The Best and Worst TV chefs
Published 05-03-2000

Emeril Lagasse
Emeril Live and Essence of Emeril on the Food Network. Also a Friday regular on ABC's Good Morning America.

92 positive/45 negative:
"His seven-word vocabulary (great, awesome, happy-happy, incredible, etc.) is more irritating than his grating personality."

"No one sends me channel surfing more than Emeril and his ridiculous . . histrionics."

"Seen one program of Emeril? Stop! You've seen them all."

"He's a wonderful entertainer, but after two weeks of eating his extremely fattening foods, one could end up in the hospital for a quintuple heart by-pass."

"Emeril Lagasse is doing for cooking what Jesse Ventura is doing for politics."

"He really is a good cook, funny and is delightful to watch. I try his recipes often."

"This show offends me in the way that a televangelist offends me. In fact, the two feel very much alike: a man in front of you screaming about what you have to do . . . .It's all done with faith and a BAM!"

"Sometimes I could strangle Emeril - too much showmanship, nothing good for the heart, and he never washes his hands. Handles raw meat, then on to veggies. Makes me cringe!"

"Emeril Lagasse rules!!! He will always be No. 1 in my house!!!!"

"What is so damned funny about "BAM!'?"

"I think the Food Channel ought to rename itself the Emeril Channel." "Who can resist his passion for food."

Martha Stewart

From Martha's Kitchen on the Food Network and Martha Stewart Living airs on Channel 5 (WBAP).

Positive: 48/Negative: 30:
"Who cares if Martha Stewart thinks something is a good thing?"

"I always feel I'm in the kitchen with her."

"What she calls "simple and easy' will take a normal person a full day's work."

"Martha Stewart is so sweet it makes me ill. Sorry."

"She is very informative, not only on cooking, but sewing, planting, carpentry. Don't know how anyone can be so talented."

"She is just not the real world. She's not about making people feel good, but making people feel inadequate."

"Martha Stewart actually makes me cook."

"I can't watch Martha Stewart because the swatch of hair over one eye just irritates the heck out of me. Somebody giver he a bobby pin!"

"I've read entirely too much about the awful way she treats the hired help to even tune in!"

"Just knowing she has a staff of hundreds doing all the washing, chopping, dicing, fileting and cleaning makes me mistrust anything she does with such ease and flair."

"Martha sometimes drives me nuts, she thinks she knows s-o-o-o much. But she does have some good ideas with food and decorating."

" . . I have a love-hate relationship with the woman. But her cooking show? Foggeddaboutit. I've tried a few recipes and they're always bland city."

Julia Child & Jacques Pepin

Julia and Jacques: Cooking At Home on Channel 13 (KERA)

Positive: 89/Negative: 2:
"It's a real pleasure to watch and learn from these two masters."

"They are delightful and humorous. Their recipes make sense and always work."

"This is foodies heaven!"

"I can't say anything bad about them."

"Julia Child and Jacques Pepin are generous with their tips and personal preferences."

"I enjoy their professional instructions and the warm camaraderie of the two."

"Cooking With Jacques and Julia is one of the best [shows] for teaching a variety of different things . . They are entertaining and complement one another with their different styles."

"The simplicity of Jacques and Julia is refreshing."

Sara Moulton

Cooking Live and Cooking Live Primetime with Sara Moulton on the Food Network. Ms. Moulton guests on ABC's Good Morning America.

Positive: 56/Negative: 9:
"She's very smart. You can tell that she's spent some time learning her craft."

"Her grating voice and interrupting viewer telephone calls are too distracting to be enjoyable."

"I feel like I've known Sara Moulton for years. Nice to have a "neighbor' there every night for dinner."

"Valuable cooking tips and techniques found here. Also a great personality."

"Sara Moulton tried hard, but gets carried away in visiting with her guests and. . . gushing."

"Sara is great about cleanliness."

"Sara Moulton drives me nuts!"

"She's cute and she's fun to watch when she gets flustered."

"I can't stand Sara Moulton. She's condescending."

"Sara Moulton is a close second [to Emeril]. I love her cook- along shows. I also love that viewers can call in with questions and comments.

Julia Child

The French Chef, Julia Child & Co. and Julia Child and More Company on the Food Network For: 56/Against: 6 "She is still the cream of the crop."

"I've been watching her for as long as I can remember, and she's still wonderful."

