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Four Cooking Channel Shows That Look Delicious
by Bob Sassone, posted Apr 21st 2010 2:02PM
If you take your remote control and surf on over to Fine Living Network on May 31, well, it won't be there. Instead, you're going to see The Cooking Channel, Food Network's new channel devoted to food (of course), drinks, and travel. They've announced the lineup for the network's debut, and while some of the shows seem like something we could see on the parent network, there's enough quirky new stuff to grab your attention.Some are using the word "edgy" to describe the new channel too, but unless they're breaking the necks of live chickens right on television, this is still just a food channel. Oh, wait, they actually are going to break chicken necks! Alrighty.
After the jump, my picks for the four shows that look the most interesting, as well as a quick rundown on what else we're going to see on the new channel.
1. 'Drink Up!' We need more shows on TV centered around booze. I don't mean 'Real World' or 'Jersey Shore' stars drinking and getting into fights, I mean a show about cocktails. This one is hosted by Darryl Robinson, bartender at New York City's Hudson Hotel.
2. 'Foodcrafters.' I'm more interested in amateur cooks who do things in their own kitchens than I am the latest hot restaurant trend, so this sounds like fun. Host Aida Mollenkamp goes around the country and finds out the cooking secrets of people who cook at home. This could be a cooking show where we actually learn something we can use.
3. 'Foodography.' Mo Rocca hosts this show, where he goes around the country and talks about the history of classic, famous foods and food trends. He's a funny guy, and classic American food and pop culture is always interesting, so this could be fun too.
4. 'The Galloping Gourmet.' That's right, 'The Galloping Gourmet!' This isn't a new show with Graham Kerr, it's episodes of his classic show from the 60s and 70s. It's going to be part of Cooking Channel's nightly block of older shows, which will include Julia Child.I'd actually like to see other older shows, if they're going to commit to showing stuff from the past. How about Sara Moulten's 'Cooking Live?' OK, maybe it's not "classic" in the same way Kerr and Child's shows are, but I'd just like to see it again (she currently has a show on PBS).
Here are the other shows:
- 'Unique Eats.' A look at new and exciting restaurants and food trends.
- 'Food Jammers.' This is a popular show in Canada. I still have no idea what to expect though, except that it's about "a high-impact, low-fi culinary contraption conceived, designed, and constructed in the Jammers' warehouse studio. That's the Jammers in the pic above.
- 'Spice Goddess.' How to make Indian meals using fresh spices and ingredients.
- 'Indian Food Made Easy.' This is about pizza. Nah, it's about making Indian Food (easy)!
- 'Cook Like An Iron Chef.' Chef Michael Symon and other Iron Chefs reveal their cooking secrets.
- 'Caribbean Food Made Easy.' I sense a theme here.
Oh, the breaking-the-chicken-neck thing? Cooking Channel GM Michael Smith says that someone sent him a demo tape that showed someone breaking the necks of chickens at a restaurant, and he says that is actually something they would show on this new channel. Maybe they can even make a show out of it. 'The Next Chicken-Killing Cooking Channel Star.'
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