Alton Brown, of course. Mario is second. Emeril when he’s not ‘Live’ is entertaining. I truly enjoyed the original Essense of Emeril series. I read that BAM came about when he noticed the camera and sound men were getting really tired and he wanted to wake them up. Now he’s stuck with it. Don’t know how true the story, but it works for me.
Mark Dacascos, “the Chairman” on Iron Chef America. He’s the son of one of the Grandmasters of the martial art I study, so he’s ohana (“family”) and I like to keep up with his career. I also used to enjoy his old tv show “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.” Silly reason to watch a cooking show, I know.
For just cooking, I like Emeril, at least partly because he went out of his way to be extremely nice to my wife once. I also like Giada, mostly because it’s a travel show.
Alton Brown is my secret boyfriend
My father, on the other hand, has the warmies for Paula Deen.
There are any number of things wrong with Giada: the teeth, the head size, the way she e-nun-ci-ates words. So many things wrong that combine for something inexplicably right. She’s a smokin’ hottie and the only thing I watch on FN.
I really liked Jamie “Naked Chef” Oliver. He seemed like a really cool guy to hang out with. I hope he gets another show.
Personality? Alton. I’m a chemistry teacher who loves to cook. Go figure. (When I show his eps in class, the kids ask me if I’m related.) I met him, once, for about 20 seconds, in the 2000’s (at a book signing), and he seemed really down-to-earth and friendly. Either the whole personna is an act (and a really damn good one), or he really is wysiwyg on Good Eats. (Why, yes, I do own the majority of his books and DVD’s…)
Like to watch with the volume down? Giada and Rachel. Gonna have to find out more about Nigella Lawson.
'Cause I’ve got relatives from NYC, Bobby amuses the hell out of me. Tyler’s good to watch for the recipies, but the constant view changes bother me.
Anybody remember the Surreal Chef? I liked his show - it was another fun and goofy food show. There’s not enough of them around.
I love most of Rachel’s recipes, and her techniques are easy to follow. And I’ve been enjoying Robin Miller’s show. Great ideas there. I also love Pawla, 'cause ah’m a downhome cook, mahself. I like Guy Fieri and have made two of his recipes. I like his weirdo friends, too! Gives him someone to hand off little tasks to. (I think what someone called “braces” earlier are actually some kind of skateboard gear. Check out his profile on Food Network.com)
Alton is probably one of my favorite cooking show hosts ever, as, well, it’s one of the few shows I’ll actually tune in regularly to watch. Aside from that, unless I have some vitriol for the host, I can watch just about any other cooking program on Food Network. I do, however, prefer fun/campy stuff like Good Eats and the original Iron Chef. (Fish ice cream?!?)
(Oh, by the way, an answer to the “nutritional anthropologist” question in the linked thread: it’s a subset of anthropology, like just about anything else you can think of. One doesn’t necessarily focus that strictly in undergrad courses, but once you go into graduate studies, you generally pick a subfield of anthropology [physical/biological, cultural, archaeology, linguistic] and then you normally either pick a geographic region/ethnic group or a specialization within that subset. More often than not, one narrows it down by all three categories, but it is not unheard of to have two or three cultural groups that one studies in regard to one aspect of culture. Anthropology is the “junk drawer” of majors, IMO. You can find just about anything in it that is related to other fields.)
Dacascos is the real deal as far as martial artists go. He was amazing in the French action-horror period film Brotherhood of the Wolf, playing Mani, a Native American martial arts expert teamed up with Samuel LeBihan as a French scientist-turned-action hero. And yes, I also get a kick out of him as Chairman Kaga’s nephew.
Brotherhood of the Wolf is one of his few movies I haven’t seen, which I guess I should since everyone says it’s his best. His dad is the founder of the Wun Hop Kuen Do branch of Kajukenbo, “Sifu Al” Dacascos, and is by all accounts I’ve heard every bit the badass himself. They’ve been able to live out the cool martial arts and film star father-son relationship you kind of would have wanted for Bruce and Brandon Lee, if their lives hadn’t both ended so tragically.
SEE IT! It also has uber-hot Monica Bellucci.
Hijack ended: I really wish Rick Bayless had a Food Network show, since our PBS affiliate only shows him at random, sporadic early weekend time slots. He’s a hell of a chef and restauranteur – if you’ve ever seen the Frontera brands at your local supermarket, high-end salsas and Mexican products, including frozen foods, those are his. His PBS show is also very much a travelogue where he visits markets, restaurants, and exotic locales throughout Mexico, and really goes into the history and culture that inspire the dishes he creates. His cookbooks are awe-inspiring if you like GOOD Mexican food.
Yes, Bayless is wonderful. I thought he did have a Food Network show, but now I realize I was conflating his Iron Chef appearance (where he lost to Flay [boo!!!]) with his PBS show. Anyone who really wants to explore the wonderfully diverse Mexican food scene is heartily encouraged to pick up his books, especially Mexican Everyday. Another author who does well in really teaching the art and theory behind Mexican cooking is Zarela Martinez–in fact, it was Food From My Heart that opened my eyes to Mexican cuisine.
Your other option is just to visit Chicago, where regional Mexican restaurants are in abundance.
I’m sweet on Alton Brown, but his show is a little too much for me when I have a headache. I can always watch Ina Garten, on the other hand. The staged scenes with her friends and husband are sort of weird, but her food is just wonderful and her presentation even better. I lurve Hamptons style. And I like to watch and exclaim “Oh *Ina!” * every time she adds more fat to whatever she’s cooking.