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November 21, 2006

The (Other) F Word

No, not another tirade about censorship. My first podcast in, I don't know, like, forever will be on my favorite cooking/reality show (best of both genres actually) on TV, The F Word. Now, granted, I've only suffered through Rachel Ray's maniacal perk for one or two episodes, but when I saw Gordon Ramsay's new joint (yes, believe it or not, the gratuiously vitriolic chef from one of Fox's many manufactured-reality shows called Hell's Kitchen), I knew I was hooked.
The F Word effortlessly segues between a tantalizing smorgasbord of food-related segments, slicing and dicing the cult of food into a dizzying bouliabase (Ok, no more food metaphors henceforth, promise). The show is promoted with the most un-PC purpose of getting women back into the kitchen (yeah, barefoot and pregnant!! ...errr), but it becomes immediately apparent that this is a thinly veiled excuse to present his 360 degree obsession with all aspects of food. Yes, he does have some demos of very simple and easy dishes and offers some basic technique (useful stuff, much of which I've never seen on a food show), he even takes his little bucket of essentials to the houses of these domestically-challenged women and whips them into shape. Though one doubts whether spending a couple hours with a master chef can really turn someone around (we're talking women who have pans hanging in their kitchen that have never tasted food).
But the real [fights mightily to avoid another food metaphor] ..satisfying part of the show are all the add-ons and special segments, including a recurring segment on the Turkeys that Chef Ramsay is raising with the help of his adorable kids, special guest diners (who, if one were british, one might actually recognize as celebrities), even a budding-chef competition between two young hopefuls every week, the winner of which gets an Apprentice-style position in one of his kitchens (bonus: on the last episode, he deems both contestants lackluster and decides to send them both packing, and he delivers the news without a hint of apology).
This is the kind of show that not only inspires me to cook (I'm pretty bonkers about my new kitchen, even though it's eaten up half my living room), but to look at how I approach my own calling and imagine how much fun it would be to have a show like this about music- interviews, conversations, performances, tours.. Damn, I gotta get there.

Posted by exaltron at November 21, 2006 11:28 PM

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