Celebrity Chefs

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Posted by Penny • 8/21/09
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Who is your favorite celebrity chef and why?

celebrity chefs

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0 votes

Penny (8/24/09)

Really? Nobody out there has a favorite celebrity chef? How a bout one that you hate? A couple of names come to mind here.....there are plenty of Rachel Ray and Paula Deen haters out there (I am not among them as I think both ladies have their niche). Personally, I don't like Martha Stewart. Don't have a good reason, she just gets on my nerves like that know-it-all friend we all have and love to hate!

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PotatoChef (8/24/09)

For some reason I keep getting search traffic from Google looking for Paula Deen scalloped potatoes.

So I don't hate her....heck I'm getting some of her traffic.

I don't much care for Rachel Ray.

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0 votes

Eleonora (8/25/09)

I'm fond of Nigella Lawson, she makes cooking so sexy!
Even though I adore what Jamie Oliver has done to Italian cuisine (let's not forget both these top cooking celebs are British!), I can't disregard the fact that he licks his fingers while cooking and never wipes them! Eeeww! He is a genius though...
Lidia Bastianich is good, and so is Bobby Flay. But why is it I have no enthusiasm for Mario Batali?

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1. 0 votes
  
  Penny (8/26/09)
  
  I like Nigella as well. Jamie is also good, but I agree that the finger-licking is hard to overlook. I don't really care about Mario either way....don't care for much of what he cooks. For Italian, I go to Lidia every time (her son is partners with Mario in some of his restaurants). The one person I absolutely can not stand is Gwyneth Paltrow. Since when can she cook? All of the sudden she's doing the Spanish cooking thing with Mario...excuse me? If you go on her stupid website (GOOP.com) there is a video of her making a roasted chicken that is hysterical. Girl has no clue in the kichen and she mangles that poor bird (and touches everything in her kitchen w/out washing her hands after touching chicken. Hello? Cross-contamination?). Watch her try to peel a fingerling potato....it's so sad it's funny!
2. 0 votes
  
  chinagal9 (8/26/09)
  
  I do not have a favorite chef, but I do watch their cooking habits in the kitchen, also.
3. 0 votes
  
  Anniepooh (9/02/09)
  
  The GOOP chicken - taking the bones out takes out so much of the flavor! Roasting a chicken doesn't take long anyway, I'd rather take the extra half hour for the added flavor. She's silly
4. 0 votes
  
  Theresa111 (9/02/09)
  
  Nigella is so refined and her deep sultry voice just reels most of us in. Yes, a classic chef is she.
0 votes

Theresa111 (8/26/09)

I would dearly love to share the kitchen with Ina Garten. Her quiet and cultured demeanor make me feel all warm and cosy. We would be best friends.

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Anniepooh (9/02/09)

Anthony Bourdain, Julia Child, Paul Prudhomme and Jeff Smith have been favorites of mine for a very long time. Contemporary chefs (beyond Bourdain - he doesn't do the chef thing anymore) would be Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Wilo Benet, Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless, Michael Symon and John Besh.

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1. 0 votes
  
  Theresa111 (9/02/09)
  
  You have named at least four chefs I haven't heard of before.
2. 0 votes
  
  Penny (9/03/09)
  
  Great list Anne! Vongerichten, Benet, Keller and Bayless are all contemporary favorites of mine. Julia is an icon, as are Prudhomme and Smith. I would also add James Beard to the list. Bourdain is not so much my style.I posted a picture of me and Rick Bayless on Twitter...check it out!
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  Anniepooh (9/03/09)
  
  Theresa, which ones? The newer guys? Oh, and Penny - James Beard, of course! I also am quite fond of Escoffier and Careme - what would our food world be without them? I have three copies of Escoffier's book LOL
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  Theresa111 (9/03/09)
  
  I recognize Bayless, Julia (Favs) Beard, Escoffier (but only because the culinary students's room was named The Escoffier Room, in his honor.
  
  Jacques Pepin, Jacques Torres, Jacques Haeringer and his late Father, Francois, many others but a lot are local and some have passed away. I like Michael Chiarello. You are right I do not know many of the newer ones.
0 votes

sugarpies (9/08/09)

I'd say any of the "fusion" chefs would NOT be favorites. I think a lot of them just try to outdo each other in who can use the most weird ingredients together in a single dish. The things from that cuisine I've tasted have all been... less than good. OK, let's be honest. Most of it was stomach churning.

I enjoy Paula Deen's cooking because it's very similar to my own "roots based" cuisine and her drawl takes me back home. I enjoy Rachel Ray's personality although her food leaves a good bit to be desired.

Alton Brown keeps my interest and his combination of science and food history is right up my alley. I've always loved Paul Prudhomme and had a chance to meet him on a street corner near his restaurant in New Orleans years ago.

I remember watching Julia Child as a kid but until recently never touched anything she'd ever made!

My favorite "chefs" though do not have television shows and hand down the recipes and techniques of their cultures and regions. The best food I've ever had were made by people who'd never get a TV show or even a book deal... in fact, their food has always surpassed the famous chefs trained at the great culinary schools - at least to my common palate.

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1. 0 votes
  
  Penny (9/08/09)
  
  I liked your response and you make a good point! We sometimes lose sight of the fact that some of the best cooks are just everyday folks. Just because you're famous does not necessarily mean you're a good cook (look at Gwyneth Paltrow). At the end of the day, I think home-cooking is the best. Isn't that why we are all here at HHM?
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  Theresa111 (9/09/09)
  
  Perfectly prepared delicious tasting food made with the freshest ingredients is all I can ask for. I do not care who cooks.