady celebrity crush on two people - that Paul Hollywood guy - haven't even seen his show yet because it hasn't been on when I have time to watch TV - but OMG!!!! He is just.... scrumptuous; and

crush number two I have watched a few times it's that Anthony BOurdain guy who travels around drinking beer and eating food. Yum.

I also like watching random stuff like Cutthroat Kitchen and those baking shows... not keen on the child cooking shows though. And I like watching Beat Bobby Flay.

Cahgetsfit

rainbowbow wrote: »

...

oh, of course i watched the original iron chef (If memory serves me right...) and Rokusaburo Michiba and Hiroyuki Sakai are my favorite. (I had a crush on the chairman, don't judge)
... .

OMG! I did too - not judging! LOL!!!!!

Habiteer

Alton Brown makes cutthroat kitchen pretty entertaining. Love cutthroat kitchen, but sometimes I gotta skip episodes when they feel too rigged.

Cahgetsfit

Oh yeah - those HEston's Feasts shows were good too with all the history stuff behind it.

And a tragic cooking show I like to watch is Come Dine With Me. The Greek version had people who actually knew how to cook and was funny as well as yummy, but the British one is quite amusing with how BAD the home chefs are but they are always funny characters

Cahgetsfit

Drawoc wrote: »

Alton Brown makes cutthroat kitchen pretty entertaining. Love cutthroat kitchen, but sometimes I gotta skip episodes when they feel too rigged.

I like the celebritiy cutthrat kitchen - that one was good

fishshark

alton brown only.. that man is a genius. Good Eats was a life saver when i was going through culinary school 10 years ago. I learned "why" not just the "how".

dragon_girl26

fishshark wrote: »

alton brown only.. that man is a genius. Good Eats was a life saver when i was going through culinary school 10 years ago. I learned "why" not just the "how".

I miss that show so much! He has a YouTube channel where he put out a few episodes of a cooking type of show again, but they seem to be few and far between. He's coming here on his tour next year...I can't wait!

I like him on Cutthroat Kitchen, too, but not nearly as much as Good Eats. He feels a bit out of his element there to me for some reason.

dragon_girl26

Cahgetsfit wrote: »

Oh yeah - those HEston's Feasts shows were good too with all the history stuff behind it.

And a tragic cooking show I like to watch is Come Dine With Me. The Greek version had people who actually knew how to cook and was funny as well as yummy, but the British one is quite amusing with how BAD the home chefs are but they are always funny characters

A tragic cooking show? I've never heard of this one..I'm intrigued. Or, it almost sounds something like Worst Cooks in America, with people who have no idea how to cook.

Hamsibian

dragon_girl26 wrote: »

Hamsibian wrote: »

I seriously would love to follow Jamie Oliver around to help bring healthy meals to schools and communities. I would also love to travel and eat local foods like he does...I just find culture and cooking so fun!
Alton Brown is great because I love learning about some of the science behind foods. The Farmhouse Rules woman (I forgot her name) - her food looks amazing and fresh, plus I love her enthusiasm. I couldn't make any of her food though lol

Oh, yeah..Nancy Fuller, I think? I've never seen her show but I've heard about it.
I think that would be fun to travel, too. Jamie Oliver seems like a pretty standup guy.

Yup, that's her!
I really like Jamie Oliver because I've worked with at risk children in school and treatment settings, and the food is just awful. Families desperately want to feed their children better, but struggle to make ends meet to buy fruits and vegetables that aren't canned or last more than a few days. It seriously broke my heart. I am serious when I say I want to follow him around and help lol.

I also saw some episodes of Siba's Table, and her food looks delicious. I love when she goes to the market because it reminds me of when I shop by my grandma's in Egypt. South Africa looks beautiful too.

zcb94

I love Alton Brown's work/shows. I occasionally follow/like almost everyone who has been mentioned so far. I'm watching Sandra Lee as I type, too. She's pretty good.

NewMeSM75

Pioneer Woman. I don't think anyone's family is that perfect but her recipes are simple and something my family would eat.

Ina Garten. She's just classic. Her voice is calming.

Big fan of Aaron Sanchez although he doesn't have a cooking show. Heat seekers with Roger Mooking was hilarious.

Roger Mooking had a show at one time I really liked. He's just down to earth.

Tyler Florence... He hasn't had a show in quite some time but noticed he's cooking on one again.

Mario Batali used to be an all time favorite. Most I wouldn't cook but I liked his attitude and he was entertaining.

Need2Exerc1se

Bobby Flay - love his cooking shows, but not so much the "reality" game type shows
Gabriele Corcos - Everything that guy cooks looks SO delicious and I like his philosophy on food basics

JenHuedy

Another HUGE Alton Brown fan, here! Learned so much watching that show.

And in the same vein as Alton, but without sock puppets, America's Test Kitchen. I have a ton of their books and love how they teach techniques, not just recipes.

I've always loved Nigella. She could make a bologna sandwich seem sexy.

And Anthony Bourdain doesn't really do a cooking show, more of a food-based travel show. But I love both those things, (and his books) so I can't resist.

When I was unemployed, I watched The Chew alot. All of the chefs on there are great and have different styles.

Loved anything Gordon Ramsey when he was on BBC. The stuff he does for Fox in the US is crap.

About the only food competition show I like is Top Chef. There's some real talent on that show.

But I've cut down on my Food Porn by quite a bit. It's just makes me want to cook all the food (and EAT it!)

joans1976

Seriously, the Great British Baking Show. Hands down. I love the setting, the terminology (I'm from the US so anything they say I'm googly-eyed in love.) The hosts names are Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry! Ha!
I used to detest Guy Fieri but then I watched some Next FoodNetwork star show and he was on it and was actually NOT a d-bag. You get to see a lot of celebrity chefs on that show as mentors and it shows a different side. I now watch "Guys Grocery Games." Kind of a guilty pleasure but you learn some stuff from the amateurs on there. Still can't watch Diners, Drive ins and Dives though.

IMO Bobby Flay is a tool and his teeth look like baked beans. He and Giada Dela whatever her name is can have each other.

Love food porn but it is tough on the emotional side of eating!