DS13, the mini-chef would like to watch a chef show and I need reviews

[FaithManor]

Dh and I streamed a couple of episodes of "Chef", the series by the BBC and watched those without DS present to see if they would be appropriate. Wow - no! Funny, very, very funny and probably to some degree accurate concerning the antics of a tempermental chef. I have no doubt that some of them are exceedingly difficult to work with! But, the s*x talk was ever present and not the least bit subtle. DS has had a lot explained to him but is basically blissfully unaware of the opposite gender except that he thinks his sister is weird and all girls are cootie machines. We would like to keep it this way as long as possible.

 

Has anyone ever seen "Top Chef"? We don't know a thing about it, do not have cable, and can't stream it from Netflix. I also noticed there are some shows, not sure of the names, about really talented cake decorators and candy makers. I think he'd be interested in these but again, we don't know if they'd be appropriate.

 

Suggestions please! Also, does anyone know of a cooking type curriculum (it could even be DVD driven) that is not a "girly" type home-ec program. DS is willing to pursue this so long as its kind of "manly" and he doesn't have to do sewing and home decorating.

 

Thanks a bunch Hive Mind!

Faith

[TwinMominTX]

My girls who are 8 like to watch Top Chef. The language is horrible, but it's bleeped out - mostly.

[LG Gone Wild]

Alton Brown's Good Eats hands down. Very informative cooking show. Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef is good, too, and he isn't naked. For kicks, throw in Bizarre Foods by Andrew Zimmerman. It's a travel show but it's fun to watch. Jacques Pepin, Fast Food My Way(PBS), is informative though not as captivating as Good Eats. America's Test Kitchen is very thorough (PBS).

 

Chef is not family viewing, nor is it an actual cooking show. (I like it but too much shouting)

 

Top Chef, IMO, isn't informative. I wouldn't let my kids watch it because everyone is simply b#$chy. If you really want to watch competition cooking, I suggest Iron Chef, the original from Japan if you can find it. It's funny, interesting, and intense. There is the FoodTV version which Alton Brown hosts but it is nowhere near as good as the Japanese version.

Edited March 6, 2010 by LG Gone Wild

[elegantlion]

I second Alton Brown, you get science with every show. He did a Roadtrip across America a few years ago, not sure if that's on DVD.

 

Iron Chef & Iron Chef America, plus Emeril is fun to watch.

 

My ds was obsessed with cooking shows a few years ago, these were the ones he watched.

[Annie]

I was also going to suggest Good Eats. I love that show!

 

I've enjoyed watching Top Chef in the past. As the PP mentioned, the language can be bad, but I think they do a pretty good job of bleeping it out. The language is usually swearing out of frustration. I can't really think of any s*xual comments that gave me pause. There has been some discussion of the gender preferences of certain contestants in past seasons, but it's certainly far from the main focus of the show. It's not really a family program, but I think I would let a reasonably mature young teen watch it. However, I'm not a parent, so take that for what it's worth. :D

 

As far as cake decorating shows, I really like Cake Boss on TLC. I don't have kids yet, so I'm not usually watching for things like language, but I would guess that there may be some swearing. I just don't remember. I also saw one episode where he made a cake that would be inappropriate for children. They're a family run business, and you do see some of the bickering you might expect if you were working with siblings in a stressful environment on a daily basis. However, it's clear they're a close family with a lot of love for each other.

[LittleIzumi]

Good Eats. It's FANTASTIC.

[OnTheBrink]

I agree with Alton Brown's shows. Also, I like Ina Garten's shows, too, but she might be a bit boring for a child.

 

I'd avoid Giada DiLorentis unless you want your child to be educated in cleavage. :glare:

[usetoschool]

Just about any show on FoodNetwork is safe and actually shows you how to cook the food. We like Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, and Giada DeLaurentis (despite the sometimes low cut shirts). If you go to FoodNetwork.com you can see quite a few videos and get lots of recipes and instructions and a feel for the shows.

[Kathleen in VA]

My ds13 who wants to be a chef loves Good Eats, too. He also loves Paula Deen's show - he can't get enough of her deep southern accent.:)

[EKS]

I really like America's Test Kitchen. Every recipe I've ever made from it has been totally excellent. They also always have a science component to the show. Also, if you wanted, you could pair cooking with learning about nutrition.

