"tv chefs" news and stories

If you bemoan the programming on the Food Network the way I bemoan the programming on the Food Network, then you'll be happy to know that Martin Yan, whom I kind of consider one of the godfathers of TV cooking, is going to be back on the screen on PBS.

The new show, called Martin Yan's China, is a far cry from the kind of show that the chef did 30 years ago. Back then, soy sauce was an exotic ingredient that was hard to find and Yan was simply introducing American audiences to the idea that Chinese food can be made at home. Today, soy sauce is almost a staple, so newness on the show comes from Chef Yan's travels to China and introductions into specific schools of Chinese cuisine.

I can't wait.

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You've got every cookbook ever put out there by a famous chef - from Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook to Tyler Florence's Eat This Book (oops, maybe that's just me). The chef's face is on the cover, he's wearing a spotless chef's jacket, and inside, the recipes are amazing.

But did the chef really write that book? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. It depends on the chef. The Financial Times looks at the relationship between chefs and the "ghostwriters" behind them who polish the prose, whether or not the writer's name appears alongside the chef's name on the book's cover.

Do you think it's right for a chef to leave the ghostwriter's name off even if he or she did most of the writing?

When it comes to TV cooks, people seem to either love or hate Rachael Ray, love or hate Emeril Lagasse, and love or hate Sandra Lee. But I don't know anyone who would even think of hating Dave Lieberman.

Lieberman is the young cook who had his own cable show (Campus Cuisine) while in college at Yale. He was then featured in a New York Times article by Amanda Hesser, and that led to his being signed to the Food Network, where he hosts Eat This. I picked up his book Young and Hungry: More Than 100 Recipes For Cooking Fresh And Affordable Food For Everyone  (yes, I'm slowly building up my cookbook collection). It's a hip, readable, and smartly put together book. He covers all the basis, including chapters on romantic dinners ("Dinner For Two"), breakfasts ("Lazy Mornings"), tail-gate parties ("Living Room Tailgate Parties"), even cooktails ("Happy Hour"). The book lives up to its title, and is a really nice gift if you know someone who needs an all-around guide to meals that the average person might want to make (unlike a lot of cookbooks, I can picture myself making almost everything in here).  

(And if I can say this here: speaking of Food Network, I really miss Sara Moulton's Cooking Live show. I don't know why I had to shove that in here, but I just had to say it. Go buy Lieberman's book though)    

Before the jump (into 2006) we saw how food trends go from introduction to assimilation into the mainstream. Nicole showed us a few predictions of foods that will take off in 2006, and Sarah Gilbert gave us the ratings on last year's most popular trends.

But there are a few trends that either only started or hung on for dear life through the end of 2005. These are the bottom five food trends (trend, not people) I hope to see completely suffocate and fizzle out in 2006.