Yes!!! Of course! I do recall that during the final episodes of The Next Food Network Star, someone explained to the finalists that it was more than cooking and also included "their" line of cookware, etc.
Sigh, I saw that. It's all about the marketing and product. Maybe someone should tell Susie and Bob they aren't on 'MadMen'. ;-)
And I like Sandra Lee, but seriously, I had started on a bend years ago to learn to cook more and to cook with less processed foods and we all reach for them in a hurry, but her show (and the plethora like them) are more of the same, like watching a live version of one of the woman's magazines with their processed food sponsors and recipes. (And I've enjoyed some of her recipes, too.)
Thanks for the ping and post. It's good to find another FN fan who shares the same feelings. I was a big fan of the original Japanese program Iron Chef and miss watching those reruns. It was camp .. fun ... stilted English ... and sheer entertainment. I always loved the running commentary between Fukui and Hattori. And what about that woman judge who always offered criticism or the one who posed his critique in the form of Japanese prose. It was such a dynamite show!
I'm smiling as I type, I looooved the original version. Soooo funny and enjoyable. Real artistry. I, too, miss the commentary (and it's odd translation) between Fukui and Hattori. You're right, camp, fun, and such skilled Chefs. I also like the panel of judges, most were really fun to watch and were favorites in my house. I miss that. The new American version is good but not the same, though better than it was at first.
Ahhhh for the good days of the Food Network with programs like "How to Boil Water" where the French guy had little or no patience with the young lady.
I loved that one, too!
My mother was a big fan of Julia Child and instilled a love of her in me, I watched with her as a child, and the old Food TV was like that, the newer, less so. PBS also ran a great deal of good cooking shows.
I do agree that the "how to" has been lost of late. Watching others do things like puffed pastry makes it less scary to try on your own. I do like the cake shows, but I do wish there would be more on basic cooking.