There are some other shows on PBS and other network channels but I haven’t really seen enough episodes of those to give a view. Also I put these in alphabetical order by last name of major chef, not in order of preference. I started by finding out the background of these chefs at http://createtv.com/ . Then I just typed their name into http://www.dogpile.com/ Dogpile, my favorite search engine, to see if they had a website. In some cases I used their main website instead of the cooking website because you can easily find the cooking website from the main website. In the case of Everyday Food I did not use Martha Stewart’s website because you won’t find anything about the cooks on the PBS show.
You can’t have a cooking show unless you use the word ‘carmelize’ or some form thereof. Your food always tastes good, you never make a face when you taste it. You don’t have to tell me that you ‘really like x or y’ this is a given, otherwise you would be cooking something else. I do, how some ever, enjoy when you tell me WHY you are doing something.
Made In Spain (José Andrés) Only the home page is in Spanish the rest of the website is mostly english http://www.josemadeinspain.com/
one liner – Spanish cooking
niche – All Spanish cooking, all the time.
He has an accent and his rhythm and cadence of speech is a little distracting but he is very enthusiastic.
Travels to Spanish shops and businesses as well as Spanish markets to show us how they cook something or where they get something. Washington D.C. is where he lives and where he cooks for his TV show
Lidia’s Italy(Lidia Bastianich) http://www.lidiasitaly.com/
one liner – Italian cooking
niche – All Italian cooking, all the time.
Travel – Takes you to different cities in Italy and food markets in Italy. She cooks in her kitchen. She has guest chefs. Sometimes one of the guest chefs is her mom. The guest chef cooks unless it is her mom. Mom watches and advises. Sometimes the Italian people are uncomfortable when she speaks English for the camera. She uses all the parts from an animal for recipes. Apparently Italians have a favorite food made from corn meal called Polenta. They put it in a sandwich all by itself or they use it in different recipes.
Mexico – One plate at a time Rick Bayless http://www.rickbayless.com/
one liner – Mexico, cooking
niche – All Mexico cooking all the time. He can speak (probably write and read also) fluent Spanish.
most knowledgeable – Tied with Steven Raichlen
most unusual scenario – half-naked in Mexico spelunking episode and all after food. Also unusual (for cooking shows) occasionally uses a pit to cook the dish.
He travels to different places in Mexico. The Spanish people seem to like him and they are not uncomfortable when he speaks English for the camera. He really researches the dishes and the history of the place he takes you to. He does not have guest chefs but his daughter helps him cook. He cooks at his home or at his restaurant.
Barbeque America (Rick Browne) http://www.barbecueamerica.com/
Have not watched enough shows to be able to have a complete review.
Food Trip with Todd English http://www.toddenglish.com/
niche – Travels all over to find a dish.
Have not watched enough shows to do a complete review.
Hubert Keller : Secrets of a Chef http://www.fleurdelyssf.com/
one liner – French meets West and no guest chefs or guest cooks.
niche – Cooks in the Kitchen of his restaurant (Sleek) and you can see people in the background performing chores.
Doesn’t really travel it is all done in one kitchen or another.
He is enthusiastic and excited clearly loves what he is doing. He has won some awards for cooking. He starts out the show in his show kitchen and ends the show in the kitchen of one of his eight restaurants. You can download recipes from his website.
America’s Test Kitchen From Cooks Illustrated(Christopher Kimball) http://americastestkitchen.com/
one liner – Consumer Reports meets Everyday cooking.
niche – They research the cooking process, re the chemistry that happens. They also research the utensils and equipment that is used.
There appears to be more going on than we can see.
safety tips – occasionally has some cautions.
Least traveled? They don’t go anywhere, most of the action takes place in the test kitchen.
Occasionally does a gourmet recipe. Most bang for your buck for non gourmet. They really test different chemical processes so you get the best flavor for the least amount of money. They cook food over and over again using different ingredients or different processes to get the best taste. They qualify traditional recipes by saying this recipe calls for X but we found that doesn’t really work so we found Y (either a different process or different ingredient) works better.
