Mario Batali's Plans For Bigger Things Seattle Post Intelligencer - Sep 8, 2007 If you are a fan of Mario, be prepared to see less of him on the Food Network. There are currently no comments for this blog entry. ...
The comments to that story from ABC news are such an echo of my criticism of the latest FTV programming and choices of featured stars.
Did you read the readers' comments? http://www.abcnews.go.com/Entertainm...ory&id=3568545
I think it's all in what you expect from watching. I would wager to say most viewers are the home cook and live in areas where even some spices need to be ordered, you can't just go to the mom and pop store in small town USA and get dried herbs you can grind yourself, and certain produce isn't there year round. If you have a food career, you will look for more things to inspire some kind of magnificent original dish based on something you learn from the masters of the culinary craft. That's not a huge market though, granted there are plenty of restaurants and chefs out there, but I think the appeal is greater to the stay at home moms and those who are retired or even the people who work the daily 9 to 5 with the soul responsibility for food prep, and have the task of a daily home menu. Right now, according to the latest stats I have seen Good Eats is the most popular. and it is certainly geared towards the home cook. I do enjoy some of the more elaborate displays from the star chefs from time to time, but to be honest I would never fix them at home. I have never seen anything Mario made on Molto Mario I would have fixed and served at home simply because my family has a much more American pallet. His dishes were beautiful and authentic, but probably too authentic for the average American cook at home meal. Giada also sticks to one specific style of cooking, and the more popular rated shows tend to cover a wide range of foods from many cultures.
So it truly does depend on what you are looking for as a viewer, and they will go with what's showing in the ratings and earnings as most popular because that's what the goal is for the network.
I enjoy a lot of the realty type shows on FN. It introduces me to a lot of the food, and gives me the opportunity to see people cooking. Even though its not a step-by-step thing, it does give me some familiarity. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to try some recipes on my own.
__________________ Those who forget the pasta are condemned to reheat it.
I do too. Dinner impossible is the best. I don't care as much for the travel shows. The comments on ABC did mention the cleavage thing but if it's a show I am interested in I just don't pay attention to that. I find the Paula's party effort to be raunchy more upsetting than cleavage. But I think the issue with the women where they do show the clevage is that they just aren't that good to begin with. But that is only 2 or 3 women, so I don't think it's destroying the whole network. I normally don't watch those shows anyway and there is still plenty I do want to see and I am sure that is true and the list is different for everyone. There are people who ADORE Rachael Ray, she has quite a few fan sites online. I have to wonder if these people run down ABC or CBS if they don't like every single show they air.
If Paula and Ina start showing cleavage, I'm no longer going to watch FN!
Let's give equal time to the FN men....shirts unbuttoned with gold chains maybe?
I never felt the need to wear low cut tops while cooking. In fact, I tend to put on an apron, just in case. And, here's a thought, why don't they wear aprons on FN? I think Emeril is the only one who I've ever seen dressed appropriately in the kitchen.
Mario Batali's Plans For Bigger Things 
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