# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/121 "2009-02-11T15:14:08Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > I’ve only watched her a few times (and was later surprised when she showed up as a sous chef on Iron Chef US), and while her food looked great, the sheer volume of _salt_ she used almost made my heart seize up. Explains a whole lot about why I’m always complaining that restaurant food is way too salty. To me that’s true of pretty much every chef on TV. The amounts of salt they use are to me the amounts good for racing rocket cars, not for human consumption. ---
**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 11, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/122 "2009-02-11T15:33:18Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > To me that’s true of pretty much every chef on TV. The amounts of salt they use are to me the amounts good for racing rocket cars, not for human consumption. I’ve noticed that the judges on _Top Chef_ are always complaining about “unseasoned” meat. Maybe they’re just used to tons of salt. ---
**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 11, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/123 "2009-02-11T16:39:25Z")
I think it was Alton (who, it must be remembered is _not_ a chef) who said that the single most important skill a chef must possess is the ability to properly season (i.e., add salt to) food. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/124 "2009-02-11T16:41:26Z")
> [@Sapo](#): > > To me that’s true of pretty much every chef on TV. The amounts of salt they use are to me the amounts good for racing rocket cars, not for human consumption. They all use lots of salt. She uses entire _fistsful_ of the stuff. Watching her salt pasta water is hilarious. ---
**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 11, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/125 "2009-02-11T16:45:45Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I think it was Alton (who, it must be remembered is _not_ a chef) who said that the single most important skill a chef must possess is the ability to properly season (i.e., add salt to) food. He’s been to culinary school & worked as a chef in the restaurant business. He likes to claim he isn’t a chef, but I suppose he does so in an attempt to seem a bit more down-to-earth. He is (or was) a chef. ---
**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 11, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/126 "2009-02-11T16:46:52Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > They all use lots of salt. She uses entire _fistsful_ of the stuff. Watching her salt pasta water is hilarious. That’s how one should salt pasta water. It isn’t unusual at all. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/127 "2009-02-11T16:48:19Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > They all use lots of salt. She uses entire _fistsful_ of the stuff. Watching her salt pasta water is hilarious. Mario Batali explained this. Your only chance to properly season pasta is by salting the water. He said that Italian cooks feel that the pasta water should be like the sea. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/128 "2009-02-11T16:54:27Z")
Folks, seriously. I _know_ you add lots of salt to pasta water. _Watch her show._ She goes far, far beyond “lots” of salt. I suspect she’s far past the saturation point of salt in water (even at elevated temperatures). This isn’t “like the sea”. This is “oversalted for the Dead Sea”. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/129 "2009-02-11T17:05:49Z")
Anne Burrell (for it is she with the “Secrets of a Restaurant Chef” show, which I love) uses tons of salt because she makes food in quantity. In her red-sauce episode, she made enough for twelve servings. Naturally it looks like a lot of salt. The actual food is amazing. I really enjoy her show; she’s a seriously idiosyncratic personality for the network, and she knows her stuff in a way the Paula Deens and Sandra Lees can only dream about. > [@Lightray](#): > > (even when I don’t use the “good” vanilla) The most recent issue of “Cook’s Illustrated” has a discussion of real vanilla versus the imitation stuff. If you’re not a subscriber, the short version is, the qualities and complexities of vanilla are burned off at higher baking temperatures, so the cheaper imitation is perfectly acceptable in things like cookies. You should use the real stuff (either extract or an actual vanilla bean) only in uncooked or low-temperature applications, like custard (and its derivatives like ice cream). ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/130 "2009-02-11T17:18:56Z")
The amusing thing is, Ina Garten _is_ a reader of Cook’s Illustrated – she namechecks them in her most recent cookbook. One hopes she’ll lay off on the “good” vanilla. (although the CI folks all admit they still use real, not imitation, themselves – despite their own findings last time around.) ---
**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 11, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/131 "2009-02-11T17:22:23Z")
I watched a couple of shows, and she did pick up salt by the fistful, but I didn’t get the sense that she used it any more than what I saw in professional kitchens. A handful for her is probably around 1.5 to 2 tablespoons. I get a lot of raised eyebrows when people see me add salt to a piece of meat that is about to be grilled or roasted. Those folks are usually converts by the end of dinner. ETA: I can certainly see why it got your attention, **Lightray**. It made me do a double take the first time I saw her do it, but I think that’s due to the fact that most people just don’t grab salt that way. ---
