Who's your favorite celebrity chef?
 

The food network is probably my favorite channel on tv to watch. Shows like Iron Chef, Diners, Drive-in's, and Dives, and others to me make for absolutely fascinating tv watching. I know some of you out there are fans as well so I thought I'd do this fun poll!

i watch this station all the time~

paula deen is my fav, my kitchen is filled w/ her items, such as her pan set, knives...~ when i make her fried chicken, my family gobbles it up, it's delish~

i also like giada, bobby flay, the neeley's, the guy from bigdaddy's house, anything guy fieri does, ooooowwww & sandra lee~

i used to be a huge rachel ray fan, but as of late not so much~

i love iron chef, diners, drive ins..., the challenge shows~ i also like man v food from the travel channel, & that bizarre foods show where that andrew guy will eat ANYTHING, & i mean anything~ i don't think i have seen him turn down any anatomy part of an animal:eek:~ he was also drinking that coffee that is mad from cat poop~

i love to cook, i cook every night but friday~ plus i cook for my daycare kids~ i adore making something so mouth wateringly fabulous, especially for my family~ they get good home cooking always~ i have learned alot form watching food network over the years~ i really love when it's near thanksgiving & christmas & they show all the fine foods that people fix from all over~

I'm crushing pretty hard on Jamie Oliver, especially since watching Food Revolution the other night!

I'm not sure if people like Paula Deen, Rachel Ray or Giada would technically fall under the term "chef." They are certainly "cooks," but I think "chef" takes on the connotation of having mastered a certain level of training at accredited institutions or under the tutelage of certain Michelin-rated eateries. Not sure though... any thoughts about the cook/chef boundary? I happen to really admire Nigella Lawson, who is definitely not a chef. Her dishes are way too rich and gluttonous, so the food is just an afterthought for me. But she has incredible presence, charm, spunk and poise. She keeps it real... but fabulous too.

Personally I love the concept of haute cuisine and mastering the technical craft of food preparation... but as a vegetarian I am appalled by the emphasis on meat. I would love to see some haute innovation within the realm of vegan/vegetarian cuisine; it is a severely unmet market segment. I just cannot fathom why so little effort has been expended towards innovating non-meat dishes- the possibilities are virtually limitless relative to the much shorter list of animals that are considered edible.

My fav is Mario Batali

i have a funny story about him, when they called him 'the naked chef'~ i was sitting w/ my granny eating thanksgiving dinner (may she RIP) & she was telling me that she loves watching food network, but said she hadn't seen jamie's show yet & wondered why the call him 'the naked chef'~ i told her, i have no idea, but whenever i have seen him, he is fully clothed, except he cooks behind a counter, so who knows if he is wearing pants, yeah i was trying to be funny~ my granny looks at me all seriously & says, well if that's the case, i hope he wears a hairnet~ i about choked on my turkey from laughter, i couldn't believe my sweet little granny would come up w/ sucha naughty funny~ now every time i see ole jamie, i can't help but chuckle a little & wonder....is he wearing a hair net?:eek::lol::lol:~


also i left barefoot contessa off of my list~ i like her too & i love when they showing her food shopping around the hamptons where she lives~

Without a doubt it's Ina Garten, from Barefoot Contessa. She.is.amaziiiinggggg.:blob1:

oh, and i guess also anybody who goes on the Food Network Cake Challenge....i love that show!!!!

i love the challenges too~ there is one girl who almost always competes in the cake challenges, her name escapes me tho~ i always root for her to lose~ i don't know if you saw the episode, but she damaged someone else's cake that was in the fridge, they filmed her doing so & she lied & denied that it happened even when they showed her the footage~ she is real snotty~

yes! If it was the one on last night - Miley Cyrus's Sweet Sixteen, i did see it! What a snob!

Anthony Bourdain.

I felt so bad for him. Those lunch ladies gave him such a hard time.

:thumbsup:!

I voted for Bobby Flay as my fave because AB should have been on the poll list...but Tony Bourdain is it (with B. Flay a close second)!

Yeah, I love him and Andrew Zimmern!

but I gotta go w/ Ina Garten! Sara and I got to meet her and she is amazing. I just want her to move in and cook everything for me around the clock...

Excellent distinction. Those folks are good cooks with a solid knowledge of the essentials of their craft, but they aren't artists. They're pop artists at best. We can love their recipes & their personalities, but they aren't chefs.

A cook is an E.R. doc. A chef is an eye surgeon.

I voted for Mario V., who is a chef, & a damned good one.

But my favorite chef on TV is José Andrés, who hosts a Spanish cooking show on PBS (not on the food channel). Please check him out if you haven't heard of him or seen his show. His culinary ideas & presentation are delectable.

If I were a multimillionaire, I'd hire José as my household chef, & instruct him to prepare whatever he wants day to day.

