However, let me tell you about a show I'm really passionate about it right now:
Good Eats.
This show had 14 seasons airing from 1999 to about 2012 and yet I'm only just discovering it now. It's hosted by Alton Brown who I've liked from my exposure to him on Iron Chef America and Cutthroat Kitchen plus some other Food Network bits he has done. He kind of made Iron Chef America for me because of his commentary and smarts. Well, Good Eats is how he got his start into the TV Business and Food Network and amazingly, I only found out about it a couple months ago.
I had stayed over one night at my parents place and was taking a flight home the next day in the evening so I had some time to chill. Flipping through the TV Channels, I came across the Cooking Channel which I didn't know excited since the last time I had cable (which is over a year ago) I never saw that channel listed as an option. It's like another Food Network but seems to be a bit more focused on actual cooking type shows than food competitions. Maybe some of you know all this already. It was news to me, though! The title intrigued me and seeing that it involved Alton Brown sold me on checking it out.
In case you haven't heard of the show, either, it is a program that will look at a type of dish or recipe and then get into the history or some facts about the dish, it will show you how to cook the dish but it will also get into the science behind it which explains what kind of chemical reactions are perhaps occurring or why certain ingredients work some ingredients but not others and various things like that. I was watching it with my brother and he commented that it was sort of like the Bill Nye the Science Guy for cooking shows. On Wikipedia, it references Alton Brown as saying he wanted the show to be a combination of Julia Child, Mr. Wizard and Monty Python rolled into one and I'd say it's a pretty good description of the show. It may not be as clever in humor as Monty Python but the humor is another factor that helps it stand out a bit from other cooking shows.
I only saw a couple episodes that one day but last week I went away for a bit of a family reunion and staying with my parents again gave me the chance to see some more episodes. In fact, it was something I was secretly hoping I'd be able to watch more of since those couple episodes I saw stuck with me. I was probably able to watch another 12 or 14 on this last visit. It's inspired me to start watching this entire series.
As such, I've now started watching the first season of the program and wow what a difference that is. The stuff I've seen seems to have come from the last 3 seasons. By that point, the show was a well oiled machine. The first season is a bit different from what I've now become use to. It's still got that blend of cooking, science and humour that drew me in but it can look sort of amateurish at times. I'd almost liken it to having a similar vibe to a YouTube channel cooking show. Alton isn't the polished professional that I'm used to from all the previous media I've seen him do. It's kind of interesting to see him here as he's starting out. The second episode I noticed this habit he had of starting of every second sentence or so with the word now. It kind of became cringe-worthy yet slightly comical. Perhaps he picked up on that too since I haven't noticed him doing that a few episodes after. The other difference is that the later season shows I watched had him tackling topics like doing tempura fry, baklava, or paella. Big dishes or more complex kinds of food preparation. Yet, these first few episodes are like beginner's cooking. How to boil or fry an egg. How to cook a baked potato or make a vinegarete dressing for a salad. It kind of adds to the amateur vibe going on. That said, it's still interesting to learn about the science behind some of these basics cooking lessons and they're still pretty essential things to learn plus he does do some things quite differently than I've seen done. Now that I know his reasoning behind his methods, I'm a lot more willing to change up how I cook some things or try his way. I've never seen a Caesar Salad recipe constructed in the method he presented so now I'm curious to try it out and see what it is like.
He says early on in one of the first episodes something along the lines that Good Eats isn't about presenting an exact recipe of how to make or replicate the dishes being made but that it is about getting people to experiment with cooking things on their own and know how to make things without having to consult a recipe list every time. Part of that is because things are going to cook differently. The age of food, the appliances or tools being used, even one's elevation depending on where they live can all be factors in cooking times or how food may turn out. Understanding the process is important to ensuring better success when doing the cooking yourself and that's a skill I've been very interested in.
When I watch a show like Chopped and contestants are giving mystery ingredients they have to work with, I've always been impressed at how the cooks are able to come up with dishes and ways to incorporate that food on the spot without consulting some kind of cookbook or recipe. Another show I've recently gotten into is Masterchef which I watched last year and this year. Again, the home chefs on that show are able to replicate or come up with meals on the spot all the time and I just marvel at how they can do that. Well, Good Eats is like the culinary school I need to get that skill. I'm probably going to start rewatching some episodes and take some notes to try all this stuff (even going over the basics.) I may even begin revamping my kitchen and buying some new equipment to aid me in this endeavor.
Having done some reading up on the history of this show, I've learned that Alton Brown is in the process of actually bringing it back. The successor show is going to be called Return of the Eats and will be jointly aired on Food Network and the internet with additional content being made online. It's to air sometime next year. I guess the show has maintained a pretty popular following during it's air time with fans hoping it would return. Having just begun diving into it, I can see why. I just wish I had known about it sooner.