Category: Food TV (Page 8 of 8)

      Chopped All-Stars: must-see TV

      February 16, 2011 /

      In July of 2009, I posted something on Premium Hollywood, berating the producers and judges of “Chopped” on Food Network for the latter being too harsh. That was then, only a few months after the show premiered on the network, and this is now, 205 comments to the post later from passionate fans of the show, one of the most popular on the network. Quite honestly, the judges have become much more lenient and complimentary, even as the contestants have had to work with even crazier ingredients.

      Often, as you can see in those comments of my original post, viewers have suggested that the judges try and compete and see how well they could fare. And now those people and all of us who watch “Chopped” have something to look forward to–“Chopped All-Stars,” which premieres Sunday, March 6. The four rounds will draw contestants from Food Network personalities, former contestants of other shows such as “Next Food Network Star, renowned celebrity chefs, and of course, some of the “Chopped” judges. The winners of each round will then go head to head in the finale, with the winner taking home $50K for the charity of their choice.

      Are you kidding me? This is sheer genius, and the one round I can’t wait to see is the one that includes three regular “Chopped” judges–Aaron Sanchez, Amanda Freitag and Geoffrey Zakarian. Here is the schedule we received from Food Network:

      Part 1 (premieres Sunday, March 6th at 9pm) – Brad Sorenson, Debbie Lee, Lisa Garza, Michael Proietti

      Part 2 (premieres Sunday, March 13th at 9pm) – Anne Burrell, Claire Robinson, Duff Goldman, Robert Irvine

      Part 3 (premieres Sunday, March 20th at 9pm) – Anita Lo, Beau MacMillan, Jacques Torres, Nate Appleman

      Part 4 (premieres Sunday, March 27th at 9pm) – Aaron Sanchez, Amanda Freitag, Geoffrey Zakarian, Maneet Chauhan

      Part 5 (premieres Sunday, April 3rd at 9pm) – Final showdown featuring one winner from each round

      They also sent me a screener of Part 1 featuring former contestants of “The Next Food Network Star” and it was positively awesome, despite some nasty ingredients. So be sure to check out the show and most of all, let’s see if the judges make those same scowling looks to Geoffrey Zakarian that he gives to contestants regularly.

      Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV

      Worst Cooks Heats Up

      January 24, 2011 /

      So, how bad of a cook are you? Are you so bad that you’d be willing to go on national TV, show the world how bad you are, and then compete with other chefs who are equally miserable? That’s the premise of “Worst Cooks in America,” a reality show on Food Network now in its second season. The one thing, of course, that these contestants have going for them, is that they are being taught how to cook by world class chefs–who this season are returning team leader Anne Burrell, and also newcomer and host of “Restaurant: Impossible,” Robert Irvine. Of course, last season it was Anne vs. Beau MacMillan, and for some reason Beau’s contract was not renewed (we really dug this brash New Englander, but they went and replaced him with a brash Brit!).

      This season, they began with 16 contestants, and each week two are eliminated after a challenge, one from each team by their team leader. Last night was episode 4, and we’re now down to four chefs on each team. The winning chef will take home $25,000, but the final challenge will involve cooking for food critics who don’t know they are being fed a meal cooked by one of the “worst chefs in America” who by then have been taught some mad skills by Anne and Robert.

      The idea behind this show is brilliant, and it’s really remarkable how fast these chefs come along, some of them faster than others. In fact, just like last season, the finalists will probably have a hard time convincing the judges that they were so horrible in the kitchen when Season 2 began.

      If you haven’t seen this show and are looking for a reality cooking show fix, check out “Worst Cooks in America” on Food Network on Sunday nights. I mean, football season is basically over, and were you really going to watch “Desperate Housewives” with your significant other?

      Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV

      Re-post of an interview with Food Network’s Michael Symon

      January 20, 2011 /

      Last year I had the privelege of interviewing celebrity chef Michael Symon from Food Network and Cleveland, Ohio’s Lola Bistro as well as several other endeavors on Bullz-Eye.com. Here is a re-post of that interview….enjoy!

      Iron Chef Michael Symon rose to prominence in the culinary world in the ‘90’s, and even hosted a show on the Food Network called The Melting Pot. Fast forward thirteen years, and Symon has several successful restaurants in his native Cleveland, Ohio (Lola Bistro being the most notable). And he was the winner of the inaugural “Next Iron Chef” season back in 2007, joining the ranks of Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Cat Cora and Masaharu Morimoto as Iron Chefs on the network. Symon also has published a book, Michael Symon: Live to Cook. We had the chance to talk to Symon recently about being a successful restaurateur, as well as being a Food Network star and a huge Cleveland sports fan.
      Michael Symon: Hello?

      Bullz-Eye: Michael?

      MS: Yes.