"I can't stand her voice."

"She paved the way for all the others, and she still has a great deal to give."

"Makes cooking fun and interesting."

"Julia Child should retire."

"There is only one chef that I really love to watch. Why? She is the only one I've ever seen licking the spoon on national TV. That makes her a real honest person."

"If she prepares something, that I try to imitate for dinner, I usually have the items on hand . . and my efforts are not in vain."

Jacques Pepin

Jacques Pepin's Kitchen: Encore With Claudine on Channel 13 (KERA) For: 78/Against: 2

"Undoubtedly one of my all-time favorites."

"He knows what he's doing and is concise and precise."

"He's master of this trade, [but] not a good combination with his daughter."

"I'd like him better without [his daughter] Claudine."

"I learn a lot and enjoy watching."

"Our favorite show is when Jacques bones six chickens in less time than we can eat lunch.""The absolute best of the breed in the TV cook show world."

"I'm a senior citizen who became very interested in cooking late in life. I credit my interest to . . Jacques Pepin."

Ainsley Harriott

Ainsley Harriott Show on Channel 5 (WBAP) For: 12/Against: 31 "Thinks he's God's gift to women, which he isn't."

"Why is he on TV? How did he get a job? Would someone please get him off the air?"

"The thing that will make me switch the fastest are people like Ainsley who are so overboard on the personality side that you never notice the cooking."

"He's vivacious, has great simple recipes that are easy to make and remember."

"The Ainsley Harriott Show? Oh my . . . Who could imagine it was a program having to do with food preparation? Well, never again."

"His show is very entertaining and unlike anything else on daytime TV now . . . . He doesn't take himself so seriously."

"He can't decide if he wants to be a comedian or a chef."

"I cannot stand his flitting around and touching everyone."

"The only thing about this guy and his show is that it has helped me lose weight . . . . When he comes on, I lose my appetite."

Iron Chef

Iron Chef on the Food Network For: 16/ Against: 7

"My 3 1/2-year-old daughter can't wait each week for the show. I think she likes the drama of unveiling the theme ingredient."

"An incredible cultural experience."

"Iron Chef? Who cares?"

"Iron Chef is entertaining and certainly occupies one hour on Friday night TV since that is a lousy TV night, anyway."

"I keep expecting Steven Seagal to burst in with a flame thrower and wipe them all out."

"I don't watch; I don't understand."

"The most bizarre and fun show on TV."

"WIthout doubt, the best cooking show on TV."

"I think Iron Chef is stupid."

Stephan Pyles

New Tastes From Texas With Chef Stephan Pyles on Channel 13 (KERA) For: 32/Against: 15

"[He] should sit on his hands. He throws them up in the air way often and drives me crazy."

"Stephan Pyles is a great chef, but makes meals it would take the ordinary cook three days to make, and his shows tend to gloss over this."

"Any guy who learned to cook in a Big Spring truck stop has the right to fiddle with Texas tradition."

"Elaborate recipes using very obscure ingredients, he's strayed far from his West Texas roots."

"Those two local yokels, Stephan Pyles and Dean Fearing, who claim to be Southwestern chefs would improve by 50 percent if they would stop insisting on putting fruit on every single meat and jalapenos in everything."

"I love Stephan Pyles' food, but someone should tell him not to talk with his hands so much; it's really distracting."

"You know whatever he cooks is going to be delicious."

John Folse

A Taste of Louisiana With John Folse airs on Channel 13 (KERA) For: 21/Against: 0

"Everyone's Cajun cousin; excellent recipes, interesting guests and wonderful local color."

"John Folse is the very best, and his show no longer runs in my area. What a shame."

"I've learned so much about other cultures and their influence here in America that I have a new appreciation for food, especially in this region."

"I like Chef Folse because he uses iron pots and pans."

Ming Tsai

East Meets West on the Food Network

"Good presentation but hard-to-find ingredients."

"Interesting to watch, but I don't actually use the information in my kitchen."

Mario Batali

Molto Mario on the Food Network

"I'm kind of on the fence about his arrogant demeanor, but he knows his food."

Bobby Flay

Hot Off the Grill With Bobby Flay on the Food Network

"His dishes are so creative . . . but he's a little too cocky for me."

"Good recipes, lousy personality. Although he seems to be obsessed with ancho chile peppers, his recipes are very good."

