Which TV/Youtube cooking personalities do you like, which ones do you loathe

[Canadian Mountain Man]

On my like list:
-Alton Brown: he's a geek and when he had his Good Eats show I liked that he would explain some of the science behind his techniques
-Michael Smith: seems like a genuinely nice guy, cooks things that might push the skills of some people but his recipes usually don't require anything overly exotic
-Julia Child: cause she's Julia Child
-Jacques Pépin: as above
-Giada De Laurentiis:

On my loathe list:
-Rachael Ray: I think she's a soulless hack
-Bobby Flay: decent chef, miserable person
-Guy Fieri: when roadhouse food & meth collide
-Sara Moulton: I find her patronizing and annoying
-Martha Stewart: cause she's Martha Stewart

 

[OldGnome]

Like —
- Alton Brown - he’s smart, his recipes are good and he’s not afraid to say when he’s made a mistake
- Julia Child - she took “complicated” cooking and showed us how we could make excellent food ourselves
- Graham Kerr - immensely entertaining in his first incarnation, excellent recipes (while still entertaining) in his second
- Andrew Zimmern - he’s willing to try /anything/, as am I

Dislike —
- Rachel Ray - just no
- Aaron Sanchez - I don’t care for his food opinions
- Anthony Bourdain - his ego was larger than his apparent expertise




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[shavefan]

I enjoy(ed):

Two Fat ladies
Graham Kerr
Giada
That 90's era Discovery Channel show "Great Chefs of The World"
Gordon Ramsey's You tube videos
Jamie Oliver
Alton Brown "Good Eats"
Americas Test Kitchen (not the same since Christopher Kimball left)

I don't really "loathe" any, but I find many uninteresting

 

[The Knize]

I like all of the America's Test Kitchen and Milk Street folks. Jacques Pépin and Julia Child.

I cannot say that I loathe anyone.

I do not particularly love Martha Stewart's shows, but my experience with her recipes has been excellent.

 

[mikelz777]

Like:
Bobby Flay - I don't know anything about him as a person but I enjoy watching "Beat Bobby Flay". He obviously knows what he's doing.
Andrew Zimmern - A fellow Minnesotan! I like his personality, he's very personable and a much more adventurous eater than I'll ever be!
Alton Brown - I think I've liked him in all the shows he's hosted or starred in. He's very good at explaining things and the processes involved in cooking.
Giada DeLaurentis - I like Giada but I sometimes ask myself if I would still be interested in watching her if it weren't for her looks, her smile and her penchant for showing off her boobs? I'm not so sure I would be.
Paul Hollywood/Mary Berry- I don't know if this counts because it's a baking show but I can't think of another show that is as charming and as oddly relaxing as The Great British Baking Show. Paul and Mary don't bake on that particular show but they do a masters class show that is associated with TGBBS where they do bake together. Their personalities blend very well and they're both very knowledgable with their critiques and with their actual baking skills.

Don't like:
Anne Burrell - Her braying voice puts me on edge and drives me nuts.
Guy Fieri - 50 year old perpetual man-boy who seems to want to be a teenage skater boy or a SoCal frat boy with that hair, loud shirts, shorts, flip-flops and the sunglasses on the back of the head. Dude, you're (supposedly) an adult! The stupid "flavor town" references are tired.

 

[sharpstar90]

Like:
Bobby Flay - I don't know anything about him as a person but I enjoy watching "Beat Bobby Flay". He obviously knows what he's doing.
Andrew Zimmern - A fellow Minnesotan! I like his personality, he's very personable and a much more adventurous eater than I'll ever be!
Alton Brown - I think I've liked him in all the shows he's hosted or starred in. He's very good at explaining things and the processes involved in cooking.
Giada DeLaurentis - I like Giada but I sometimes ask myself if I would still be interested in watching her if it weren't for her looks, her smile and her penchant for showing off her boobs. I'm not so sure I would be.

Don't like:
Anne Burrell - Her braying voice puts me on edge and drives me nuts.
Guy Fieri - 50 year old perpetual man-boy who seems to want to be a teenage skater boy or a SoCal frat boy with that hair, loud shirts, shorts, flip-flops and the sunglasses on the back of the head. Dude, you're (supposedly) an adult! The stupid "flavor town" references are tired.

+1 Guy Fierri
Why does he still bleach and spike his hair? Why is his skin so red and shiny? Why is he so famous?

I also dislike any celebrity chef who encourages people to make and eat food that will kill them faster than a bullet. Double cheese double decker bacon burgers with donuts for buns, served with heavy cream milkshakes, that kind of BS. Yeah. We all know 3000% daily supply of cholesterol is gonna taste amazing, but think about the societal implications. Millions of people watch your show. Do you really need to encourage the fattest nation on earth to die earlier?

 

[mrlandpirate]

+1 Guy Fierri
Why does he still bleach and spike his hair?