      BE: Hey, it’s Mike Farley with Bullz-Eye.com. Before we get to the interview, I wanted to tell you I lived in Cleveland for ten years.

      MS: Oh nice.

      BE: So you’ve really risen to national prominence in the last few years after winning “The Next Iron Chef.” How did it feel to essentially become a famous Food Network personality over night like you did?

      MS: It’s interesting. In the culinary world I was always pretty well known nationally. And the restaurant and myself have been fortunate enough to win a lot to national awards and get exposure in that way. Obviously we’ve always had some good success here in Cleveland. It changes a lot. I had a show on the Food Network from ’97 to ’99, so I got a little bit of a taste of it then, and walked away from it and continued to focus on restaurants again. I think having that early, (well, Food Network wasn’t nearly as big then as it is now), but getting some of that early exposure helped me understand and deal with what’s happened since “Iron Chef.”

      BE: OK. What show was that?

      MS: It was called “The Melting Pot.”

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      Chefs and Restaurants, Food TV

      DVD review: Bitter Feast

      January 13, 2011 /

      Chef JimLet me preface this by saying I’m not a horror flick guy. I think you either are or you’re not, and I’m not. But that said, when “Bitter Feast” was pitched to me, it was pitched as “a horror flick for foodies.” And of course, they hook you in by telling you Mario Batali, the same Mario Batali who is an Iron Chef on Food Network, stars in the film. Well, okay, why not then?

      So the story, created by Joe Maggio, takes place in what appears to be New York City, but I’m not sure that is ever referenced. Chef Peter Grey’s (James LeGros) world starts caving in around him when his TV show is canceled, and then he receives a bad review by notorious food blogger JT Franks (Joshua Leonard), which then leads to poor attendance at the restaurant where he is executive chef, owned by a fellow named Gordon (Batali). Gordon fires Grey, which is hilarious only because we get to see Mario Batali drop F-bombs like nobody’s business. And he fires him mostly because of that review.

      Of course, this sends Grey into a tizzy and he can only suppress his rage for so long. We also find out along the way that Grey killed his older brother as a young boy in self-defense, so we know what he’s capable of. Franks, meanwhile, is having his own problems at home after his 2-year old son dies from cancer, and he and his wife are having problems coping and also getting along themselves. Grey knocks Franks out in a dark alley and drags him to what appears to be a cabin in the middle of nowhere, probably meant to be upstate New York.

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      Chefs and Restaurants, DVD reviews, Food TV

      Re-post of an interview with Camille Ford from Food Wars

      January 10, 2011 /

      Last year we had the opportunity to speak to Camille Ford, host of Travel Channel’s “Food Wars.” Camille was just getting started with the show, and it’s been going strong now for almost a year. If you haven’t seen it, the premise is that they pit two restaurants against each other in a particular city for what that city is known for, such as New York Pizza or Philly cheesesteak. It’s awesome and looks like it would be fun to be there! Here is a re-post of the interview that ran on Bullz-Eye.com:

      March 29, 2010

      Travel Channel has recently dipped its collective toe into the food programming boom, and following the wild success of “Man Vs. Food,” which recently wrapped up its second season, they are back with an awesome new show, “Food Wars.” The premise is that there are specialty restaurants in most major cities—Buffalo’s Buffalo wings, Chicago’s Italian beef, Kansas City’s fried chicken. And host Camille Ford has the best job of all—to travel around the country hosting “Food Wars” and getting to sample the cuisine of each “war.” For you guys, Camille is also very easy on the eyes and she isn’t afraid of spicy food or large quantities of food that isn’t exactly good for you. We had the chance to talk to Camille between episodes of “Food Wars,” and she confirmed that she has one of the coolest gigs ever……

      Bullz-Eye: Hey, Camille.

      CF: Hey, Mike, how are you doing?

      BE: Good, how are you?

      CF: Good, thank you.

      BE: So, I love the show, I’ve become a big fan. I’m a fan of “Man Vs. Food” and I think there are a lot of similarities between the two.

      CF: There are, but hopefully it’s different enough that people will be inspired to watch.

      BE: So how did you land the gig to host this show and how excited were you to move forward with it?

      CF: Okay, I’m going to answer the latter first. Thrilled, like back flips, couldn’t believe how luck I am, and was, to be asked to travel around the United States meeting great people who have worked their whole lives to be passionate about one thing, food, that I get to eat for free. All really good things. And as far as how I got involved, I’ve been working in entertainment and the performing arts for years and years, since I was a kid. I moved to New York about eight years ago to kind of pursue the same thing. And I’d done some hosting things that somehow caught the eye of the Travel Channel and it just so happened that they were looking for someone to fill this position. And when I auditioned, it just kind of made sense.

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      Food TV, Interviews

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