"Great ideas for cooking with your dinner guests."

"Let it be known that I refuse to watch this show. Too many people and the girl is a real airhead."

Carol Ritchie

Cooking With Carol on local cable channels in Arlington, Duncanville, Irving, Plano and Richardson For: 22/Against: 4

"Cooking With Carol has been my favorite for years. . . . I have followed many of her recipes, and they always turn out great."

"Her recipes are easy and terrific. . . . They turn out well because they're designed for the real-world cook, not Martha Stewart or Emeril."

"She always tries to emphasize healthy cooking tips and offers options on how to transform "illegal' foods into healthy ones. Even my 19-year-old daughter (who barely knows where the kitchen is) likes to watch Carol."

The Best and Worst TV chefs Readers sound off on Emeril,Iron Chef and other on-camera cooks
By Ellen Sweets
Published 05-03-2000

It seems no television station is complete these days without a chef of some sort, whether he (or she) be short, tall, regional, ethnic or otherwise. It's hard to say how many viewers who watch cooks cook also cook too, but it's for sure they have opinions about those who bake, fry, boil, broil or saute.

To find out how completely readers praise those who braise, we asked for favorites and least favorites among all TV chefs. Readers sent almost 400 letters, cards, notes and e-mails telling us who they liked and why, and who they didn't like and why.

Emeril Lagasse got the most votes - with almost half as many negative votes (45) as positive (92). Jacques Pepin and Julia Child received 91 votes as a team; individually, she got 62 and he got 80 with only 8 negatives between them. But viewers were less enthusiastic about chef Pepin's daughter, Claudine.

Folks really liked Sara Moulton and the Two Fat Ladies, even if, as one reader so indelicately put it "one of them is dead." (Jenifer Paterson died of cancer last year.)

Iron Chef, the show, racked up respectable numbers, although it left some viewers bewildered. Martha Stewart, on the other hand, was almost perfectly balanced between advocates and detractors.

And poor Ainsley Harriott. At least he had a few fans.

Many readers voted for more than one chef. Some weighed in on every cooking show they'd ever seen, including one or two that are no longer televised.

Some people couldn't distinguish between Martin Yan (who appears on PBS) and Ming Tsai (who appears on the Food Network), but there were also some who weren't sure which "Cajun guy" was which, either: Justin Wilson, Paul Prudhomme or John Folse?

Some readers confessed to watching programs never intending to try the recipes shown. Like Beth and Rick Wilbins, they watch for entertainment. The Wilbins discovered chef Lagasse several years ago when Mr. Wilbins commuted between Dallas and Chicago.

"I'm not a foodie, I rarely cook and I'm a vegetarian, but my husband and I like to watch Emeril for entertainment," Ms. Wilbins says. "There were lots of long weeknights we had to spend apart and Emeril kept us both company . . and because of his nightly presence we came to regard him as a family friend."

So did scads of others, who even forgive him for being a Yankee - although one reader mistakenly thought the Massachusetts native was from New Jersey. Chef Lagasse's disciples adopted the exclamation point! In almost all of their letters!!

Iron Chef's voters are either bewildered or addicted. The Japanese cooking show that has become a cult favorite on the Food Network drew 23 votes (15 for, 7 against).

Louisiana chef John Folse drew very loyal votes from 21 viewers who appreciate his Cajun edification.

Several people were put off by Atlanta cook Nathalie Dupree. Says one viewer, "She needs to perform with a lot less mess and keep the hair out of her face."

Dallas chefs attracted local attention, especially Stephan Pyles, although several writers were totally flummoxed by the complexity of his recipes.

For the most part, those who voted for William Koval (9 - 7 for and 2 against) of the French Room, Arlington cooking teacher Carol Ritchie (26 - 22 for, 4 against) and Dean Fearing (11 - 8 for, 3 against) of The Mansion on Turtle Creek liked their presence, personality and recipes.

Nine voters cast their lot with Dallas-born chef Jim Coleman although he works in Philadelphia.

There didn't seem to be a middle ground where Bobby Flay was concerned: People either loved him or didn't. Chef Flay, when readers could remember his name, rated few raves, generating 19 votes, with 12 going against him. Otherwise he was known as "the grilling guy," or "the guy who does everything on a barbecue, from any location." As an afterthought, the same reader asked, "And anyway, since when does using a steamer on a barbecue actually constitute grilling?"

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