Pet peeves about cooking shows
- Thread starter grumpyoldman
- Start date
I know with professional food styling/photography, the food is usually not fit for consumption. I don't know about cooking shows. The host is making the food on camera, so it would be harder to fake the looks.
CD
medtran49
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And she doesn't call herself a chef nor does Trisha.
In Brit cooking shows the chef eating some of what they cooked at the end is a fait accompli so if its not fit to eat I’m not sure what they’re tucking into at the end 
Food photography is a whole other game, quite gross some of the things they use to make the food look good under the lights
Food photography is a whole other game, quite gross some of the things they use to make the food look good under the lights
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One of the things I’m not keen on in a very small percentage of cookery progs is the when they insert too much whimsy or have an overtly sexy edge to it. I don’t want to see a chef eating a spoonful of something like they’re trying to seduce you.
A good example of too much whimsy being the Sophie Dahl cookery prog (Roald Dahls granddaughter) where there were frequent moments where poetry was read out in a sickly cutesy fashion. ‘Ooh look at me being all clever and artsy’’ no thanks, just get on with the cooking thing we tuned into see
A good example of too much whimsy being the Sophie Dahl cookery prog (Roald Dahls granddaughter) where there were frequent moments where poetry was read out in a sickly cutesy fashion. ‘Ooh look at me being all clever and artsy’’ no thanks, just get on with the cooking thing we tuned into see
JAS_OH1
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Except for the American show Chopped. They are given some really weird ingredients sometimes (lamb brains or testicles, century eggs, etc.) and with a limited amount of time to get the food on the plate so chicken or pork might be undercooked, food isn't seasoned properly, etc. And they sometimes cut themselves and it's inedible.I’ve read the camera crew are eternally hungry and it doesn’t last five minutes once filming is over - even after it’s long gone cold
JAS_OH1
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That's hilarious!
Oh we had one a bit like that here donkey years ago called ready steady cook. Two chefs compete against each other with a handful of ingredients brought in by a member of the public under a short time limit and then the audience voted on who won.
They always brought in rubbish ingredients that didn‘t work together and the food was often not properly cooked.
I couldn‘t watch it in the end - the food was awful and it was a waste.
JAS_OH1
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Yeah, ours is judged by a panel of celebrity chefs and restaurant owners with 4 contestants cooking 3 rounds...a contestant is "chopped" after each round with the final contestant winning 10k. I watched it for a few years but it did get old. They still make episodes I do believe.
Windigo
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That!
But even most cooks aren't chefs, I have always called myself ' cook ' on here because I never lead a brigade but did work in a kitchen. The word ' chef ' is actually strenge to apply to everyone who cooks like television does.
The cook/chef thing, I always liked Julia What’s-Her-Face’s remark on America’s Test Kitchen.
When asked if she was a chef or a cook, she said a chef runs the kitchen, sets the menu, procures the ingredients, and a cook executes that that. Her summation: “At home, I’m the chef (and the cook!), but here on the show, I’m just the cook.”
So even though I don’t have the checkered trousers (I’m usually cooking in my underpants), I’m the chef!
When asked if she was a chef or a cook, she said a chef runs the kitchen, sets the menu, procures the ingredients, and a cook executes that that. Her summation: “At home, I’m the chef (and the cook!), but here on the show, I’m just the cook.”
So even though I don’t have the checkered trousers (I’m usually cooking in my underpants), I’m the chef!
So even though I don’t have the checkered trousers (I’m usually cooking in my underpants), I’m the chef!
I'm glad I picked up a fresh bottle the other day...
CD
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
Guy Fieri and DDD are In Barcelona. I've no peeve about that.
Food photography is a whole other game, quite gross some of the things they use to make the food look good under the lights
I can hand on heart say that none of my food photography uses inedible or fake elements. I tend to think that 'faked' food photography is less common these days. Digital photography is much easier in terms of getting perfect results for food than film.
My food photos are real food, since I eat it after I photograph it. But, I know that professional food stylist still do some weird stuff to make food look better, particularly for marketing/advertising use. Editorial photographers tend to use food that is edible, although maybe not as shot. I did a magazine shoot of food from a prime steakhouse. The steak was pretty much raw inside, with a perfect crust. After the shoot, the chef finished cooking the steak to medium rare so I could eat it.
CD