When Food Network was about food
The first cooking shows I ever watched were the ones that used to air on Saturday mornings or early afternoon on public television. There was the “Frugal Gourmet,” Jeff Smith; amiable Cajun Justin Wilson, and even Brother Domenic, a genuine monk who baked bread.
“It’s bread,” Brother Domenic would say, reassuringly, while demonstrating some new technique about which viewers might be unsure. “It’ll forgive you.”
Eventually, of course, the local cable TV company picked up the Food Network, and I could get cooking shows any day of the week. I was delighted. And the Food Network made it easier to cook along by giving instant access to all of their recipes online. Most of the public TV shows, which depended on cookbook sales for some of their revenue, would force you either to take notes or send in a self-addressed stamped envelope if you wanted that episode’s recipes in print form.
And I liked the personalities who were on Food Network at that time.
Today, I happened to catch a little of Sara Moulton’s public TV show, “Sara’s Weeknight Meals,” on public TV. I always enjoyed Sara when she used to be on “Cooking Live” and “Sara’s Secrets” on Food Network, and it was nice to see her again. It sort of reminded me of how much Food Network has changed over the past few years, and not usually for the better.
At the time I started watching Food Network, its content wasn’t that different from the PBS shows — a little bit slicker and more professional, but still relaxed, and friendly, and more about the food than about the gimmicks. “Cooking Live” was a perfect example. Unlike “Emeril Live,” in which the word “Live” only means it’s taped before a live audience, “Cooking Live” really was telecast live — if Sara burned or spilled something it went right over the air. This format allowed her to take calls from viewers.
If you look at Sara Moulton’s resume, she has extensive training and experience. But she never, ever comes off as a know-it-all. She would listen to callers talking about their grandmother’s comfort food recipes and would be just as fascinated and receptive as if it were James Beard on the line. And she never, ever talks down or condescends to the viewers. She is all about the food, and all about celebrating along with her viewers. She is gracious and self-effacing.
But Sara Moulton would never be hired today by Food Network. She’d never make it to “The Next Food Network Star,” the reality show which symbolizes everything that has been dumbed down about Food Network. Nobody self-effacing even tries out for “The Next Food Network Star,” much less wins.
“The Next Food Network Star” produces winners like Guy Fieri, the Food Network host and now T.G.I. Friday’s spokesman. Guy Fieri claims to be all about food, but in reality he’s all about … Guy Fieri. He prances about spouting catch phrases.
Hosts like Sara Moulton and Ming Tsai have left for public TV. Mario Batali is still an Iron Chef, but with “Molto Mario” a distant memory he is now dabbling in public TV as well. Bobby Flay was hosting “Hot Off The Grill” when I first started watching Food Network. Conventional wisdom is that “Hot Off The Grill,” with co-host Jacqui Malouf and its cocktail-party-in-the-kitchen atmosphere, was a train wreck. But I liked it, and I thought the much-maligned Malouf was a counterpoint who helped keep Bobby from seeming like such a jerk. I haven’t liked any of the shows he’s done since that time.
Emeril Lagasse is a showman, of course, but he also has the culinary chops to back it up. His non-audience program, “Essence of Emeril,” let him take a calmer and more educational approach. It’s like all the young sportscasters who tried to imitate Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick by developing catch phrases and a smart-aleck attitude — only they didn’t notice that Keith and Dan were sportscasters first and entertainers second.
Even Emeril, however, has gotten caught up in the dumbing-down. His show was going to be cancelled altogether until Food Network’s sister network, Fine Living, agreed to a joint-custody agreement.
I still watch Food Network, and there are still shows I like. “Good Eats” remains one of my favorite things anywhere on television. I have to admit that I still like “Iron Chef America” and a few other gimmicky shows. But the network has tilted way too far in that direction, with “Food Network Challenge,” and “Throwdown With Bobby Flay,” and “Dinner: Impossible” taking up way, way too much of the schedule. “Ace of Cakes” was terrific for a couple of years but has started to repeat itself — and the fact that its principals are now TV Stars makes them a little less relatable as a group of friends running a small business. (A recent episode had them delivering a “Get Smart” cake, and Steve Carell was fawning over Duff, rather than the other way around.)
In general, Food Network has lost a lot of its former friendly atmosphere. The people who populate the “In the Kitchen” daytime cooking block seem much more like personalities and much less like chefs. There are still a few bright spots; I was relieved to see mention of a new season for “Barefoot Contessa,” which I was afraid might have been washed away by this sizzle-over-steak trend.
I may have to start checking out Sara more often on public TV. When Turner South was sold to Fox and became a sports-only network, I was hoping that “Home Plate” chef Marvin Woods would take his talents to Food Network. No such luck. Maybe he, too, will turn up on public TV eventually.
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