With the advent of reality television, of which we were inundated while the writers were on strike, also came reality television for those of us passionate about food. While the Food Network has been a clear staple in the land of food television, other networks are jumping the bandwagon not to be left behind in a trail of crumbs. But are these shows for educating or do we watch them because we’re obsessed with squabbling?
Hell’s Kitchen
I generally don’t admit my bias right off the bat in an article but I simply can’t help it. I hate shows where most of the dialog has to be covered with those obnoxious beeps to protect our easily offended ears. That’s not to say that I’d rather here the cursing–quite the contrary. I think a “world class” chef such as Gordon Ramsay could use to learn world class language. (Although the contestants curse frequently, I suspect that if the bar were set a little higher, they might hold their tongues a little tighter.) In any case, I hate to watch Hell’s Kitchen because I find the constant berating of contestants and the constant cursing of Gordon Ramsay obnoxious. Obviously not everyone agrees with me–but what’s the appeal?
Squabble power–we love to watch people gossip and squabble and stab each other in the back. So while Hell’s Kitchen will teach you nothing about food (except maybe that being a chef is difficult work), you’ll certainly get your fair share of down and dirty fighting.
Top Chef
I have slightly more respect for this reality chef show. First of all, the “cheftestants” on it are real bonafide chefs. Although again, do we really watch this to learn about food? Nay–I think not. We watch because we love to make fun of the dishes they create, we love to listen to the judges scouring remarks and we love to see above all else the back stabbing.
Do you love reality television based on food or would you rather watch food television that teaches you something?
Valorie Delp shares recipes and kitchen tips in the food blog, solves breastfeeding problems, shares parenting tips, and current research in the baby blog, and insight, resources and ideas as a regular guest blogger in the homeschooling blog. To read more articles by Valorie Delp, click here.
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