Food Network cancels Emeril Live
 

http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=285745&GT1=7703

They make it sound like a bigger deal than it is... they still produce Essence of Emeril, they're only stopping the live show. Honestly, his schtick was getting a bit tired, so I'm not surprised. It would be like if Bart Simpson never moved beyond "Cowabunga, dude".

BAM

He did make things look simple, but have you ever tried to make one of his dishes?

Won't really miss this one.

isnt that the truth? I really only watch his shows for basic techniques and ingredient lists. his recipes tend to be a bit over the top (to say the least) for your average 'wannabe chef' and anymore, creative ways for him to sneak in his tag line

but I am glad theyre not ditching him altogether. hes not bad, but like Morri said, the schtick has run its course.

But he'll still try to sell me toothpaste right?

I also don't have a kitchen like he does or the equipment he uses...Viking...not in my budget!

Never liked Emeril.

I had a great meal at NoLa - I'd go there again

I think burning things is a La Gasse trait- I invented blackened mac & cheese years ago.

Ditto for slamming things. BAM!!!

The restaurant at Citywalk in Orlando is wonderful- but otherwise I won't miss that show.

I'm kind of sorry about this. I didn't watch the show all that often, but he's one of the few remaining "real" chefs left on FN.

You're right, other than Mario Batali (who is not doing new shows any longer, I don't think), not too many bona fide restaurant chefs on the FN.

Well, at least according to the press report, Emeril will still be on FN, it's the Emeril Live that is getting the axe. No doubt, he's getting older and this has got to be tiring, including all the other stuff he has going on.

Personally, I've found his style to be hard to stomach, and I can't cook like him, I'd be dead from a heart attack. But that is just me, obviously his personality has been a cash cow for him and the FN. FN seems to be going in the reality/travel/restaurant review route.

Sandra Lee still seems to be on the air. :rolleyes:

And did you see Rachel Ray prevail over Giada in their Iron Chef match? :rolleyes: Giada didn't need Bobby Flay but Rachel sure did need Mario Battali.

Oh, is Sandra Lee a real chef? I had no idea (but I can't stand watching her, she's like a Stepford Wife to me). I think Sara Moultin is still on, as well. And I did forget about Bobby Flay, too, he's a real chef.

Nope, missed the Iron Chef battle.

I should have been clearer, sorry. Sandra Lee IS a Stepford Wife and the polar opposite of a real chef. That she is still on the air and that Rachel Ray won an Iron Chef battle v. Giada de L(however you spell it but it has two is) shows how low the network has sunk.

Got it, and I completely agree with you, they have sunk to many new lows.

This is most certainly true. Thinking about it, the ones I like to watch aren't chefs like Emeril or Mario or Giada or Sara Moulton. I used to not like Wolfgang Puck, either, but now that I have eaten in one of his restaurants, I'm willing to reconsider. I also like that Napa chef.

I love to cook and experiment, though. Food Network is lifestyle porn for me. This is why I like the Napa chef. I wish I lived in his house (first, he vacates and then Dennis Quaid moves in).

I really like the Barefoot Contessa (because I want to live her East Hampton life where the florist comes to do the flowers and stays for lunch) and Paula Deen (because she laughs in the face of her cardiologist).

I like the contests: Iron Chef, Gingerbread Haunted House, chili cook-offs, etc., etc., etc. I only like Bobby Flay when he's in the middle of a throwdown.

All I want is his house, and the kitchen equipment!

I love the BC's ideas, but she's another for whom low fat, or even reasonable fat, means nothing. Fat is flavor, I know, I know..... Paula and her two sons make me nuts. Admire her pluck, but some of those recipes, Oy Vey!

I, for one, love Batali, but I confess, I've never cooked a thing from his one cookbook I own. I have far too many Italian cookbooks, anyway.

I'm all for road trips and road trips geared to food. I appreciate the tips, but too many shows on the road. I want to experience them myself, not sitting in front of the tube like a secret food voyeur.

This makes me very sad.
I cannot stomach an episode of Essence of Emril, but I do so dearly love Emril Live.
Its the closest thing I watch to a talk show, and one of only three shows I will attempt to re-create food from.

It is a sad sad day. And, in my opinion, a poor choice by the network.

Good riddance. Can't stand the schtick of him.

His other show is tolerable. In fact- he had a little boy on a recent episode and that was pretty cute.

