Ya gotta love Emeril

[grasswire]

Sunday night Emeril Lagasse (Food Network's star chef) threw a wing-ding party at an Air Force Base in New Jersey for a Thanksgiving special. His special guest was Shoshana Johnson, the Army cook who was captured in Iraq along with Jessica Lynch but whose treatment at home has been entirely different from that of Lynch.

This is how bad it has been: On his morning show, Regis Philbin, on watching footage of Jessica and Shoshana at a magazine party, said "And who is that friend that Jessica brought along?"

So a big fat bam! to Emeril for giving Shoshana some face time as his special guest. She looked great.

[jpgray]

1. Hey, props to Emeril for this! (nt)

[Norcom]

2. Emeril gets on my nerves

his schitck is annoying and I can not stand his show. But a big thanks to him for his special.

[grasswire]

3. yeah...

...but his bottled caesar salad dressing is yummy.

[denverbill]

5. We hate his shtick too.

Same stupid jokes "That's what they these knobs are for" "I don't know about you, but where I come from, the ..... doesn't come seasoned", yada yada yada.

Same old tired jokes on EVERY SINGLE STINKIN SHOW.

OTOH, he makes some damned good food, so we suffer through his inanity.

And kudos to Emeril for featuring Shoshana.

[tridim]

4. Good on him for spotlighting Shoshana, but

he has no apparent talent for cooking IMO. He's a one trick pony with an overused catch phrase, nothing more. I swear he gets his audience from Ron Popiel infomercials.

[Neecy]

6. agree

I'm a Food Network addict, but I can't stomach him and his loud, blowhard antics. And his food always makes me wonder where he learned to cook - in a prison? Nasty stuff.

Where do they find the imbeciles in his audience, braying over the same stupid jokes?

[tridim]

7. The only guy who's worse

is that punk on "Food 911", Tyler Florence. He's so annoying.

Jamie Oliver and Alton Brown are the kings IMO. Jamie for sheer talent, and Alton for entertainment, laughs and practical cooking ideas.

[Neecy]

8. yep

...and don't forget the Iron Chefs (although the bias toward the IC's is ridiculous at times. It's almost impossible to beat 'em). Figures that such a good show wasn't produced in the United States - in fact, Iron Chef USA was a disgrace and an embarassment. No food, just obnoxious 'personalities'. Typical American broadcasting.

[madaboutharry]

9. I really like

"30-Minute Meals" with Rachel Ray. She cooks the way I do. I think she is great. I used to watch Nigella Lawson until we moved and now have a different cable company. But, I read Lawson's show went downhill. I also think the recipes on "Everyday Italian" are good but the host looks like she has bulima.

[tishaLA]

17. Rachel Ray?!

Oh I hate Emeril and Bobby Flay, but I have a special hatred for Rachel, her goddamned accent, and her stupid "mmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm!" every time she talks--not to mention saying EVOO all the time and then telling me she means "extra vigrin olive oil." If you're gonna say it anyhow, just say it the first fucking time!

[grasswire]

11. funny, isn't it?

My household hates the Iron Chef. Yech! Can't stand its fakery.

One member of my household loves Bobby Flay, the others think he's a prick.

All of us have gotten used to Emeril's nutty ways. It seems silly to think of him as a "prison" chef considering his success as a resturateur in towns that are rough to succeed in (including New Orleans and NYC).

My favorite was David Rosengarten, but he's rarely visible anymore.

Why do we have food network on the tv so much? My daughter aspires to be a chef, my mother was a chef, and there are others in the family including at the Ritz Carlton in Boston. So food network is always on one television and CNN on the other.

Anyhoo, this isn't meant to be a foody thread, but a thread noting Shoshana's face time.

[Retrograde]

19. you had've been there

"My household hates the Iron Chef. Yech! Can't stand its fake"

We discovered Iron Chef when Channel 26 in San Francisco used to show it as part of its Saturday night Japanese language programming - sometimes with subtitles, sometimes without. (I had seen it before in Japan, when they did Battle Natto). Iron Chef had become popular in certain areas (Bay Area, LA, Hawaii, some places back east) well before the Food Network picked it up.

I like Good Eats, A Cook's Tour, and for reasons I can't quite explain Mario Eats Italy, possibly because it has subtitles (although the pair annoy me)

linda

[Norcom]

13. Most annoying person

on Food Network, without question is Gordon Elliot. Followed closely by Bobby Flay.

[lysergik]

14. Bobby Flay is much worse, IMO

talk about annoying, ugh. Close 2nd behind E.

Long live AB!

[Norcom]

10. Best show on the Food Network

is Good Eats with Alton Brown.

[Thew]

21. Agreed...

AB's definately the best (says this former chef)

[Ilsa]

12. He puts his Emeril's cajun seasoning on everything.

Whipped cream, cereal, etc.

I hate the knob comment. I don't need to be treated like an idiot by some gasbag who made a fortune over saying "Bam!"

And why are these people fawning over him adding a little extra garlic?

But I'll give him tons of credit for bringing on Shoshana. Nice. Really nice.

[Tracer]

15. I call the Food Network the "Emeril Channel".

'Cause he is OMNIPRESENT!

Actually, I enjoy Alton Brown (although he's got a lotta schtick too) and Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa). Now there's a woman who loves her food ....... and it shows.

[GOPisEvil]

16. Good for Emeril. Isn't it Shoshanna's dream to be a chef?

I think it would be nice if Emeril paid her way through culinary school (assuming she recovers fully from her injuries).

[grasswire]

18. she finished army cook school, no doubt

At least she was working as a cook in the 507th, IIRC.

Maybe Emeril will offer her a shiny job in his world.

One thing about Emeril, he is totally and obviously colorblind and I appreciate him for that. Sort of like Bill Clinton.

Oddly enough, he started out to be a musician, heading for Juliard.

[GOPisEvil]

20. I think she went to cook school with the goal of becoming a chef.

Yeah, Emeril's love of people regardless of color is apparent. He was originally a percussionist, right?

[FredScuttle]

22. "Who's that friend that Jessica brought along?" WTF?!!!

I always thought Regis was a tool, but this is beyond the pale. Why couldn't he have fallen into the same pit of obscurity that his old pal Joey Bishop found?