It's difficult, but the project may not be doomed.

There has been at least one successful food personality in TV sitcom history - Sue Ann Nivens as played by Betty White on the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Oy vey, I watched one episode of Bourdain's travel series. It was awful, awful, awful. Fake drama, not enough about the food, boring travel documentary. The man can write, and presumably he can cook, but it doesn't give him license to waste peoples' times watching him tediously spend his newfound wealth as he galavants around the world.

And, for the record, I can't stand Emeril, live, dead, or any other way. And Rachel Ray's not much better. I liked the Frugal Gourmet... too bad he turned out to be a pedophile...

I am with you on Emeril, Harlan. Most of his dishes look icky.

Bourdain--eh--I have never watched one of his shows--probably because I habitually do not watch television. But I do enjoy his books and personality, and respect him greatly.

Ruth Reichl--I really should read her memoirs, I suppose....

Ray Ray is the anti-chef. I've blogged about that often. and I mention it here again because it's fun. But don't include her in the same sentence as Emeril, regardless of how much anyone dislikes him, he's actually a chef. As is Bourdain.

But Ruth Reichl, she's kind of a legend, for what she's done. I love her 'story'.

I guess the qualifier is that whether I'd inclined to sit down and share a meal or a glass of wine with someone. Reichl, yes. Emeril, yes. Tony, maybe, but he'd probably want snake guts floating in it... besides the fact that I'm sure he'd never sit down with someone who hadn't endured the trials and trauma detailed in pages 108 through 110 of K.C. (softcover, thank you very much) unless they were paying him for the privilege or there was a camera present.

And at last: Rachael Ray, no way. Not a chance. Nope. She exemplifies everything that is wrong with food network these days and is an insult to the american housewife who tries to emulate her.

Hell, Martha was over the top, but you KNEW that you couldn't be Martha, so it was a joke, a playful insult, if someone called you Martha.

But don't you kinda wish you could have been at the table with Ruth, in one of her getups, watching her do her thing? That would have been spectacular.

Wohoo! Thanks for posting the link about Kitchen Confidential, so want to see that. Admittedly, like Harlan pointed out some of the travel stuff wasn't too good... But still, I do think the man has a really... ...interesting way about him, and I would certainly take the chance to see a new attempt of his on TV fame.

Last time I was in Stockholm, he had an evening presenting himself and a five course meal of his design at Berns, the hotel I stayed. Was completely gutted to find out it was entirely sold out... Always, always, always check up on what's going on where you going atleast a week beforehand dammit!

"[Rachael Ray] exemplifies everthing that is wrong with food network these days and is an insult to the american housewife who tries to emulate her."

Huh? This needs elaboration. Now I hate Rachael Ray for a variety of reasons. For example, her bubbly personality is nearly as grating as her cartoonish hand gestures. Her giggles and anecdotes both sound false. And the "meal in 30 minutes" schtick is misleading because very few people can cook as efficiently as her.

But, despite the lack of execution on her part, I think the concept of her show is solid.

I listened to some of Ruth's book on tape -read by her - it could be funny, but I never watch sitcoms. I'd rather see her don her disguses, wear a hidden camera and do improtu, onscene reviews.

The sit-com might work for those types who love Emeril and Rachel Ray and need their entertainment repetitive and completely devoid of meaningful content. Emeril and Rachel haven't taught me a damn thing, but when I watch Molto Mario I feel like I should be taking notes there's so much to learn.

Bourdain's show was better on Food Network than it is now on Travel. It's so annoyingly over produced that it feels like it was written before he went on the trip. They should just follow him around rather then make him appear in planned segments.

Mario Batali is amazing. I completely agree with you on that Paul.

I also enjoyed Ming Tsai and Rick Bayless, who make me feel as if I'm learning, as well as being entertained.

Can I please third the "I learn so much from Mario" statement? The man is way, way knowlegeable.

On the other hand, I have heard Emeril give flat out incorrect facts on his show, which makes me cringe, because we both graduated from Johnson & Wales.

Yeah, Ming Tsai was also one of my favorite Food TV chefs back when the network did not blow chunks. And Rick Bayless--again, very knowledgeable and able to convey the knowledge with wit and style.

This is so totally going to show my age, but what the hell?

Madeline Kammen. Anyone ever see her show--I think it was "Cooking with Madeline?" She is my favorite female TV chef, right up there with Julia Child. I absorbed so much from just watching them both when I was younger.

Morganna, btw, when she was a toddler, was entranced by Madeline. I do not know why.

Instead of Ruth, how about Trotter and Tramonto? It could be sort of a Chef odd couple show.
HA!

Sam, hope you checked back:

RR is about filler content, not about cooking. If you don't have time to make dinner in the evening, are you really going to have time to sit down, plan a weeks worth of meals, go to the market only once a week, do pre-prep on all that food the day you bought it, and serve some of the contrived food she serves?

And the $40 show, where she goes to a tapas restaurant and orders ONE tapas for a lunch? Or the time she goes to a candy making place, spends all this time doing a behind-the-scenes, not usually open to the public tour, and buys $2 worth of candy? How she stays at bed & breakfasts so she doesn't have to include the breakfast in her food totals?

Mario and Jacques and Tyler and Sara and Emeril and Ming and Gale are way better about teaching. RR is about entertainment, food is incidental. RR has three shows on the channel, in heavy rotation. and that's what's wrong with Food TV.