As much as I don't think it shows through her lack of creativity, Giada IS a "chef"

total stud.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/b...wedishChef.jpg

:lol:

Ina Garten
Nigella Lawson
Hiroyuki Sakai

Paula Dean :)!

She may as well go ahead and coat a stick of butter with breadcrumbs, deep fry it, and cover it with powdered sugar. Why bother with the pretense of actually including bits of food in there?

Rachael Ray.
I don't really like to cook that much. I tend to keep it simple because my husband doesn't like garlic or onions, and I do. My 12 year old son is extremely picky with a capital P. My 8 year old daughter just kind of goes with the flow. So that said, I find Rachael's receipes easy and quick to make. It's not gourmet, which is right up my alley. I also like the Campbells Cookbook for different ideas from time to time. But as I stated above, unfortunately, I can't stray to far from reservation, which can make cooking even more boring, and even frustrating. We do order out at least twice a week too.

Masaharu Morimoto - damn, his stuff looks like art and he is a master chef, with clever ideas and unusual combinations. I would love to try his food.

Mario Batali

I have to admit, I love The Neely's...they are so darn cute.

Rachel Ray actually has some really good ideas for very quick and hearty meals, but I can only take her in small doses.

And since I'm praising, let me jeer too (don't want to be one-sided).

I can not stand that shark grin Giada. She has zero personality (nice rack though) and her food is so boring. I want to jump out a window every single time she must pronounce "prosciutto" with those damn teeth grinning through.

I also think Flay seems like a big d***. Can't stand him.

I've had the Bazaar in BH bookmarked for ages in case I ever have the need to go to LA. Have you been?

To answer the question... I'm incredibly spoiled by living in Portland, which is such a great town for foodies- the whole "celebrity chef" thing just isn't all that appealing to me. Based on personalities, I like Paula Deen & Wolfgang Puck, mainly due to their great chemistry/interaction with Craig Ferguson on his show. Food based... I guess I'll choose Bobby Flay, but only because of one particular dish at his MESA Grill (Las Vegas, and NYC I believe) that I love.

Not to jump in on the question for David, but Bazaar by Jose Andres is not in Beverly Hills, just FYI when you're planning your trip. It's close, but not BH. The place is nice, the food is good, but you may still end up leaving hungry. There are lot's of better restaurants in LA.

I know! Everytime I watch her show that Olivia Newton-John song Heart Attack keeps playing in my head!:lol:

I'd love to go to her place in the Hamptons for a dinner party. I was watching her a couple of weeks ago and she had Mel Brooks for dinner as the secret guest. What she cooked looked fantastic and Mel kept trying to pay for dinner because he said it was that good.

His food is incredible but unfortunately he no longer has a restaurant here.

Here are some others I really like:

Jacques Pépin
Ming Tsai
Martin Yan
Michael Chiarello

Mine is Tyler Florence, only because he is my distant cousin. I gotta support the family....lol.

rocco dispirito :]

We went to his Chinois in Vegas a few years back. Incredible. I heard that's closed as well.

He seems like such a d*ck.

I love watching his 'No Reservations' show its awesome....he is no holds barred & its great....he's funny too. Something he really couldn't do much when he had his 'short' 1/2 show on Food Network. .....I did pick Bobby Flay.....Tyler Florence is also another one I really like to. All of the original Iron Chefs (Japan) are great too.....I also like alot of the non chef people too. Ina/Guy --he's awesome I love Triple D....his big bite show is great too. I love to watch Paula Deen too.....its funny cause on the radio here (in Michigan) this one guy impersonates Paula with her voice....its so funny...talking about all those sticks of butter....I used to like Rachel Ray but mostly the $40.00 a day show...the 30 minutes meal thing is old too me....I like Nigella Lawson too its a shame her show is gone.....I loved Jamie Oliver when he was on it too....but they change alot of shows around more now than they used too (same with HGTV)....I do miss some of the older shows.....I still recall Food Network when it started....its really changed alot .....I'm sure I forgot somebody......good thread!!:D:blob2: Ps: forgot that I also love Adam Richmond on Man v Food too....hope its back soon!!

LOVE Paula Deen, Jamie Oliver and Curtis Stone:)
Rachel Ray is great too!

I hope Spago is still there.



Totally. Chefs with an attitude like that make me not want to visit their restaurant. That's too bad because his place in Napa looks like it would be great. Next time I get to Vegas, I think I want to visit Hubert Keller's place. His attitude is a complete 360 from Chiarello's and his food looks amazing. There are a ton of high profile chefs doing the Vegas thing now.

barefoot contessa

Rachel Ray and Paula Deen for sure, even if they are just cooks. Their shows are very entertaining to watch.

Nobody likable exists on the food network. :shrug: