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Not to leave any possible stone unturned, it seems that the Food Network has plans to expand their reality television horizons this fall as they conduct a search for The Next Iron Chef. Though details are very limited at this point, the show will apparently be hosted by Iron Chef's own Alton Brown, and the contestants will be culinary professionals hoping to become one of the shows celebrity Iron Chefs alongside the current roster of Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto, and Cat Cora. Though a number of old shows have been weeded out, The Food Network has enjoyed increased viewership over the past few years and are working on introducing even more new content to their regular line-up, including "America's Best Recipe" - where everyday cooks compete for best recipe in various categories, as well as "Food Dudes", which will follow two young "scruffy" chefs from Hollywood as they run their catering business.
It seems as though the days of one (highly trained) chef standing behind a counter preparing meals are definitely numbered.
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9-27-2008 @5:31PM Donna Fijalkowski said... I love the Iron Chef and would like to know what is the name of the chairman. I am never able to catch it.
Keep up the good work and the chairman is awesome.
Thank You,
Donna
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3-15-2007 @3:18PM Vesna Vuynovich Kovach said... How I miss the older Food Network, when they were taking chances on shows that truly let an exciting variety of hosts speak with a personal voice. And the shows were so much like one another, carefully groomed to fit into a particular slot. Some of my favorites:
* The Food Hunter (starring "your traveling greengrocer," Pete Luckett)
* The Surreal Gourmet
* A Cook's Tour (Anthony Bourdain being his typically irreverent and incisive self)
Now they don't even show their old good stuff in the middle of the night anymore. Those time slots are now stuffed with infomercials.
When they had a lot of diverse personalities and formats, it didn't bother me that there were shows and hosts that I didn't like. But now the playing field is so carefully manicured, and so narrow. Even "The Next Food Network Star 2" was more phony and less substantial than the original season.
The exception to the dumbing down: wonderful Alton Brown. Who here agrees with me that today, The Food Network would never have given him a chance?
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3-15-2007 @3:44PM alice radley said... What food tv has become reminds me a lot of what UKTV Food is like here in England. When did it stop being about the cooking? Food entertainment is fun for a while, but sometimes I just want a recipe!
http://www.kilgoreskitchen.blogspot.com
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3-15-2007 @5:30PM hoeun kim said... the next iron chef should be the guy from dinner impossible.
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3-15-2007 @4:21PM Cindy H said... Vesna, you are so right. Alton Brown is the only show that I religiously watch on TFN. I cannot watch Rachel Ray or Emeril or Paula Deen (however, her son's shows are semi interesting, if for nothing else but to see the interaction of the brothers). I wish they would bring back the Frugal Gourmet - Galloping Gourmet type of shows -- programs that would show REAL people how to cook something. I don't know about you guys, but I can't afford to cook with wines, truffles, etc. Show me what to do with a can of tuna, or a pound of ground beef and I will watch your show every time, lol. Seriously though, even as much as I love Alton, I cant seem to get into the Iron Chef America -- I don't like the chefs.
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3-15-2007 @4:23PM Amy Z said... If these are actual, established chefs, this might be interesting. (rather then the wannabes from the Next Food Network Star).
Some of favorites from the Food Network, back in the day*, were David Rosengarden (sp?), Two Fat Ladies, Two Hot Tamales, the original "How to Boil Water" (I can't even watch it's current incarnation), and yes, Grillin' and Chillin'.
*"Back in the day" meaning when I first started watching the network. I'm not sure if that was really the beginning or not.
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3-15-2007 @4:30PM Foodie Bride said... I *loved* Two Fat Ladies! I also remember when Rachael Ray didn't sound so obnoxious. Those were the days...
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3-15-2007 @4:53PM JayC said... and how many times can I see a food competition of pastries or stupid towering candy sculptures? or the bad Paula Dean talk show!! UGH. "just add mroe butter". at least it doesn't seem the be the "Emeril" network.
but whatever happened to the obscure regional shows that weren't hosted by the made-up Rachel or Giada.
but you gotta love Giada and Alton!!
Vesna...Bourdain is now on the Travel Channel doing the same show as before. He got fed up with Food and Food wanted more of the same celebrety shows.
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3-15-2007 @5:42PM Donna said... I'll be honest, FoodTV has for the last 2 years really gotten old. I seriously am not interested in some guy walking down the street *talking* about food...I'm more interested in seeing how the food is prepared. I'm just not in the demographic that FoodTV is aiming for...I yanked out my cable a year ago, and I don't miss that channel at all.