Because it made him a multimillionaire . LOL

 

[Heron]

Binging with Babish is an entertaining YouTube channel.

 

[BigD]

I haven't found one I don't like. However, I really like Cooking with Shotgun Red.

 

[cleanshaved]

Like
Rick Stein - I like his passion for seafood.
Al Brown. I enjoyed when he had his show with his fellow chef and restaurant owner Steve Logan but Steve has decided to carry on with the restaurant in Wellington.

Dislike, well not too many. I not a fan of the ones who eat great volume of food.

 

[ajkel64]

My all time favourite is Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, I have most of his recipe books and DVD's. Next would be The Hairy Bikers. I like watching them but I have not bought any of their books or DVD's. I don't mind Jamie Oliver as he tried to make a difference with combating obesity. I also quite liked Antonio Carluccio, I was a little sad when I heard that he had died. There is none that I really loathe but we don't get the volume of cooking shows that you chaps in America so there could be someone out there yet who I don't like.

 

[DoctorShavegood]

Guy Fierri should just stay with Minute to Win it. Jacques Pepin is the King. I think Aaron Frankin has a pretty good series of shows on YouTube. I've learned a lot from those.

 

[TexLaw]

I agree with most of what everyone already has said. One person I very much enjoy but who has not been mentioned is Lidia Bastianich. She has that same honesty vibe you feel from Julia Child and Jacques Pepin, two of my other favorites. I want to cook nearly everything she does on her show.

Likewise, I loved the Two Fat Ladies for much of the same reasons, and I missed that show enough that I asked for (and received) all the episodes on DVD for a Christmas gift some years ago.

No one has mentioned Nigella Lawson? O, be still, my heart. You fellows can keep your Giada.

Rachel Ray, Guy Fieri, and Bobby Flay all are folks that I could do without. I shed no tear for Paula Deen when she had her downfall. I got worn out on Emeril pretty quickly after he went to that hour long nightmare of a show. I sometimes hear that Gordon Ramsey is not the giant jerk that he often portrays, but I don't care. I have better things to do than watch him.

I do like Christopher Kimball, and ATK/Cook's Country now feels more like a timeshare pitch than a cooking show since he left. The magazines still are good, but the shows are starting to get on my nerves. Milk Street is good and is finding its stride.

I adored Good Eats, and I'm enjoying the "Reloaded" episodes, but I've not liked the other shows that Alton Brown has done.

I go back and forth on Jamie Oliver and Anthony Bourdain. I always enjoyed Bourdain's shows, and I even went to see him speak one time. He did some great stuff, but he got that "I'm cooler than you are" attitude just often enough that I had to push him aside from time to time. It's been the same way with Jamie Oliver and his tendency to get preachy.

I see what folks are talking about Sara Moulton being condescending, but she always has had a place in my heart since the beginning of the Food Network, and I really like how she and Christopher Kimball work together on the call-in portion of the Milk Street podcast/radio show.

Every time I watch Ina Garten I wonder why I don't watch her more often. I like her style.

I always got a kick out of Graham Kerr and his honest enthusiasm. I never understood why, but I never got tired of Martin Yan, despite him getting pretty over the top at times. I sometimes had to turn off Justin Wilson when he got too far into the Cajun caricature, but I otherwise enjoyed his shows. I loved what Paul Prudhomme might cook on his show, but watching that show was like watching paint dry.

Anthony Zimmern has done great stuff, and I would like to see more than just taking bits and pieces of old shows and putting them together for something "new."

 

[kelbro]

Julia Child, Justin Wilson and Paul Prudhomme.

Giada cooks? Hmmm, I need to start paying more attention.

 

[The Knize]

Absolutely Aaron Franklin. I forgot about his You Tube videos. I have learned a lot from him, too. A master at what he does.

ATK/Cook's Country now feels more like a timeshare pitch than a cooking show since he left. The magazines still are good, but the shows are starting to get on my nerves. Milk Street is good and is finding its stride.

TexLaw, can you expand on that a bit? Why like a "timeshare pitch"? I actually think I like the ATK shows better since Kimball left. I think the dishes they are doing are more interesting. I think Kimball's leaving has brought ATK's game up for the TV shows. I find myself less interested in the Cooks Illustrated magazines recently, but I do not know why. The Cooks Country magazine never got my attention. The show pretty much seems the same as ATK and I like it. I still buy CI every month. The recipes and advice are as reliable as ever. If they did not want to auto renew my subscription, I would probably subscribe to their online stuff, although I do not love that they have so many options.

I have bought every issue of the Milk Street magazine, too, but I have not found myself cooking from it very often. I am not sure why, but I really have not been watching the Milk Street Show. I did in the beginning, and I still TIVO every episode. I would really like to see Kimball succeed though. The whole area of cooking instruction would be lesser without him in it. One thing that throws me about Kimball is that he used to assert that he favored plain home cooking, not restaurant fare, and did not like spicy foods. With Milk Street he seems to have necessarily taken a turn toward restaurant fare and spicy foods, and I would think I would like him better for it, but I have this underlying sense that he does not quite get it.