Daisy Cooks! (Daisy MartÃnez) http://www.daisymartinez.com/home.shtm
Has the most Joie de vivre
Have not watched enough shows to do a complete review.
Sara’s Weeknight Meals (Sara Moulton)(went to U of M Ann Arbor) http://www.saramoulton.com/
one liner – Great meals in about an hour (or less sometimes).
niche – gourmet meals geared to cook on a week night.
A bright cheery kitchen to match her bright cheery personality. Knows her stuff. Kitchen is well laid out. Sara does not own a restaurant but has cooked in lots of them. Recipes can be found on her website. She has written several books. She has done a lot of work in television in a behind the scenes capacity and in front of the camera also. Sara does not really travel on her show but she has traveled the world. Sara’s Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_moulton does not mention that she has won any awards.
Jacques Pépin:Fast Food My Way (Jacques Pépin) http://www.kqed.org/food/jacquespepin/
I think he was Julia Child’s favorite person to cook (on TV) with.
Dirtiest Chef – he does not wash his hands very often. He usually just uses his towel that he has hanging at his waist.
Have not watched enough shows to do a complete review.
Christina Cooks (Christina Pirello) http://www.christinapirello.org/
one liner – More than cooking
niche – Health food plus singing and exercise.
She could do without the singer of her choice.
Doesn’t really travel it is all done in the kitchen or a room nearby (for the singing and for the exercises).
Have not watched enough shows to do a complete review.
Primal Grill With Steven Raichlen (Barbeque U) http://www.primalgrill.org/
one liner – Barbeque, barbeque and more barbeque.
niche – Cooking with barbeques.
If I was his wife he could buy as many barbeques as he wanted to.
safety tips – Never forgets to tell you how to be safe while cooking. Keep the food safe and keep yourself from getting burned.
most knowledgeable – Tied with Rick Bayless. Sometimes he forgets to tell you to remove the membrane, usually with ribs.
most traveled – Without a doubt.
most countries – He has seen a lot of the world plus he has researched the history of the dishes he prepares.
most unusual food cooked (sorry forget what it was).
Rachel Ray (Rachel Ray) http://www.rachaelray.com/
niche – Does her cooking before a live audience and has guest celebrities to sit at the table with her.
Cooks food that is popular with the audience whether it is good for you or not.
Slowest Chopper and does not seem to use utensils that she is comfortable with.
Nick Stellino Cooking with Friends Nick Stellino http://www.nickstellino.com/
one liner – His friends are (no surprise) Chefs.
niche – Talks with his guest host. A Lot. You wonder if they can actually cook the dish in the time alloted.
Talks with his hands. A lot.
He is very enthusiastic and seems very happy. One time I saw him come in to the set wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase. You don’t usually see chefs do this. He has not won any cooking awards but he was grand master of the Columbus Parade in San Francisco (a first for a chef). You can download recipes from his website. He has a blog.
Everyday Food (Martha Stewart) http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/
niche – Has Five people prepare five dishes in one half hour, this doesn’t work for me because you don’t really get to hear about the dish and what to do with it due to lack of time.
If you don’t have a lot of time you can see five dishes prepared in this show.
Simply Ming (Ming Tsai) 蔡明昊 http://www.ming.com/simplyming
one liner – East Meets West
niche – When he has a guest chef on, he prepares a dish. Then later he helps the guest chef prepare a dish, then they sit down to a table and eat the dishes that were prepared on that day’s show.
He travels to China and shows us how they eat a dish in China. The Chinese do not seem uncomfortable when he speaks English for the camera.
Cleanest chef has a handy sink. Washes his hands a lot and when he is too far away from the sink he has a bowl of water to wash nearby.
Joanne Weir’s Cooking class http://www.joanneweir.com/index.php
niche – Has a person next to her that is the ‘student’, this doesn’t work for me. On NCIS the characters Ziva and DiNozzo’s animosity towards one another doesn’t work for me either. Joanne’s student never asks questions this is unrealistic.
Have not watched enough shows for a complete review and will not be watching enough shows to do a complete review.
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