# What happened to the Food Network? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 7, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820 "2009-02-07T18:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/61 "2009-02-09T05:32:57Z")
A few years ago, Food Network promos all seemed to come with the tag line “more than cooking” or “not just cooking” or something like that. I think that heralded the change, because I remember thinking when I first heard it, “well, _what_ then?” ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/62 "2009-02-09T13:38:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bourdain’s an asshole. Can’t stand him. Fieri I love. Oh my! You must be Sapo from Bizarro World. > [@](#): > > Paula Dean must die. Oh ok, we are good now. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/63 "2009-02-09T14:33:27Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > I imagine it was also a response to Top Chef doing so well. And they’re probably hoping to stumble on the next Duff at one of those challenges. Ohh do I hate Duff. Little self-important wanna-be-rebel with no personality. It’s obvious FN was trying to jump on the Monster Garage, Monster Chopper, extreme Pipefitting etc. wave on Cable TV several years ago. So they hyped up Duff the Doof to try to create a “Monster Bakery”. All the rest of them are gone but pube-face lives on. ---
**Author:** ![Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a183cd/32.png) [@Prelude\_to\_Fascination](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prelude_to_Fascination)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/64 "2009-02-09T15:44:03Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Ohh do I hate Duff. Little self-important wanna-be-rebel with no personality. It’s obvious FN was trying to jump on the Monster Garage, Monster Chopper, extreme Pipefitting etc. wave on Cable TV several years ago. So they hyped up Duff the Doof to try to create a “Monster Bakery”. All the rest of them are gone but pube-face lives on. This is one of the things I was going to say, but you put it better than I could’ve. Duff is X-treme…I guess. I can’t stand that show, nor can I stand Paula Deen, and Rachael…at first I liked her, then I read a comment comparing her grin to Jack Nicholson’s Joker, and now I can’t get that image out of my mind (I muted her and her stupid eee-vee-oh-oh, dee-lish, and other idiotic -isms that would insult the intelligence of a two-year old). Flay annoys the crap out of me. I can’t stand to look at him, and his arrogance is overpowering. Giada irritates me, and the Neely woman has a big mouth. Sunny Anderson’s too…sunny for my taste, and I’m sick to death too of the challenges. FN is about personalities (not that the celebrity chefs actually have them), not the food. Alton’s the exception. Personally, I watched Jeff Smith on PBS for years. He was about my favorite TV chef. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/65 "2009-02-09T15:47:31Z")
Duff? [Oh, this guy!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duff_Goldman) Jesus, I guess I never even realized that I didn’t know his name. Just goes to prove that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. What a prat. Ooooooo, look at me, I can make a cake that doesn’t look like a cake. How does it taste, asshat? That’s all I really much care about in food. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/66 "2009-02-09T15:49:35Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Bourdain’s an asshole. Can’t stand him. Fieri I love. His recipes are simple and delicious, and he finds all sorts of places we’ve started to look for when traveling. Paula Dean must die. I can’t stand her voice. Agree that Bourdain is an asshole, but I like him anyway. Am I the only one who thinks that Paula Dean “rednecks-up” her accent for TV? I’m sure she has a Southern accent, but it sounds… wrong, in some way. I’m conviced that she thickens it up in public. Fieri is OK, I guess. I’m waiting, however, for him to full-on fellate some half-rate line cook on D,D, & D. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/67 "2009-02-09T15:50:55Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > Ohh do I hate Duff. Little self-important wanna-be-rebel with no personality. It’s obvious FN was trying to jump on the Monster Garage, Monster Chopper, extreme Pipefitting etc. wave on Cable TV several years ago. So they hyped up Duff the Doof to try to create a “Monster Bakery”. All the rest of them are gone but pube-face lives on. But he has some cute female cakemeisters… Joe ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/68 "2009-02-09T15:56:46Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Chefs of Europe, or something like that. It was still on as of a couple years ago. Thanks. I think it was "Great Chefs \_\_\_\_\_\_, maybe of Europe. To the Google car! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/69 "2009-02-09T16:06:36Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > You mean Guy Ferry? I’ve always wanted to punch that guy right in the lame beard, but the desire “kicked up a notch” when I found out he changed his last name for increased douche-effect. And he pronounces it like “Fiedi,” which is not quite genuine Italian. Flapped _R_s sound like _D_s only to people who don’t have the former in their phonemic inventory. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/70 "2009-02-09T16:23:44Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > And he pronounces it like “Fiedi,” which is not quite genuine Italian. Flapped _R_s sound like _D_s only to people who don’t have the former in their phonemic inventory. [Post 55](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10801619&postcount=55). Joe ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/71 "2009-02-09T16:31:05Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Duff? [Oh, this guy!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duff_Goldman) > > Jesus, I guess I never even realized that I didn’t know his name. Just goes to prove that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. What a prat. Ooooooo, look at me, I can make a cake that doesn’t look like a cake. I noticed very quickly that they cheat a lot … large portions of the “cake” are made of inedible materials. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/72 "2009-02-09T16:35:01Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Am I the only one who thinks that Paula Dean “rednecks-up” her accent for TV? I’m sure she has a Southern accent, but it sounds… wrong, in some way. I’m conviced that she thickens it up in public. You are absolutely not the only one. I have some respect for Deen, given her story (destitute divorcee sells bag lunches door-to-door to provide for sons, ends up opening a restaurant, launches empire, profits!) but she absolutely (IMO) lays on that accent for maximum effect, and it’s annoying. And I hate Duff too. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/73 "2009-02-09T17:25:13Z")
I was somewhat indifferent towards Paula Dean until FN aired a Valentine’s Day promo several years ago showing her sticking her tongue into a running chocolate fountain. :mad: Way to contaminate the chocolate, Paula. Yeah, it was most likely taken out of context – for all I know, that was her personal fountain. It didn’t encourage me to watch the show though. ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/74 "2009-02-09T17:28:43Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Duff? [Oh, this guy!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duff_Goldman) > > Jesus, I guess I never even realized that I didn’t know his name. Just goes to prove that the opposite of love isn’t hate, it’s indifference. What a prat. Ooooooo, look at me, I can make a cake that doesn’t look like a cake. > > How does it taste, asshat? That’s all I really much care about in food. So that’s what that asshole’s name is. He can now join the unholy trinity of Rae, Dean, and Fieri. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/75 "2009-02-09T17:35:53Z")
I made a pot of spaghetti sauce yesterday. While I was chopping the shallots, the garlic, the fresh basil, the flat leaf Italian parsley and roasting the peppers to begin the day long process I was trying to imagine how Rachael Rae’s recipes are able to develop complex layers of flavors in the fifteen minutes she allows for cooking time. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2009, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/76 "2009-02-09T17:51:26Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > I made a pot of spaghetti sauce yesterday. While I was chopping the shallots, the garlic, the fresh basil, the flat leaf Italian parsley and roasting the peppers to begin the day long process I was trying to imagine how Rachael Rae’s recipes are able to develop complex layers of flavors in the fifteen minutes she allows for cooking time. She doesn’t make spaghetti sauce from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/77 "2009-02-09T17:55:00Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > She doesn’t make spaghetti sauce from scratch. She seems to throw stuff together with the main idea being how quick it is to prepare rather than how good it will taste when it is served. My Aunt has a recipe published in her small town centennial cookbook making spaghetti sauce by adding dried oregano to canned tomato sauce. Yeah, it is fast, but who would want to eat it? At least the food prepared on Paula Dean’s show looks appetizing. ---
**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:** [February 9, 2009, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/78 "2009-02-09T18:21:01Z")
> [@LH75](#): > > She seems to throw stuff together with the main idea being how quick it is to prepare rather than how good it will taste when it is served. My Aunt has a recipe published in her small town centennial cookbook making spaghetti sauce by adding dried oregano to canned tomato sauce. Yeah, it is fast, but who would want to eat it? > > At least the food prepared on Paula Dean’s show looks appetizing. I don’t think I’ve ever watched a single episode of her show for longer than 5 or 10 minutes, due to the fact that her personality makes me want to break things. That being said, I’ve been told by several people that many of her recipes turn out pretty darn tasty. Her show isn’t about braising, or making a detailed sauce, etc. etc. It’s about Grilling things, or putting together soups, or making a sandwich, and it’s for people who either don’t care or don’t have the time to make detailed recipes from scratch. She may annoy the heck out of me, but I don’t disagree with her basic concept. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/79 "2009-02-09T18:28:33Z")
:: nitpick:: It’s Paula _ **Deen** _. An’ I’ll get a swig in hell from Paula Deen! Yes, Deen! Deen! Deen! ---
**Author:** ![Improvisor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/50afbb/32.png) [@Improvisor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Improvisor)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/80 "2009-02-09T18:37:05Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > … If you want another great cooking show from that network, record “America’s Test Kitchen” - it’s by the staff that produces the magazine “Cook’s Illustrated.” … Another vote for [America’s Test Kitchen](http://www.americastestkitchen.com/). Really informative, actual cooking science involved, no orgasmic post-bite eyerolls, and Christopher Kimball always wears a bow tie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=5)