What's Graham Kerr up to?

by Bob Sassone, Posted Dec 27th 2006 @ 3:19PM

When I was a kid, long before The Food Network, you had just a couple of choices if you wanted to see chefs on television. One, of course, was Julia Child. The other was Graham Kerr, known as The Galloping Gourmet. Even as a kid I loved watching this guy bounce around the room and cook, drinking wine and laughing.

Today I was channel surfing and came across a repeat of his show from the early-mid 90s on American Life, the one where he would take a classic dish and make a more nutritionial, low-fat version. This episode was from 1993 and it got me thinking: what is Graham Kerr up to now?

He's still going strong. He has a web site, travels around the world with his wife speaking about food and nutrition, releases cookbooks on a regular basis, and has several of his TV shows (it's really amazing how many shows he's had over the decades) currently airing on various networks (American Life, PBS, other stations). Repeats of his 1994-2000 series The Gathering Place air on stations around the country and Canada, but I'd like to see him on TV with a new show again. I'm surprised Food Network doesn't get him back on the air. He's a legend, and that network could use a dose of someone with a strong personality and humor who knows what he's doing.

This Wikipedia page has some interesting info I didn't know, including the fact that The Galloping Gourmet ended in the early 70s because Kerr was in a serious car accident (he was temporarily paralyzed). And the reason why Kerr started getting into more healthy forms of cooking was because his wife Treena had a heart attack in the mid 80s.

Filed Under: Television/Film, Health & Medical, Books
Tags: galloping gourmet, GallopingGourmet, minimax, simply marvelous, take kerr, the gathering place, treena kerr

Chew on This

Royal Wedding Cake Details Revealed! - YumSugar

Make Your Own Pop Tarts - CHOW
Denny's Introduces a Maple Bacon Sundae - Eater
Whole Foods Opening Bars in Stores - USA Today
Rules Of Bar Etiquette -- For The Bartender - HuffPost Food

Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

12-27-2006 @3:47PM Kiwi Carlisle said... He NEEDED to get into healthier cooking. The man used to cook bacon in BUTTER, for heaven's sake.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-27-2006 @4:45PM David Herman said... I loved his show as well and I've often wondered why he is not on the Food Network. I also miss a lot of the old FN shows like Ming Sia's(sp)show and I enjoyed david rosengarten's show too but that's going back to the early days of FN
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-27-2006 @7:01PM Laura said... The Food Network stopped being about cooking a long time ago. Now its about food-related lifestyle entertainment product.

Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-27-2006 @7:10PM David Obuck said... I too was fond of watching Graham Kerr when I was a kid. His show used to be shown at lunch time in the Detroit area. I always tried to avoid missing an episode during the summer months. I now live in Seattle and was surprised to find out that he resides just north of here. A 2003 story about him from the Seattle Times Sunday magazine can be found at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/pacificnw/2003/0601/cover.html
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-27-2006 @9:38PM carol sue said... to poster #3- The Food Network is now the Emeril Network-ugh!!!
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-28-2006 @1:59AM ZenKimchi said... Met him at a book signing around ten years ago. He was very personable and talked with us a good deal. He's totally different from his Galloping Gourmet years--no drinking, healthy lifestyle, born again Christian.
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-28-2006 @12:41AM beth markle said... My mother used to put the show on all the time.
I once sent her into hysterics when I tried to quote him to her on some technique and said "You know, the guy with the cook show...the Running Chef" :)
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-29-2006 @10:27AM Faye said... What about the Gourmet Chef who was on tv befor The GAlloping Gourmet. I used to watch him in the 70's
Reply

Vote upVote downReport

12-28-2006 @4:41AM Bob said... Graham was great all the way back in the 60's when I used to watch him. I think the "wine" took its toll but the shows were great.
Agree totally that the Food Network has lost its appeal - for me - like everything good it has gone the way of celebrity and lost the "grits" for me. Bring back Yan Can Cook, Graham Kerr and the likes of Nick Stellino.... and keep Mario on the air.....
Reply