I'll be the first to admit that FoodNetwork personality, cookbook author, and all-around celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis isn't one of my favorites. I have no logical, fair reason, other than "she's annoying," because though she is "pretty" in a very standard view of what pretty might be (long, dark hair, cat eyes, deep cleavage), her head seems disproportionately large (physically, not figuratively) for the rest of her tiny, taut body, and when she "smiles," it looks so forced and unnatural that it almost looks like an evil grimace.
However, I now have real reason to not like her very much: an odd set of photos at Esquire that, given that it were anyone else, would be fairly sexy, but with Giada, looks downright disgusting.
7-23-2007 @12:01PM john said... Come on! She's not that bad! She's nowhere near as as annoying as Rachel Ray. Plus, she makes simple and delicious-seeming food on Everyday Italian. This is a ballsy photoshoot that will help broaden not only her fan base, but help to spark some foodie interest in the uninitiated. Good for you, Giada!
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7-23-2007 @12:35PM Leena said... I'm glad I'm not the only person disturbed by Giada. And her food doesn't really appeal to me. I'm not much of a carb person (pastas, breads) -- I'm not on Atkins or anything, I just rarely crave carbs, and they seem centrifugal to her cuisine. Not appetizing to me. I like how 'artsy' her show is, aesthetically, but that's about it.
And Giada? The drastic red lipstick doesn't work on you. For some reason I was reminded of Morticia Adams in the photo where she has a close-mouthed smile.
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7-23-2007 @1:05PM malren said... Surprise surprise: two women go catty on Giada. You never hear of women trying to tear down an attractive, successful woman. Boy that sure is rare.
*cough*
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7-23-2007 @1:06PM John said... Leena, not hooked on her cuisine because of the carbs? She cooks Italian! What did you expect?
I come from a Dominican/Spanish/Italian family and a few of us have a saying, "you run your 10 to 20 miles a week so you can eat all the rice, pasta and bread you want". We also like potatoes to a lesser extent.
About the pictures themselves. I must admit that they are odd but disturbingly sexy as is Giada herself with her big head, huge smile and all.
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7-23-2007 @1:21PM Carrie said... I like Giada, but I think this photo shoot would be creepy no matter who was in it. The tomatoes look a little too much like blood to me!
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7-23-2007 @1:34PM wintem01 said... If I may add my two cents... I like Giada, I like her cooking, I like her hair and I enjoy her oh so carefully orchestrated cleavage. What grates on my last nerve is the way she finds it necessary to revert to a deep, HEAVY italian accent when she speaks the names of italian dishes or ingredients. Everything else she says sounds like your average Joe Schmo in America. But let her say Parmigiano Reggiano and she's minutes off the boat from Sicily. I mean, you wouldn't hear her say Wienerschnitzel in her best Frauline DeLaurentis accent, would you? Other than that, bring her on.
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7-23-2007 @1:41PM Elf said... Is it me or does it remind me of the movie Carrie with the pig blood? I just wish Food Network would get over her and Rachel Ray and have other shows on.
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7-23-2007 @1:46PM vaca said... Giada's beauty aside, I think I just don't get what the statement of the pics is photography-wise; she's all glowingly glamorous and the sauce.. well.. isn't.. for me at least.. they don't make me have any cravings (at all)... but hey, art is meant to be interpreted and not explained and of course, to each his own.
http://lavacahacemu.blogspot.com
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7-23-2007 @1:54PM dan turner said... Looks like she's in a pool of blood. Like, on a slaughterhouse floor. Maybe that came to mind because I'm watching Interview with a Vampire right now. Oh, and centrifugal is sooooo not the word you were looking for. Go ahead, look it up, I'll wait.
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7-23-2007 @2:23PM Barry said... Ah, someone else who hates her overblown pronunciation of Italian words. I call her the 'bobble head'. I saw her in person at Sundance this last year and she pretty much is a short, thin person with a surprisingly large head. I'm not a fan of her but she was genuinely nice to everyone who came up to her so there's that. Her food always looks like it'd be great.
As for the photo shoot, all I can think of is Carrie.
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7-23-2007 @2:50PM andy said... I am definitely among those who do not like Giada. First and foremost, why the f is she that skinny? Her job is to make PASTA! Does she ever eat any of it? I don't trust a fat doctor giving me advice about how to stay in shape, and I don't trust a rail thin chef advising me on how to eat. Plus, the "arty" feel of her show, which as far as I can tell consists entirely of a soft focus lens, is incredibly irritating.
I'm cool with the cleavage, though.
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7-23-2007 @2:51PM frank said... yeaaa, the swimming-in-what-looks-like-blood look isn't doing it for me
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7-23-2007 @3:03PM MJ said... Bad pic, but someones loving her beacuse shes still on
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7-23-2007 @4:48PM RobynT said... I don't really have a problem with Giada, but I think these are bad photos. She looks weird--she never looks that weird on her show... or maybe it's just that the photos use her like a model, and she's not THAT good-looking--most of us aren't, but at least she is attractive enough for TV!
I think the other problem is when the food network tries to market Giada and Rachael as sexy. It just gets kind of weird. Oh also someone pointed out to me years ago that Everyday Italian has such a sensual feel because they mike stuff like the chopping board to emphasize the noise of like cutting vegetables.
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7-23-2007 @6:20PM spiffy said... I think Giada is adorable! She is passionate about her cooking, and her recipes are great. The photo definatley catches your attention...thats the point right? All the comments about her physical appearance are silly.
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7-23-2007 @7:54PM Scott said... Oh come on people, she's the only reason a 27 year old guy like me even stops on the Food Network! Granted, I really do like to cook, and I'm part Italian, but to kill two birds with one stone and watch her cook great food and watch her pillowy, fantastic chest bounce and wiggle at the same time is pretty damn close to television perfection. Just throw in a Red Sox game on a TV in the background . . .
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7-23-2007 @9:13PM kitchentools said... OH; people are making too much of this. Giada is a great personality with a great show. Humm! The picture however; does not portray the image; that she has made for herself.
www.kitchentools.typepad.com
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7-23-2007 @9:43PM ab828 said... HAHA! OmG i sooo totally agree. My sis sent me this blog because she said one of the comments sounded EXACTLY like me. I agree, her head bothers me also. Its HUGE. And, I can't stand how she's all skanky on the show. Its like "ur cooking, not frolicking on a Playboy set or whatever."
Also, my husband can't stand how she goes to the Italian accent. He's like "why the heck is she always like ree-coat-uh???"
Her face is pretty, but it doesn't match her body, cuz its huge.
Yea, Rachel Ray is dorky as heck but I like her, cuz she actually cooks good, easy stuff sometimes. And, she doesn't seem all full of herself like Giada.
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7-23-2007 @10:08PM ItalianWoman said... The photo would have looked great if only she were doused in chocolate rather than tomato. She does annoy me from time to time, like a sister would, but I love her food and her cheerfulness. Simple and elegant, unlike the photograph.
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7-24-2007 @4:02AM k said... She should apply for a job on the Wheel of Fortune. Merv Griffin once stated in an interview that he hired Vanna White because she had such a large head in relationship to the rest of her body, and this somehow gave her an edge or made her more appealing.
I've watched her many times and never noticed the head thing. Guess I just don't care enough to look at her head size. I'm just looking at the food and her consistently French Manicured nails.
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