# I miss old style cooking shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834 "2013-04-27T12:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/1 "2013-04-27T12:54:00Z")
When I was a kid in the 80’s, I’d watch cooking shows on PBS every weekend with my Mom. Those shows were great; instructive, relaxing, comforting. These days, they all seem to have lightning quick edits with the camera only focusing on a view for a split second. Am I watching a cooking show or a Michael Bay film? I really don’t need to see a close up of the cook pouring a liquid into a measuring spoon and dumping that into a bowl. A wide shot can convey that pretty damn well. Likewise, on what wide shots they do use, KEEP THE DAMN CAMERA STILL! Man, TV sucks at everything these days. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/2 "2013-04-27T13:03:50Z")
Blame Food Network. I’m serious about that. The cooking shows which still air on PBS mostly adhere to the old school style. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/3 "2013-04-27T13:06:22Z")
My parents loved _The Frugal Gourmet_. I preferred _Yan Can Cook_. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/4 "2013-04-27T13:09:44Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > My parents loved _The Frugal Gourmet_. I preferred _Yan Can Cook_. I loved both of those. Also, Ciao Italia was pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/5 "2013-04-27T13:10:50Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > Blame Food Network. > > I’m serious about that. > > The cooking shows which still air on PBS mostly adhere to the old school style. Mostly, Good Eats makes up for that, mostly. ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/6 "2013-04-27T13:44:16Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > These days, they all seem to have lightning quick edits with the camera only focusing on a view for a split second. Am I watching a cooking show or a Michael Bay film? I think we need to understand that cooking shows are not really about cooking anymore. I don’t watch them much, but I take note occasionally, and this fact is clear. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/7 "2013-04-27T13:59:10Z")
I LOVED Yan Can Cook! He made it look SO easy (every recipe was basically the same). I’ve never had much success in cooking Chinese food, though, it always lacked something. There’s a reason there are so many Chinese takeout restaurants. We watched The Frugal Gourmet on PBS weekends back in the day. My then fiance took one look and said, ‘that geezer looks like a pervert’. I hotly defended the nice man! Who knew Mr. Clueless’ radar was correct?? I still have most of his cookbooks, good reading and some comfy recipes. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/8 "2013-04-27T14:00:03Z")
I’d watch those shows on Saturday mornings. My favorite was Justin Wilson but Yan Can Cook was also good. One of my favorite up-and-coming comics has a great sendup of those shows in [“Cooking Dixie” with Nathaniel RobertELee](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUJNpjD1Izc) which might be worth 8 minutes of your time. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/9 "2013-04-27T14:02:19Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > I think we need to understand that cooking shows are not really about cooking anymore. I don’t watch them much, but I take note occasionally, and this fact is clear. Right, they are about “personalities”. Give me a show like David Rosengarten’s _Taste_. Nothing but a man in a kitchen making food with a passionate desire to help people do it better. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/10 "2013-04-27T14:25:14Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > These days, they all seem to have lightning quick edits with the camera only focusing on a view for a split second. Am I watching a cooking show or a Michael Bay film? > > I really don’t need to see a close up of the cook pouring a liquid into a measuring spoon and dumping that into a bowl. A wide shot can convey that pretty damn well. > > Likewise, on what wide shots they do use, KEEP THE DAMN CAMERA STILL! Not to mention the **ZOOOOOOM** in **ZOOOOOOM** out with every shot. And it’s not just cooking shows **Sparky**. Everybody does it now. Home Improvement shows, Storage Auction, Tatoo thisnthat. You can’t get a look at what they’re showing and isn’t that the whole point of these programs? To see stuff? I’m with you man. Back up, throw away that freakin’ zoom lens and get a tripod! ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/11 "2013-04-27T14:36:47Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > Mostly, Good Eats makes up for that, mostly. Yeah, that’s about the only one I could stand. I don’t always agree with Alton, and sometimes he’s wrong about things (I remember finding three errors in his beer episode), but his instruction is engaging, useful, practical, usually well-researched, and, best of all, helps you understand what exactly is going on with your food when you cook it, so you can build on those ideas. I also like Emeril for general recipe and technique ideas. His show (or maybe shows–seems like he has more than one, right?) wasn’t so much a straight recipe-type show, but I’d watch it to get inspired and then I’d go off on my own doing my own version of what he made. His “BAM!!!” schtick maybe annoying to some, but I think he could pull it off with his personality. He just seems so damn likable and gregarious, I just find the “BAM” thing cute, if not a bit of an overwrought schtick. Now, if Bobby Flay was trying to foist “BAM” on me, I would punch the TV screen. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/12 "2013-04-27T14:59:21Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Not to mention the **ZOOOOOOM** in **ZOOOOOOM** out with every shot. > And it’s not just cooking shows **Sparky**. Everybody does it now. Home Improvement shows, Storage Auction, Tatoo thisnthat. You can’t get a look at what they’re showing and isn’t that the whole point of these programs? To see stuff? I’m with you man. Back up, throw away that freakin’ zoom lens and get a tripod! Yep and they’re also doing it on those “FBI who done it?” shows. They’ll do crazy shit like give you a super close up of someone’s mouth or eyeball. Seriously, when you’ve got a 55" HDTV, you really don’t want to see that shit. It’s gross. Also, what I don’t like about these Food Network shows is the pretentious hipster bull shit they pull. Like I’m supposed to go down to my local grocery store and pick up a batch of fresh black truffles no problem. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/13 "2013-04-27T15:02:50Z")
It’s already been said, but the lineup on PBS is as good as its ever been. I could watch Rick Bayless all day for the food he prepares. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/14 "2013-04-27T15:03:26Z")
My favorite was Graham Kerr on the Galloping Gourmet. I learned a lot about cooking and drinking from that show. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/15 "2013-04-27T15:38:39Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > It’s already been said, but the lineup on PBS is as good as its ever been. I could watch Rick Bayless all day for the food he prepares. Yeah, his show is pretty awesome. Y’all are right: I can’t think of any PBS cooking show that is not at least watchable. The British cooking shows were pretty cool, too. “Floyd On Food” was one of my favorites. Same with the Nigella show in the late 90s/early 00s (_Nigella Bites_, I think it was. I never caught her show here, though. Was she on Food Network or something? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/16 "2013-04-27T15:42:13Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > My favorite was Graham Kerr on the Galloping Gourmet. I learned a lot about cooking and drinking from that show. Beat me to it. I loved that show. Most of my drive to learn to cook came from watching that old lush. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/17 "2013-04-27T15:55:35Z")
> [@kiz](#): > > The cooking shows which still air on PBS mostly adhere to the old school style. I guarantee! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/18 "2013-04-27T16:31:25Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > My favorite was Graham Kerr on the Galloping Gourmet. I learned a lot about cooking and drinking from that show. > [@silenus](#): > > Beat me to it. I loved that show. Most of my drive to learn to cook came from watching that old lush. My mother used to watch him religiously, and I watched him occasionally. We both agreed that he got less interesting when he sobered up. I occasionally watch cooking videos on YouTube. Some are good, and some are pathetic. The pathetic ones, IMO, are the ones who proclaim how OMG AWESOME this dish is. Please, just show and tell. Bragging about how great the dish is won’t make it more appealing. And, for the love of Og, why do people insist on doing facial close ups when they have a forest of nose hairs? In most cases, a cooking show doesn’t even need a facial close up. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/19 "2013-04-27T16:36:46Z")
Re : Graham Kerr. I still can’t make a green salad without hearing,_Never let the blade of a knife touch a head of lettuce._ ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834/20 "2013-04-27T16:50:46Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Re : Graham Kerr. I still can’t make a green salad without hearing,_Never let the blade of a knife touch a head of lettuce._ I’ll drink to that! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-old-style-cooking-shows/656834.md?page=2)