News Bites: Roker Show in Fall; Jamie Top UK Chef; London Mayor Ramsay ?

We just, I mean literally just the other day posted about ten new food shows coming on the Food Network and wham we found yet another one. This time we found it through the casting call pages. The current working title of the show is Food: True Life and would be on FN via Al Roker Productions, so you can guess who the host of the show might be. From the casting call:

Food Network is looking for amazing food related stories for a groundbreaking new series! (Just so you know, really, this was originally in all caps the entire sentence and had three exclamation points after it. It really did.) Do you or someone you know have an amazing food related story to tell? Do you know someone who has gone from being homeless to the owner of their own restaurant, makes pop art out of pineapples, or eats nothing but peanuts? Do you know someone who is battling food fears or phobias? Has food helped to cure an illness, changed the course of your life, or helped to inspire you in some dramatic way? We are looking for all types of stories even those that are odd or humorous to feature on and upcoming series for the Food Network. Casting is underway, so Email a brief description of your story with your contact information and picture of yourself ASAP to michaelraptis@alroker.com

In other news, “Jamie Oliver has beaten his culinary competition to be named the most iconic British chef of all time.” From the Manchester Evening News:

The 32-year-old TV chef and scourge of the Turkey Twizzler is now a bigger name than chefs of the past, who have changed the way Britons cook, as well as his contemporary rivals. Delia Smith, 66, whose reputation as the nation’s cookery queen began to crumble when she advocated tinned mince and frozen mashed potato in her latest TV series, ranks second in the poll. Gordon Ramsay’s foul-mouthed reputation does not stop the 41-year-old restaurateur and Kitchen Nightmares star from scooping third place.

In case you’re wondering the list when like this: 4. Rick Stein, 5. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, 6. James Martin, 7. Nigella Lawson, 8. Keith Floyd, 9. Nigel Slater, and, 10. Elizabeth David. And if you would like to know who made 11 through 20 and in what order … go read the article.

So Jamie gets the position of “Top Chef”, but it’s Gordon Ramsay who the people want for Mayor of London! A recent poll of who besides the two actual candidates running would Londoners like to see had Ramsay come in at an amazing 31 percent (which is as high or higher than what the real candidates running currently have in the real polls.)

Little Britain star David Walliams came in a distant second, with almost 15 percent of the votes, whilst the former Mrs McCartney, Heather Mills, took the title of ‘Least Desirable Celeb Mayor’ with less than one percent of the vote:

Kate Moss: 4.05%, Kelly Osbourne: 7.05%, Prince Harry: 13.87%, David Walliams: 14.68%, David Beckham: 7.05%, Heather Mills: 0.92%, Madonna: 3.35%, Gordon Ramsay: 31.21%, Hugh Grant: 7.40%, Other: 10.40%

Other celebrities nominated by public: Richard Fairbrass, David Tennant, Katie Price, Stephen Fry, Prince William, Gary Barlow, Mick Jagger, Richard Madeley, Paul McCartney, James Nesbitt, and Jeremy Clarkson.

Delia Smith: UK Cooking Icon — and Rebel — Turning Things on It’s Ear

Ok, so what exactly is going on there in England when it comes to cooking? Basically, as with cooking in other parts of the world, Canada, America, Australia, France … The whole “organic” movement is taking root. Organic and artisan and free-range poultry and local veggies grown in a local farm or your back garden (we see this exemplified by television shows shown in the US such as Chef’s Afield on Public Broadcasting or UK’s own Jamie Oliver’s Jamie at Home on the Food Network, or the show Manic Organic on one of the Discovery Channels, or this summer’s Emeril Green.

Back to England now, and we’ve seen Jamie who keeps saying use free-range chicken and in every one of his recipes they no longer start off with “two eggs” they always start off with “two organic, free range eggs” and even more than he, chef Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has wept openly over hens pleading for the nation to stop on several occasions. And between those two chefs alone, well, see my previous post: Thanks to Chefs, UK Food Industry ‘Runs A Fowl’ of Ready Supply.