[Jenny in Atl]

I agree with Alton Brown's shows. Also, I like Ina Garten's shows, too, but she might be a bit boring for a child.

 

I'd avoid Giada DiLorentis unless you want your child to be educated in cleavage. :glare:

 

I just find it amazing that she never burns herself. My youngest loves her, smile and all. :D

[i.love.lucy]

My dd and I love pretty much anything on FoodTV. Good Eats has the science thrown in which is very cool. She also likes most of those celebrity chef shows like Rachel Ray, Ina Garten, Giada, Paula Deen, etc. And I like Bobby Flay (he has a couple but I like Throwdown where he competes with normal people) and I have a crush on Tyler Florence. Emeril gets on my nerves, but that's just me.

 

One that your son might really like is "The Next Food Network Star". It takes normal people and puts them through challenges each week to come up with someone in the end that gets a show on FoodTV. You might be able to find that on Netflix.

 

On the Travel Channel we love Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods and also enjoy Man vs Food.

 

All of these are squeaky clean. And I think FoodTV does a great job of balancing female vs male chefs so you never get the idea that being a chef is a girly thing!

[abbeyej]

I'll just throw in another vote for Good Eats. Alton Brown also hosts Iron Chef America, which can be lots of fun (and kid-friendly).

[Melissa in St Louis]

Another Good Eats vote. :001_smile: Kiddos and I both love it.

[MeaganS]

Good Eats is my husband's favorite. For general chef, I would say Iron Chef America. It's really fun. Alton Brown is a family favorite around here, he even has his own Mii on our Wii :001_smile:

[lisabees]

We also love Cake Boss. I can't recall any sex talk, but there is some language. It's a fun show!

 

I just returned from the library and checked out "What the World Eats" by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel. It's interesting stuff for the food lover! Maybe you could do a unit study on foods from around the world. Or how about doing Ellen McHenry's The Elements? I think that is based on learning through cooking.

Edited March 6, 2010 by lisabees

[Kathleen in VA]

We also love Cake Boss. I can't recall any sex talk, but there is some language. It's a fun show!

 

I just returned from the library and checked out "What the World Eats" by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel. It's interesting stuff for the food lover! Maybe you could do a unit study on foods from around the world. Or how about doing Ellen McHenry's The Elements? I think that is based on learning through cooking.

 

We did Ellen McHenry's The Elements and the only thing I recall about cooking is the comparison she made between the elements and the ingredients for recipes in a kitchen. There may be some recipes in the activities section, but most of the book is standard chemistry fare (no pun intended :D).

[LibraryLover]

My 16 yr old is a cook as well. On TV, he enjoys Simply Ming, and America's Test Kitchen. He has a great fondness for Lidia's Kitchen as well. PBS is our friend. :)

[abbeyej]

Oh, I can't believe I forgot Jamie Oliver! He's my daughter's very favorite. I can't remember if there's anything questionable in the older episodes of The Naked Chef (he wasn't naked -- the idea was that his food was simple and unadorned), but he's a little older and more mellow now, with three kids of his own, so I wouldn't hesitate to watch any of the slightly later shows (like Jamie at Home) with my kids without previewing. (I don't think there's anything wrong with Naked Chef -- it's just been a while since I've seen any of the episodes, and I think there might be some language or perhaps an occasional double entendre...) He has a new show coming to the US, but I'm not sure how much cooking there will be vs reality show (since it's largely about his current passion: educating people about simple, basic cooking of whole foods as a way of battling obesity and diet-related health problems).

[aggieamy]

Well, I was going to be original and say Good Eats but I'm too late for that. That is the best cooking show EVER.

[lisabees]

We did Ellen McHenry's The Elements and the only thing I recall about cooking is the comparison she made between the elements and the ingredients for recipes in a kitchen. There may be some recipes in the activities section, but most of the book is standard chemistry fare (no pun intended :D).

 

Thanks Kathleen. I thought it was more cooking related. Good to know!

[DarlaS]

If you wanted to get the chemistry in there, you could also have him work through this:

 

Kitchen Chemistry

 

It uses this book:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

 

 

(The above book has been spotted on Alton Brown's shelf. :001_smile:)

[DarlaS]

I just returned from the library and checked out "What the World Eats" by Faith D'Aluisio and Peter Menzel.

 

We have that book! It's really very good.