But he doesn't use his bam, smell-o-vision bs on it.

I'm not fond of Emeril, so I don't mind seeing his show vamoose.

But I will love the Food Network so long as it keeps my beloved Alton Brown on the air.

Yes! I totally love Alton Brown. He's intelligent, I learn a lot of stuff watching his shows, and it doesn't hurt that he's cute.

He IS cute. But mostly, I love the pseudo-scientific approach, and the way he adds in a storyline and characters to move his show forward. It's a very fresh approach.

And don't forget Robert whatzisface, the guy that does Dinner Impossible. He's a real chef too. And cute enough, if you like that pinched-features look (not my thing, but he isn't ugly, at any rate).

Mario's never on when I'm watching, but I used to like his show. Rachael Ray is cute as a button but I just want to smack her whenever she says "EVOO" or "Yummo". Still, her show has the right idea, showing people how to make good things quickly.

Alton comes the closest to a show that teaches you how to select the basic ingredients and equipment, but I wish there was a show that did exclusively that. I don't suppose it could be very interesting, however. Even Alton sometimes says "Get it from a reputable supplier (blah blah) on the internet (blah blah)" And it's like, without your telling me, exactly how am I to know who is a reputable internet supplier? I know they can't promote other businesses, but it gets annoying. I think Food Network is missing out on a potential line of business here. I know they're getting into the equipment business, if the stuff I saw (in abundance) at Kohl's is anything to go by, but they should consider opening up a specialty food items store on their website. Especially if they keep the prices reasonable... people would flock there.

Morri you should check out this show Americas Test Kitchen. My Aunt was telling me about it. It's on PBS. They make recommendations on just about everything from equipment to produce.

There's also a show on I think Fine Living called Chefs Shop or some such. I've only caught it a few times. They have real chefs that go out shopping for various equipment/ingredients and they show you what to look for.

America's Test Kitchen aka Cooks Magazine and Cooks Country Magazine absolutely, positively rules. They don't accept advertising so their recommendations are on the level.

Rachael Ray's voice is about as pleasant as the sound of a steel rake being dragged across a chalkboard.

I don't watch any of the shows on Food Network to learn how to make dishes. I just try to take away techniques and pretty much any of the cooking oriented shows provide those in some way.

The increasingly pervasive non-cooking shows are generally useless to me. I've learned the occasional thing from Rachel Ray so I am ok with her. I don't watch daytime TV so I don't end up feeling burned out with her. Emeril is annoying but at least he cooks on his show instead of visiting restaurants to be told "sorry, secret recipe" or running video press releases for processed food manufacturers.

I was watching French TV last night and thought of this thread.

There is a cooking show with two hosts who take on-camera cooking lessons with a different chef each episode. Usually, they make two dishes (that are realistic for the home cook) in the half hour. The cooking lessons take place on the chef's home turf. That way, you also get a glimpse into a different famous kitchen each week, as well as the front of the house.

The format could work really well in this country, too.

A format like that seems to be somewhat common on local PBS type cooking shows. I know there's one here in the Bay Area that always seems to be cooking in some area top restaurant.

But I can't give details. Being that it is PBS, I immediately fall asleep out of ingrained habit.

Who needs Lunesta when you've got PBS, eh? The hosts on the French cooking show don't fawn - this may be a critical difference.

We were travelling somewhere on a road trip a couple years ago and actually came across a PBS station showing The Lawrence Welk Show. I had to wonder if living a stereotype so fully burns.

Yes! I **HATE** Unwrapped!!! It's just a poorly disguised commercial for food products.

"Here's a press person to tell us about this taaaasty treat. Now here are some big machines that do all the work for us so you can't really see what's going on. They add flour, sugar, and the seeeecret ingredient, and process it all where you can't see a damn thing. Now here's a machine that packages the product. We're going to sit on this view the longest because it's the only time anything interesting happens and it shows the company logo repeatedly. Now here's Mark Summers pretending to like all the crap we just talked about."

That, in a nutshell, is Unwrapped.

However, there are a few semi-non-cooking shows that are very good. Dinner Impossible, while it involves cooking, doesn't focus on the food but rather the process of meal prep. That can be fun. I also liked the one where Alton Brown traveled the country on his motorcycle and at at roadside stands.

I am not terribly fond of the American version of Iron Chef. I miss the Japanese quirkiness.