So with all of this laying down the landscape, giving you the “bead” of the land, world wide to some extent, and really dramatically in England … in steps the woman who is pretty much to England what Julia Child was to America. Consider her the returning elder leader, the matriarch of UK cookery, Delia Smith who does what? Turns everything on it’s ear. Here’s an example I mentioned previously.

Ok, so what’s she done now? Basically while the UK about her is all tuned into the organic, free-range movement and chefs are all pontificating how not to eat tortured animals and such, she’s telling folks how to open a tin of meat and some potato flakes and freaking out the food world there. The Restaurant’s Raymond Blanc (the program known in the US as Last Restaurant Standing has — quoting TV Scoop” “already had a go, saying that he has lost all respect for Delia and feels that she has sold out.”

Or look at this headline in The Times: “Delia Smith has sinned against the foodie priesthood” the article goes on to say:

Delia’s sin in her new book and series is to stray from the organic orthodoxy preached by the priesthood of celebrity chefs. She champions cheap and quick recipes using (the horror!) frozen and tinned food, and has offended the Green and the Good further by insisting that battery chicken is necessary to feed hard-up families.

Here comes the interesting thing though, TV Scoop ponders, is this grand mother of English cooking the only rebel?

Watching the show left me with one major question: Is Delia the only real rebel in cookery? Seriously. Think about it. Jamie Oliver may play the drums and have a camera man who is a little unsteady on his feet, and with that, has gone on his crusades to save us all from Belly’s Gonna Get You … and Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall has wept openly over hens, soothing their hock burns with his tears… but who is the only one in the maelstrom saying ‘y’know what? Stick your lofty notions, some people can’t cook to save their lives and if taking a few short-cuts is gonna kick-start a love affair with the hob, then here’s the big F.U!’ It’s Delia that’s who.

There isn’t a show on the box that shows people how to start cooking. Ramsay et al are useful for people like me who aren’t afraid to have a go in the kitchen… but if you’re nervous about the difference between flours or how rare a piece of beef can be, then this new Delia show might just be a godsend.

Which UK Celebrity Chef Are You?

Here’s a fun little game diversion from IVillage UK:

Do you tiptoe round your kitchen in vertiginous heels, cooking up retro delights, or are you a fan of the cool, calm and collected cooking style of the professional chef?

Our culinary quiz will tell you if you’re a Nigella, a Gary, a Delia or a Jamie in the kitchen …

What?! No ****** Gordon Ramsay? What the **** kind of donkey **** is this? That’s a lotta ******** not having Gordon the **** there! They should sod off! The ****ers. What a ******** nerve!

When Celeb Chefs ‘Fight’: Delia Smith and Gordon Ramsay

Ok, this one gives me a chuckle. First let me explain, mostly for us Americans, who exactly Delia Smith is. In short, she’s as famous in the United Kingdom as Julia Child. In many ways, she’s the television chef who three decades ago got things rolling. For some reason, here “in the States” we got Graham Kerr, the Galloping Gourmet, but we never had exposure to Delia. She’s the grandmother, the Dame of British television cooking. And for the last eight or so years has been semi-retired from the airwaves. During her absence, Nigella Lawson, Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay sprung to prominence. Now Delia’s back.

Here’s the thing though, and the chuckle. In an interview the other day someone asked the prim and proper 66-year-old cooking veteran what she thought about Ramsay and her reply was: “That’s not teaching. I like him when he does his recipes, but I’m not keen on his swearing.” Ok, no shock there. Right? Well the UK press is having a field day with headlines like “Delia roasts Ramsay” … and words such as “grills” Ramsay … “attacks” … “ticks off” …. “smacks” and the like.

All because of the words “not too keen”?! And I thought American newspapers exaggerated everything, but we’re apparently nothing compared to the long noses of the British press.