[Angel]

Dh and dd9 have been into Food Network for months now! Favorite shows around here are

 

Iron Chef America

Chopped

The Next Food Network Star

Throwdown! with Bobby Flay

Emeril (though he's on Fine Living now I think)

Food Network Challenge

Rachel Ray's 30 Minute Meals

 

Dh has always loved to cook, but he has had a renewed interest lately. Many times dd will be in the kitchen helping.

 

As far as fostering this passion. I got dh a subscription to Food Network Magazine. There are a lot of recipes and useful information. Dd has gotten special cookbooks out of the library to cook with like the Ratatouille cookbook. They also cook out of the Star Wars cookbook :D If he finds a chef he likes, check out one of their cookbooks at the library.

 

Of course I'm loving that they are doing this...less time in the kitchen for me;)

[EmilyK]

My son recommends Food Tech -- not exactly cooking, but he really likes it.

[TeacherZee]

Oh, I can't believe I forgot Jamie Oliver! He's my daughter's very favorite. I can't remember if there's anything questionable in the older episodes of The Naked Chef (he wasn't naked -- the idea was that his food was simple and unadorned), but he's a little older and more mellow now, with three kids of his own, so I wouldn't hesitate to watch any of the slightly later shows (like Jamie at Home) with my kids without previewing. (I don't think there's anything wrong with Naked Chef -- it's just been a while since I've seen any of the episodes, and I think there might be some language or perhaps an occasional double entendre...) He has a new show coming to the US, but I'm not sure how much cooking there will be vs reality show (since it's largely about his current passion: educating people about simple, basic cooking of whole foods as a way of battling obesity and diet-related health problems).

 

I've seen one episode of the US series and it was very good. No objectionable stuff as far as I remember but I wasn't looking out for it. And I can't remember any problems on the early Naked Chef stuff either. We love the shows and the food he cooks. Have most of his cookbooks :001_smile:

 

And Jamie and Jools are having another baby. He just announced it yesterday:D

[LibraryLover]

I love Jamie Oliver. My ds and I watch him on Youtube. I love when he goes into schools.

[6packofun]

We love Good Eats, too. My girls asked me to set it on record for all new episodes. LOL I think Iron Chef is good, too, for the excitement and teaching aspect--I'm amazed at all the terms to learn--AND Alton Brown is the host!

 

Also, America's Test Kitchen and Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello. Tyler's Ultimate is good, too. Mark Bittman (author of How to Cook Everything, et al.) has some shows, as well, I think.

 

Gosh, does anyone remember Yan Can Cook? I *loved* that silly show!!! I also loved The Frugal Gourmet (Jeff Smith) and have his Italian cookbook.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

We love The Grill Sergeants, which is currently filmed from the Culinary Institute of America. The show features several military culinary specialists. They specialize in healthy, tasty food that can be prepared by average people with average skills. Some of the shows are very much directed toward younger military members who might be cooking for themselves for the first time.

 

My sons love this show. You can watch full episodes from The Pentagon Channel. You can also subscribe to the video podcasts from iTunes. You won't have a problem with language or vulgar content with these. At the end of the current episode, the chef brought out all of his kids and is wife.

 

If we ever get stationed in California, we're planning on going for tapings.

 

For a book, Kitchen Science 101. Also the Cook's Illustrated books and magazines have lots of good info about tool selection and why things work the way they do. I love reading about how they try to fix and test a recipe with explanations of the science of why a certain thing happened with baking soda but not baking powder, etc.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Sebastian (a lady)

[LG Gone Wild]

 

Gosh, does anyone remember Yan Can Cook? I *loved* that silly show!!! I also loved The Frugal Gourmet (Jeff Smith) and have his Italian cookbook.

 

Except for I think he got in trouble for...well, I will just let you imagine it. He sure loved his olive wood spoons.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

If you wanted to get the chemistry in there, you could also have him work through this:

 

Kitchen Chemistry

 

It uses this book:

On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen

 

 

(The above book has been spotted on Alton Brown's shelf. :001_smile:)

 

This course looks awesome. I was looking for something to beef up our science, and this looks like it will perfectly fit the bill.

 

Any tips on doing one of these Open Courses. I'm new to these.

[6packofun]

Oh no! LOL Really? I'm afraid to Google... :001_huh:

[Lizzie in Ma]

Iron Chef is a hands down favorite.

Alton Brown's Good Eats runs a close second.