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3-15-2007 @7:27PM Abby said... I'm fairly new to the food network scene but i find alton brown, bobby flay, and other intelligent chefs to be the most enjoyable to watch and replicate.
who wants to see a 12 foot fruit sculpture being made anyway?
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3-16-2007 @1:21AM thefishie said... I'll give the show a try just because of Alton Brown, but he's the one high point to me on an otherwise over-dramatic show, Iron Chef America.
There's definitely a proliferation of "face" people on Food Network and a lack of culinary talent that I know I've seen there in the past. (Alton Brown being the exception. I do not miss a new episode of Good Eats!)
I miss Jacques Torres. He's brilliant to watch working with chocolate. He doesn't have the tv personality that some on the network do today, but he can produce amazing intricate edible artwork. Watching him work was stunning.
http://travelingwithlorrie.blogspot.com/
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3-16-2007 @8:38AM HunterGatherer said... Am I the only person who really misses the original Iron Chef? The Food Network has thrown a lot of time and money at their incarnation, but it lacks the soul of the Japanese version.
I wonder if they will ever bring it back, or is it gone for good?
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3-16-2007 @2:05PM Vesna Vuynovich Kovach said... I miss the original Iron Chef, too! I also wish they'd had the gumption to show it with subtitles -- at least at the judges' table -- instead of dubbing. So much culture is conveyed through the music of a language. I always ached to hear what the starlet-of-the-week, the chairman, and the other guests REALLY sounded like, instead of the same cast of voice actors all the time.
And folks, be sure to watch Gale Gand's Sweet Dreams while it lasts. It seems to be the last of the non-blockbusters that they're still showing in reruns.
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3-16-2007 @4:33PM wintem01 said... "Two Fat Ladies" was the best! Who doesn't keep a bucket of lard in the pantry anyway? But I also think the bad voice-overs for the Japanese Iron Chef gave it some of it's appeal. Like the old Godzilla movies.
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3-16-2007 @10:29PM Expat Chef said... There are shows on that channel that mystify me as to why they are still on. Unwrapped. Is it only on to please the processed food industry advertisers? Too much of one particular chef (RR), Sandra Lee is still on but Sara Moulton is not. Mario Batali's show is off, but he's still on Iron Chef. I miss Jamie Oliver, but he is pretty outspoken, and I think that might be why he is no longer on. Travel Channel is luring me with some interesting food shows. I was a loyal fan. I still love AB, I watch Iron Chef, and the Dinner Impossible guy is interesting. At least these people cook.
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3-17-2007 @2:59PM John B. said... The spelling is "David Rosengarten", and the show he was famous for was "Taste" (although he appeared on several other shows including "In Food Today").
There are a bunch of original Iron Chef episodes that TVFood never showed in the USA. In particular the ones with foods Americans might find offensive, and specials with longer than 1 hour runtimes.
If you miss Iron Chef, I suggest you search for Cooking Showdown in your local TV listings. It's on channel 18 in Los Angeles, shown with english subtitles. Great show, in some ways better than Iron Chef.
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3-20-2007 @12:35AM Shelley said... I'm getting a little tired of the pseudo-reality-idol shows about cooking. They seem to be more about personality conflicts than flavor or creativity at the stove.
That said... I will watch any show with Alton Brown, even if it's just about him stewing shoelaces in brown gravy. Looking forward to the next installment of his Asphalt series.
p.s. If the Food Network programmers were really clever, they would use the 2am-6am timeslot to show reruns of Julia Child or Graham Kerr (the Galloping Gourmet) shows, for nostalgia.
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10-08-2007 @3:30PM mangojoegrill said... I love the competition style cooking. It is interesting. It is exciting to see who can come up with a dish in certain amount of time with a given ingredients to work with. Awesome entertainment.
I can do without the drama like Next Food Network Star. Everyone remember JAG? that guy was a crazy and ready to blowup. The show is just full of drama. THAT I really do not like to see on food network. Iron Chefs (both version) is a great show.
I know I can't never afford the stuff cooked in the show but regular guy like me will not ever gook like that anyway.
The show I like the most was "The Naked Chef" on Food Network and "Great Chef of....." on PBS. I learn a lot from show like that.
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