**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 11, 2009, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/132 "2009-02-11T18:41:25Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > He’s been to culinary school & worked as a chef in the restaurant business. He likes to claim he isn’t a chef, but I suppose he does so in an attempt to seem a bit more down-to-earth. He is (or was) a chef. Read [his bio on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_brown). He went to culinary school because he didn’t know enough about cooking to make the TV show he wanted to make. Brown describes himself as “a storyteller who makes 30-minute movies about food.” [Cite](http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2008/08/alton-brown-science-and-cooking.html). ---
**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 11, 2009, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/133 "2009-02-11T19:04:53Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Read [his bio on Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_brown). He went to culinary school because he didn’t know enough about cooking to make the TV show he wanted to make. Brown describes himself as “a storyteller who makes 30-minute movies about food.” > > [Cite](http://philosophyofscienceportal.blogspot.com/2008/08/alton-brown-science-and-cooking.html). I know how he describes himself. He still was a chef & did his share of time in professional kitchens (post culinary school). He has spent more time behind (or in front of) a camera than anything else, so it certainly isn’t his primary focus by a long shot. It isn’t how he wants to be identified, and I can understand and respect that. It’s just best to keep that in mind, though, when evaluating his kitchen skills. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/134 "2009-02-11T19:21:43Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Mario Batali explained this. Your only chance to properly season pasta is by salting the water. He said that Italian cooks feel that the pasta water should be like the sea. Anne Burrell worked (works?) as a sous-chef at one of Batali’s restaurants, which is why she was his sous-chef on Iron Chef. No doubt she learned her salting techniques from him. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/135 "2009-02-11T19:35:57Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > I had to jump back to respond to this. _ **Taste** _ remains my all-time favorite show on the FN for the reasons stated. (e.g., the best hamburgers require five different cuts ground and mixed together.) I thought that one might be a bit over the top, but on the other hand - if you’re going to grind your own hamburger, why _not_ make it from different cuts to achieve a perfect balance of flavor, texture and mouth feel? > [@](#): > > One episode made me into a hard core foodie. Making the Wikipedia page about him, I found what he’s doing these days. His newsletter, the Rosengarten Report, may be moribund (at least it’s not taking any new subscribers). But he’s organizing food tourism, cruises and trips to various countries. His next one is a trip to Iceland for Valentine’s Day. He mentioned something in one of his interviews about trying to make a show that would fit into their new format. He could probably pull it off, but come on - isn’t there a place on the network for one show that is seriously about food? ---
**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 11, 2009, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/136 "2009-02-11T19:41:53Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I thought that one might be a bit over the top, but on the other hand - if you’re going to grind your own hamburger, why _not_ make it from different cuts to achieve a perfect balance of flavor, texture and mouth feel? > Making the Wikipedia page about him, I found what he’s doing these days. His newsletter, the Rosengarten Report, may be moribund (at least it’s not taking any new subscribers). But he’s organizing food tourism, cruises and trips to various countries. His next one is a trip to Iceland for Valentine’s Day. > > He mentioned something in one of his interviews about trying to make a show that would fit into their new format. He could probably pull it off, but come on - isn’t there a place on the network for one show that is seriously about food? Seriously, one would think that the success of _Good Eats_ would make the programming decision-makers at FN take notice. They’re spending so much money trying to capitalize on the success of Iron Chef & reality shows that they are ignoring the success of the one “hard-core” show they have left. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/137 "2009-02-11T19:46:06Z")
I like Paula Deen but I acknowledge that she can get on nerves. I have tried some of her recipes and like them. Giada annoys me far more, the boobage, the toothy fake smile, the overpronunciation of Italian words and the huge head all bug me but I like her food, it looks good and simple to make. I also like Ina Garten although he giggle is a bit creepy. I think I am even more amazed about her and her husband after reading about them on wiki. I don’t like Sandra Lee but sometimes I watch the show just to mock her and her tablescapes. I also can’t stand Emeril or Bobby Flay. ---
**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 11, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/138 "2009-02-11T19:53:55Z")
Come on, what’s not to like about boobage? It’s not like she’s naked or anything. They just happen to be on her show, because they’re there, right below her collarbone and right above the stove. What’re they going to do, just show her in mugshots? Boobage and foodage. Mmmmmm. Okay, I don’t like her show either. I just don’t get how _that’s_ a reason for not liking it. How do you show someone cooking but not have her (ample ample) chest in the shot? ---
**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 11, 2009, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/139 "2009-02-11T19:53:58Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > the overpronunciation of Italian words Oh, Jebus. She mentioned once in a commercial going to “CAPry.” Took my brain almost 30 seconds of subliminal processing to realize she’d been to Capri. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820/140 "2009-02-11T19:55:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Come on, what’s not to like about boobage? It’s not like she’s naked or anything. They just happen to be on her show, because they’re there, right below her collarbone and right above the stove. What’re they going to do, just show her in mugshots? Boobage and foodage. Mmmmmm. > > Okay, I don’t like her show either. I just don’t get how that’s a reason for not liking it. 🙂 indeed. I am always surprised at myself for falling asleep on her show with all that eye candy, but I do. She is that boring, and even the great production job (a la Tyler’s Ultimate) cannot save her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happened-to-the-food-network/484820.md?page=8)