TV chefs: Quit touching your lip rings!

[Fear Itself]

This annoyance isn't worthy of a pitting, so I will put it here as it involves TV personalities and cooking.

Lately there have been a number of cooking shows featuring chefs competing against each other for cash and recognition. At least two shows (Chopped and Top Chef) have had contestants who had lip rings, and when they get nervous or stressed, they start fiddling with, or sucking on, their piercings.

Stop it!!

I don't like lip piercings in general, but if that's your thing, go for it. But if you are appearing on a TV show, especially a cooking show, it is just gross to watch some nervous hipster chef start fingering, pulling, twiddling and touching a lip ring with the same hands you are preparing food with. Even sucking on it creeps me out.

Is the urge to touch those things so irresistible you can't restrain yourself even when you are being scrutinized by millions of people? It's a cooking show, and the image of you twiddling a healed wound is ruining my appetite for your food.

It's creepy and gross, so knock it off!!

[tr0psn4j]

If I had a foreign metallic object inside or around my mouth, I'd probably have the urge to fiddle with it too. At least until the doctor can remove it.

[statsman1982]

Jesus, really? I've never seen these shows, and now I have a reason to avoid them. I'm surprised the producers or whoever's in charge hasn't told them that doing something that 99% of the viewing audience probably see as just as gross as you do isn't good for job prospects.

[gwendee]

One one season of Hell's Kitchen there was a contestant whose lip piercing appeared to get infected during the show. Since then seeing any facial piercings on a chef scheeves me right out.

[runner pat]

Originally Posted by statsman1982

Jesus, really? I've never seen these shows, and now I have a reason to avoid them. I'm surprised the producers or whoever's in charge hasn't told them that doing something that 99% of the viewing audience probably see as just as gross as you do isn't good for job prospects.

I would also imagine that touching a piercing in a restaurant setting would be a health code violation.