<I really like how she and Christopher Kimball work together on the call-in portion of the Milk Street podcast/radio show.>

I agree wholeheartedly on that. Actually, base one what he says in that portion of the MS podcast, I would say he does get it. I find I do not listen to that podcast all that often though. I have pretty much liked the ATK podcast "Proof" with Bridget Lancaster, but I have not listened to every episode. I thought the ones on Tiki and Celery, of all things, were excellent.

I truly miss the magazine Pleasures of Cooking. Very high quality recipes and often tough stuff to make. Very much restaurant cooking. I thought it was mind expanding!

Great thread.

 

[davent]

Graham Kerr was the man that opened my ten year old eyes in the 60's and made it apparent there was a whole other world that wasn't showing up on my dinner plate and i wanted whatever it was he was doing. That and i was intrigued that food was making women swoon, that couldn't be a bad thing.

Next show i can remember spending time with was a CBC produced Chinese cooking show starring Stephen Yan, Wok with Yan, watched that one a lot. Early 80's.

Mid 90's Gary Rhodes had 'Rhodes Around Britain' that i'd catch in the afternoons while daughter napped. That seems to be about the time cable food networks starting buying up all the available cooking shows so to watch cooking shows, and they were still about cooking, you needed cable, that's where my TV chef exposure ended. Did see a good chunk of the first season of Naked Chef and enjoyed Oliver's approach, attitude for dealing with food.

Bourdain's shows, i've watched many on library dvd's, he wasn't acting cool, he just was. His shows were travel shows about people and what they ate but i never thought of them as cooking/chef shows.

Watched a few youtube Pepin videos on eggs, a few of Brown's on creative hacks (made his free range fruit cake each of the last three years- it's terrific), have always been a fan of Stewart's books (starting in the late 80's early 90's) and magazine but never watched her show.

Recognize most of the other post-1995-or-so names mentioned and could even identify many but haven't brought myself to spend any time searching for them or watching... I have looked through the books of some when i've found them on display at the library. Been a good number of years since the garbage truck wheeled off our TV to the dump...
dave

 

[Rushman2112]

I'd echo that Dave on Graham Kerr, as a kid I started realising food could be better than the slop school and my mother served up, and the way he pulled the hottest woman out of the audience each week really impressed me!

Rick Stein I find a great presenter, even though I never eat fish or seafood, his passion and joy of life and food is really entertaining.

Jamie Oliver gets a lot of stick but his food is decent and I support his stand against feeding kids crap.

Anthony Bourdain: may not have been a 3* chef, but he made enjoyable TV shows. Having a beer and pho with Obama on plastic chairs must be one of the TV moments of the century, such a waste of life.

The greatest of them all: Keith Floyd. Energy, passion, a fondness for a slurp, someone I would have loved to have met and shared a bottle of red with.

There are many others I like to watch, because I like watching food shows, but only two I cannot stand. Paul Hollywood, because he is a smug prig, and Mary Berry who I find has a laxative effect - she annoys the **** out of me, but I cannot explain what it is about her that I don't like. The sooner she retires the better!

 

[Tonysco]

My favourites;

Rick Stein - Fantastic down to earth personality, very to the point. His recipes are simple and easy to follow.

Keith Floyd - I could watch his shows for hours, great personality, never took anything too serious, recipes are easy to follow.

Tom Kerridge - Good presenter, down to earth, his recipes are usually a good bit more in-depth than the other two above but he explains each part well, relatively new to cooking shows i think.

Raymond Blanc - Funny, witty, down to earth, recipes range from simple cook-at-home to full on Michelin star restaurant affairs. Extremely enthusiastic.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - Loved his River Cottage series, a decent chef, but i watch it more for the overall lifestyle appeal of the show.

The Hairy Bikers - I don't think either of them are exactly great 'chefs' however their shows are well presented and full of interesting content. I particularly liked their Best of British series

I couldn't watch Garry Rhodes for the life of me, or modern Jamie Oliver. Gordon Ramsay is a great chef i'm sure but most of his shows are just faked over-the-top anger-fests.

 

[H4nk]

There was a local show called Cookin' Cheap that was priceless. The banter between the hosts was the best. Imagine Truman Capote and Craig Claiborne with a show where they finish it in drag. The best shows were the ones where the recipe failed and they would resort to the old Southern "Bless its heart" and apologize to the chicken/cow/pig.
Opinion | Best Cookin’ Show Ever

I also like BBQ Pit Boys.

 

[BigD]

I also like BBQ Pit Boys.

I love watching them. I find right before meal time I'll watch either them or Cooking with Shotgun Red and for some reason my meals taste better that day.