'Grey's' Isn't Going Anywhere
'Red Widow' Gets The Axe
First Impressions of The Cooking Channel
by Allison Waldman, posted Jun 1st 2010 3:00PM
Yesterday was the first day of a brand new cable network, Cooking Channel, the spin-off from Food Network. This is the network that Scripps has created to take over for Fine Living, and while a noble attempt to focus on the how to of food preparation, my first impressions of the channel were that it has a long way to go to keep me coming back for more. The motto the new channel is "Stay Hungry." After day one, I am hungry, but not necessary for the recipe Cooking Channel is serving up.
Even though Cooking Channel picked a good day to launch, a holiday Monday with little competition (there weren't even any major sports up against it other than Major League Baseball games), it failed to ever really reach the level of compelling viewing. After watching some hours in the morning, afternoon and evening, here's my assessment of Cooking Channel ...
Where are the stars? One of the draws for any new network should be star power. Names. Celebrities. There are many celebrities chefs around the dial, but you wouldn't know if most of the day on Cooking Channel. Do you know who Roger Mooking is? He's the guy featured in the photo above and he hosts 'Everyday Exotic,' which is all about the obedient ingredient.
What about Rachel Allen? She's a baking expert. It seemed like you had to wait until primetime before a couple of familiar faces turned up, chefs who have become stars on Food Network. Cooking Channel could use more crossovers.
There were too many imports. I expected there would be some foreign cooking programs on Cooking Channel -- perhaps Jamie Oliver or Nigella Lawson. However, after a morning filled with British and Canadian products, it felt like I wasn't in America anymore. Sure, there are similarities among all English-speaking TV, but some shows needed an American touch.
For instance, on 'Indian Food Made Easy,' cooking kebabs at an English country fair was somewhat distancing. The same Indian food at a New York City street fair, on the other hand, would have worked better ... but the show is a British product and not an original Cooking Channel show.
Lack of energy. By scheduling 'Indian Food Made Easy,' 'Chinese Food Made Easy' and 'French Food At Home' one after the other, there was a sameness about the programming that resulted in a real lack of energy. With the same type of show airing back to back to back -- all done in similar ways with new faces guiding the way -- there was a blandness to the line up.
They should vary the schedule with more varied shows, whether from Food Network or the foreign imports. Too much sameness results in channel surfing. A look at the schedule on the web site indicates that there will more variety in the days ahead. Good.
What's the difference? This was supposed to be different from Food Network, but I didn't see much difference at all ... except that it wasn't as good. Even the original programs which aired in primetime, like 'At the Table With...' was essentially a 30-minute version of Food Network's 'Chefography.' It wasn't a bad program; I liked both the Chris Cosentino and Cat Cora biographies, but it's the same type of show. Same thing with Mo Rocca's 'Food(ography)' which reminded me of 'Follow that Food' with Gordon Elliott.
Maybe Cooking Channel could use some of The Next Food Network Star cast-offs to create some fresh new shows that are more creative?
Did you catch any of the Cooking Channel's line-up? What did you think about it?
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