Paula Deen's TV Show

[the_std]

We have the Food Network playing at work, and I saw Paula Deen's show for the first time today. My jaw just hit the floor. The first dish she made? "Butter Bacon Burgers", loaded with cheese and justified with some lettuce. The rest of the show was full of equally-terrible food, but Paula Deen just yummed it up and displayed an attitude of "the effort you put into cooking negates the calories of the food you've made".

I know that she doesn't accurately represent American cooking - the US food scene is insanely diverse (from stuff like Man Vs Food to a booming health food craze), but if I didn't know that, Paula Deen's show might be seen as a representative slice of American food habits. The sheer amount of fat I saw go into her cooking makes me understand all the memes I see about her.

I tried in vain to find the nutritional information on that particular recipe, but couldn't. I'm not shocked that Food Network wouldn't want anyone seeing it, lest they balloon massively just from thinking about it.

Ugh.

[AccountingDrone]

And her cornpone dialect is absolutely grating.

Get a damned voice coach and drop the cornpone Lil Abner accent.

And drop the recipes that use a pound of freaking butter!

[Greenday]

Paula Deen does the same thing for every recipe: shitloads of butter. I'd never let her cook for me.

[anakhouri]

I've made several of her recipes (not often, of course) and all the ones I've tried are quite good.

I've never seen her show but hey, if you don't like the way she cooks, don't make her recipes. I've heard people criticizing her for how unhealthy her food is, as if she was coming to their houses and making them eat it.

I've never been interested in cooking shows at all, actually. They're awfully boring.

[the_std]

I've never seen her show but hey, if you don't like the way she cooks, don't make her recipes. I've heard people criticizing her for how unhealthy her food is, as if she was coming to their houses and making them eat it.

I know that she doesn't accurately represent American cooking - the US food scene is insanely diverse (from stuff like Man Vs Food to a booming health food craze), but if I didn't know that, Paula Deen's show might be seen as a representative slice of American food habits. The sheer amount of fat I saw go into her cooking makes me understand all the memes I see about her.

Anakhouri, I understand I'm not being forced to eat her food. That was not my objection to her show. If you read the bolded part, my objection is to the fact that this could be understood as an accurate slice of American cooking, tying in with all the "fat American" themes running through popular media right now. She does that mindset no favours.

[anakhouri]

But there are lots of other cooking shows, as you pointed out. I guess I'm not really understanding what the issue is. It's hardly Paula Deen's fault the media is obsessed with weight. Should she stop broadcasting because it makes Americans look bad? In that there are many shows that should go off the air.

[TheHuckster]

It's hardly Paula Deen's fault the media is obsessed with weight.

IMO it isn't weight as much as health. Consuming food rich in fat, salt, and oil is simply unhealthy. And it should be noted that Paula Deen herself was, in recent years, diagnosed with diabetes, which has been linked to this kind of unhealthy diet.

I don't think she should be put off the air for offering unhealthy recipes. After all, I do enjoy the occasional deep fried coronary-in-a-basket myself, but only in sparse quantity and frequency.

Her food, as her accent implies, has a lot of southern qualities to it. It's southern comfort food cuisine. And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as you don't make it a daily routine.

[Ree]

She took a lot of heat for hiding the fact that she had developed diabetes.
http://www.inquisitr.com/197683/paul...betes-scandal/

[Bright Star]

IF you think Paula Deen is bad, you oughta check out the Rachel Ray Show. At first glance it looks like her food is healthy but if you pay CLOSE attention, it's not as healthy as she makes it out to be.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

So... because someone might only watch a Paula Deen episode and none of the other (very much diverse) cooking shows on the Food Network and then make an ignorant assumption of American food habits.... what?

So what?

I don't like her because her personality grates of my nerves and she does certain things that just annoy me, but I'm not going to get angry at her for what she cooks.

Just because it's not healthy for you doesn't mean that no one should be allowed to make it or show how it's made. If we took her off the air because of that it would be just as bad as NYC banning certain soda sizes or banning people from donating food because they can't control what kind of nutrition it gives the people who need it.

[HYHYBT]

My only complaint about Paula Deen is that the apple pies I've occasionally found bearing her name taste like they're not cooked.

Nothing wrong with her accent. (At least not when she appeared on Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!; for all I know she may exaggerate it on television.)

[SongsOfDragons]

The only cookery programme I really try to catch is Nigella Lawson's. Probably not the healthiest either but she makes some great stuff - I love making her Tuscan cheese sandwiches and people like eating them ^^. I also like picking up Delia Smith for some of the really basic stuff, plus her ancient Christmas series was useful this year

...actually I think I only watch foodie programmes depending on the cook's charisma levels. I can't stand a lot of those on the (UK) food network because the cooks are so wooden they're boring. Two Fat Ladies slather on the lard as well but it's always so amusing to watch Clarissa perv over some hot cricketer they're cooking for and Jennifer cheerfully insult the hell out of vegetarians *shame * I watched Great British Bake Off solely to listen to Sue Perkins' quips ("You've only got five more minutes until I can sink my teeth into your buns!!") but picked up some baking tips on top of giggling. I don't watch Masterchef much because it's done like a soap opera. And same with the overwhelming amound of silly cake decorating shows...

When I first heard about Man vs Food I didn't like the idea, but then I caught it and I have to say that Adam Richman's host skills are incredible, it saves that show from being just a gorge-fest imo. And I know it's not typical Yank food; can it really be a cooking show if he's not actually making any of it himself, just nomming it? It's on Dave in the UK, not on any food channel.

[AmbrosiaWriter]

Food Network has a kind of schedule at the moment.

Morning TV is all cooking shows where they "teach" you how to cook/show you how to do the recipes.

Once it hits prime time (erf... maybe around 5pm?) all the shows switch to things like Chopped (which I do enjoy), Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives, etc. and so forth.

Which I'm okay with, since it is Food Network and not Cooking Network. I actually like watching Guy zoom around the US to check out little mom and pop joints, as well as the cooking/baking competitions like Chopped. Don't know why, they entertain me while I get to see them make delicious looking things.

[Aethian]

It's on Dave in the UK, not on any food channel.

You have a channel called Dave?


As for him not being a cooking show, I think the only reason some people classify him as that is that for some of those monstrous things he's eating you get to see them prepared.

[cindybubbles]

You know what? I don't think Ms. Deen intended to showcase healthy meals; she wants to share her recipes for comfort food, which is supposed to be laden with calories and fat anyway!

My favourite part of her show is when she makes dessert! Yum!