Hey all. Have to date myself by admitting that about the only cooking show I ever enjoyed was Graham Kerr's "The Galloping Gourmet". Actually, my mother got me interested in that show (she insisted that I learn, from a very, very early age, how to more than defend myself in the kitchen), but once interested, I was hooked. I remember pretending to be Kerr when my folks would leave me at home alone for a weekend, me in the kitchen speaking with a fake British (or was he Australian¿?) accent while explaining whatever I was preparing on the counter tops for the imaginary cameras. I do remember one of his programs, he prepared a recipe that he admitted was new to him, basically a raw meatloaf. At the end of his program he always invited someone from the audience to sit at table with him and try the dishes he had prepared. This one, well he took one bite, looked straight into the camera and said "This tastes like shit!" (this was before the Super Bowl Nipple Scandal, so no time-warp censuring!). We laughed our asses off about that one. Here in Spain, there is an excellent show hosted by a chef named Karlos Arguiñano, the treat of this show is that he prepares the most wonderful food with the most common ingredients available, making it clear that anyone can put good food on the table if they know how to combine and cook. I find programs that put chefs against one another kind of silly (especially the one that takes place in a supermarket). And though I like Gordon Ramsey in programs like Hotel Hell or Kitchen Nightmares, can't swallow his personality on Hell's Kitchen. Oh yes, like Jamie Oliver as well, haven't seen him for a while-- is it time for a YouTube session? ha. peace, revel.
I remember his program and the "gallons" of wine! Thanks for the memory! When he and his wife came back on with their new show (after a bout with religion) the show just did not have the pizzazz and was not very successful. I just Googled him and hard to believe he is 81 years old now!
OMG, Years ago I use to watch many of those cooking shows. Even purchased some of the cookbooks, which I had planned on preparing recipes by those cooks. But shortly after, I ended up having a stroke which affected my vision and a bit of my knowledge to cook. I had lost interest in cooking there for awhile, especially since the stroke affected my vision. I only have partial vision in my right eye. Thank heavens I now have proper glasses for reading, and my youngest daughter spent weekends with me to re-learning how to read. Now-a-days, my husband does the main cooking, or we'll cook together. And I'm getting more adventurous in cooking and baking. I do post recipes on my blog, and at the "Just-A-Pinch" recipe website.
I used to like Graham Kerr. Martin Yan was my favorite, although I'd tune in to Martha Stewart every once in a while. There's an Italian woman named Lydia Bastiani that has some good shows. America's Test Kitchen was pretty good in the early days, although they "developed a secret" for the perfect biscuit or something like that, and some time later I found that exact recipe with that exact tip on the side of a 1950s box of flour. It soured me on them forever. There are likely others from my distant past I used to watch but do not come to mind right now.
Justin Wilson was our favorite. We have watched a few others - a big guy in New Orleans,cant remember his name. Rachel Raye at one time had a few good ones. I like watching the british baking shows on occasion .
I liked Graham Kerr's original show--The Galloping Gourmet--but didn't care or his later fat-reduced show. I also liked Justin Wilson's show. I got quite hooked on cooking shows and true crime stuff after I broke my back and could do little else. I enjoyed Test Kitchen before Christopher Kimball was pushed out and both ATK and Milk Street are now mediocre excuses to get PBS money IMO. I once liked Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart, but watch neither now. The only thing I watch now sometimes is Jacques Pepin.
I use to like to watch a lot of cooking shows years ago. I don’t find too many of them very good anymore. I hated all those competition Iron Chef shows and Showdowns, or whatever they are called. I use to watch all the cooking shows on PBS on Saturdays. I liked Marsha Adams cooking show she use too have; Cooking from Quilt Country.
There is a "rural Virginia" farm show on every week, and they have a brief cooking segment usually incorporating the products discussed on that week's farming episode. That's about the only cooking show I happen to catch these days.