Welcome back readers, and hello to any new readers. The responses to week 3: "Has feminism gone too far" were fairly light. I expected quite a range of different views and opinions, and in fact was looking forward to it. It seems to me that people might be agreeing with my point of view, but society has people afraid to voice their opinion. If that is the case, you can always leave an anonymous comment. But make sure that you leave something, as I am trying to gauge the general opinions of the populous. In any case, it seems that everybody agreed with me, that feminism has indeed gone too far.
For this weeks topic I thought I would tackle a more playful issue. "Do celebrity chefs have too much power?"
I, like millions of others, have watched television shows such as 'Masterchef', 'Good Chef, Bad Chef', 'Huey's Cooking', 'Alive & Cooking' (my kids favourite) & the current 'My kitchen Rules'. I love cooking shows, and I love seeing the different ideas, techniques and foods. But I cannot stand the famous chef's that we see dictating to us how we 'must' have things done. My pet hate is the humble steak. Every cooking show that you watch will tell you that a steak MUST melt in your mouth and should NEVER be cooked past medium. I am sorry, but I thought that food was something that differs greatly from one person to the next, and I for one like my steak WELL DONE. I do not like having blood squish into my mouth as I chew, nor do I enjoy the taste of it. How dare some stranger tell me that I MUST eat the steak the way that they like, just because they are famous. It is actually better for you to eat a chewy steak, as it excercises the jaw muscles, helps with digestion, and even helps to burn off the calories that you are consuming. I do not feel the need to have something melt in my mouth. I am not an invilid who needs their food pureed. Maybe when I am 90, I will. But until then, I am going to enjoy my healthy jaw muscles, and chew my food.
Another thing that I find annoying with celebrity chefs is the concept of 'resting meat'. I understand all of the theory behind why this is done, but it pisses me off! I have four children, so sitting down to a hot meal is rare. Not to mention that I am a fairly slow eater, so my meat is usually getting a little on the cool side before I get to eat it. If I were to let my steak sit for ten minutes before I ate it, it would be so ridiculously cold! I have always put my meat straight from oven to plate, as by the time I get to eat it, it will have 'rested' anyway. Besides, my priority is heat, not juices. If I wanted 'juicy' meat, I would have made gravy. But no, these celebrities insist that you MUST rest your meat.
On the show 'Good Chef, Bad Chef', the female cook insists that we should only use ingredients based on their health value, never on flavour. She is constantly criticising the other chef for using things based on how they make the food taste, instead of 'how quickly they are absorbed', or 'how it will cleanse your pancreas'. And the frustrating thing is, people are listening to her and doing what she says! These celebrity chefs are in positions of power, having millions hear THEIR opinions. The sad truth is, that they are abusing their power and brainwashing the country. I for one will cook as I see fit, not by how one or two individuals insist on.
If you agree with me, please leave a comment to let know. Especially if you do not agree, leave a comment. It does not have to be long, and it can be anonymous if you wish. But I would love to hear if I am crazy, or if there are others who agree.
-T.J.
FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD !
ReplyDeleteWell, I have to say that even though I am not quite "90" I still find it easier and more tasty to eat meat that is NOT over cooked.
I would like to try a meal with gravy some time as it sounds yummy! Unfortunately I don't seem to be able to make an edible gravy despite voluminous comments & suggestions from other people as to how easy it is to make.
However, I feel the question is not just about T.V. chefs, but about T.V. in general. Over the years I have discovered that most people get all of their opinions from T.V. If they say someone or something is good on T.V. then it IS good. If they say you are bad then the whole world is against you! I would not have believed this 20 years ago until a T.V. presenter decided that my group was bad & I was forced to cop plenty of abuse & vilification. The abuse started within minutes of the show being aired.
Instead of getting our beliefs about what is right & what is not from the T.V. or from Cyber Space, get out into the real world & talk to people & learn to tell the fakes & phonies from the genuine people.
P.S. You should eat your meals the way you like them !!!
I agree that these "so called" experts are always trying to make us cook things their way . Sure, they have studied & are experienced in their field, but they are still human ( I wonder sometimes !!) & each of us prefer to eat our food in different ways. Not every one likes all types of cuisine & it is these differences that make us all unique. If we all liked the same thing, made the same way then what a boring & limited world this would be.
ReplyDeleteIt is about time that these T.V. experts, be they Chefs, political commentators or scientists etc.... stopped trying to put us into their mould & allowed us to use our own brains to do things. Certainly they can & should give us pointers but these pointers should include ALL variations which would then allow us to choose which direction we prefer to go in.
I do have to agree that celebrity chef’s in particular and celebrities in general have too much influence over people. However, I totally agree with Dennis in that this power is not at the fault of the celebrities but peoples lack of ability to critically think for themselves. The celebrity chef’s have created this pretentious culture of ‘foodies’ who have to have things done in certain way to qualify as good food. I also agree that food should and is up to ones personal taste. However, I disagree with some of the misconceptions you have with undercooked steak. Obviously, I’m not challenging you’re right to eat it the way you like but some of things you’ve mentioned are just the common flawed objections to medium steak. A steak cooked to medium and rested properly will not bleed but will be juicy throughout. I too hate heaps of blood running out which is why the resting is important. Also, resting does not have to be at the expense of heat as you will get the same results (from my experience) resting the meat in the oven at a lower temperature. Of course, you are still entitled to enjoy your steak dry and chewy, but I would rather it moist and tender! ;)
ReplyDeleteJust a simple comment in relation to what celebrity chefs have done for food. Growing up I never ate a steak without it being well done. The tiniest hint of pink and I would be completely turned off. After hearing about the correct technique for preparing a piece of good meat is to rest it for half the time it was cooked for, my husband tried this method for a medium well steak(I was not game to then so I had well done). Having grown up a vegetarian he was pleasantly surprised with how it tasted and we experimented with cooking to different 'redness'(not blue or rare ofcourse). I now enjoy a well rested steak at medium to medium well as you can not taste the blood and it is not chewy. The important factor is the resting. I don't like blood running all over my plate which happens when not rested, nor do I enjoy meat that has been so cooked that it is like eating boot leather. For me cooking shows have taught me that meat can be more enjoyable!
ReplyDeletePost Script: many restuarants do not rest the meat and so makes for a bad experience with meat, I haven't had many medium - medium well steaks that have been well rested at restuarants.