Is this guy really a chef? I’ve watched his tv show, “Taste This” many times. Yuck!
Peace,
mangeorge
Hey Will,
I worked as a food stylist for Bobby Flay for about 2 years. In that time I can’t tell you how many people said he couldn’t cook…it wasn’t true at all. I’ll tell you what I say to people who make comments like this.
At least he’s on the air and you don’t get there not knowing how to cook.
its the sad truth buddy.
Chef Lisa
You’d think so wouldn’t you, but then you watch Sandra Lee and I just don’t know anymore.
I’m going to go watch some of his “Taste This” shows and remember what so annoyed me about him. I seem to recall something about hygiene. (sp?)
mangeorge
I dunno, Umberto Menghi used to have a cooking show, and that guy (although a great restaurateur) couldn’t cook to save his life. It was entertaining to watch just to spot the inexplicable, embarrassing gaffes that made it through editing.
(Dishes were prepared in parallel by a working chef so no matter how much he missed the mark, they’d have something to show at the end.) Sometimes you just need personality and it doesn’t matter if you’ve earned the credibility.
Maybe then. Now things are a bit iffy. Sandra Lee. Rachel Ray. There’s some questionable cooking. Brian Boitano has a cooking show. Not exactly famous for his cooking either. Guy Fieri certainly isn’t famous for his cooking. He may be a good cook. I’ve never been able to stomach his show alone for enough time to find out, but he’s way more of a “personality” than he is a cook.
Simply being on television doesn’t mean you’re a good cook. It pretty much has nothing to do with cooking at all. It means you either look good on tv, or have a personality that people think will sell ad time.
I live in NYC and consider myself a Foodie. I remember hearing Chef Joe Ciminera’s name around town as being an exceptionally good chef. That was many years before his TV fame.
Take Rocco Dispirito who was a descent chef in NYC then he moved on. I don’t have the personality for TV but if I did I would do it. Instead I’ll retire in tho kitchen till I’m 65 then I’m moving to Florida
Bottom lime is us professionals tend to nit pick because we are in the business.
Happy Eating!
Dale
Mrs.Grude is not a professional cook just an amatuer and loves the Food Network, she got seriously angry when Fieri went to a Carribean place and not only did he not know about carmelizing sugar which is common(he acts amazed and keeps calling it burned chicken) and keeps comparing pelau to gumbo or dirty rice or something which it isn’t(it would be like ordering grits and complaining your polenta is runny).
I think this is the episode although I can’t check in this browser.
Because I’m anal like that I looked up Chef Joe’s experience. He seems like a well accomplished Chef having received 3 stars from the NY times. I had played a video of a show where he was cooking Duck and it follows all the classic techniques. Apparently he just starred in a movie.
Anyone got a really good tofu lasagna recipe?
Dale
I’m not a troll, really! I googled Joe Ciminera because he has posters all over the place at the mall where I walk, and I wondered who he was.
What are you talking about? You resurrected a zombie to tell us you googled a guy?
So I’ll soften my criticism in the OP. I was cooking “with” Julia Child at the time and feeling pretty uppity. 
I just now watched Joe fry up a NY strip (my favorite cut) and make some mac & cheese on youtube, and I must agree he did good.
Lotsa jibber-jabber warning;
BTW; there is a slightly better method to do a rare and seared steak on Americas Test Kitchen. Especially for grilling.
I worked for Joe for a year or so. Total douchebag, but definitely a hell of a cook. The restaurant was called Pine Island Grill. The owner hired Joe and basically said “Get me four stars in the NY Times and I’ll give you whatever you want”. The reviewer came, and the restaurant got three stars. The owner was furious, because the Times only rates restaurants once every four years. He pulled the plug, decided to remodel and rebrand the restaurant as a cheaper, more average place, and Joe got the boot. He seems to have stopped cooking professionally after that.
He was a shitty boss and a shady person. His cousin, who worked there with me, said Joe had gotten into some trouble a few years earlier after his Food Network show was canceled. Joe allegedly helped himself to $40,000 worth of kitchen equipment from the set, and the network was rather unhappy about it.
But the food was quite good - I hated my boss but I loved the restaurant, and I was very proud to work there. I learned a lot, ate delicious food, and got to serve people amazing meals. It was a really important experience for a kid who had just finished culinary school.
His show is terrible because he’s a pompous bore and he is beholden to a billion sponsors who sell shifty products and force him to use them. I’ve never seen a cooking show with so many companies in the “this show was made possible by the support of…” section.