The Kitchen - General Discussion

[Snarklepuss]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from the show's run. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

This show is on the Food Network on Saturday mornings with Jeffrey Zakarian, Sunny Anderson, Jeff Mauro, Marcella Valladolid and the ever annoying Katie Lee.

[Lillybee]

The Kitchen makes The Chew look like genius. I really dislike Jeff Mauro, he is so trying to be Jimmy Fallon and doesn't come close.

[grisgris]

WHY, WHY, WHY did the producers pair Jeff Mauro with Martha Stewart?  He was trying so hard to be funny and he came across looking like an idiot, but Martha handled him well. Geoffrey Zakarian would have been a much better choice. I'll be Martha was hoping that was going to be the outcome, but no...

Jeff M. annoys me more than Katie Lee and that is saying a lot.

For the record, I thought Ina's icebox cake came out looking much more appetizing than Martha's.

I like Marcela, but her over-pronunciation of Mexican ingredients and nouns is bordering online with Giada's.  Not a good thing.

[Maverick]

A million times yes to Marcela's over-pronunciation.  I like her for the most part, but it's very off-putting.  I don't mind an accent, but she's putting it on for show.  She's as bad as Giada and worse than Arron Sanchez.

[monkeybread]

I totally agree Maverick about Marcela's over-pronounciation. I do not recall her doing that so much on her own show. Now it is just getting really annoying just like Giada. Does FN tell them to do that I wonder? 

Edited March 31, 2014 by monkeybread

[Viqutorious]

I am trying too hard to like this show, I think it is lacking a natural ease to it.

It seems too desperate at times, they REALLY want you to like them.

Chill.

[Rhondinella]

Discuss.  Generally.

[Viqutorious]

Rhondinella,

What does Discuss. Generally. Mean?

I am trying to naviate this site and I am new to it.

Thanks! :)

[Lisin]

It means here's your place for general discussion of the actual show, the small talk topic is for social talk not show related discussion.

[Viqutorious]

Thank you.

[LazyToaster]

I like this show, but in a kind of - I don't have to pay attention - way. Or, i just FF through parts that I'm not interested in. I really like Sunny and Jeff both. I know he can be goofy, but he just seems like somebody I might really know. And I can't believe how many ways Sunny can fix her hair, what a pretty girl.

[chessiegal]

My understanding is that Sunny wears wigs.

[Lillybee]

It seems that the fake studio audience gets louder every week. I find it annoying.

[MaryHedwig]

A million times yes to Marcela's over-pronunciation.  I like her for the most part, but it's very off-putting.  I don't mind an accent, but she's putting it on for show.  She's as bad as Giada and worse than Arron Sanchez.

Marcela's over-pronunciation is so offputting that I can not have this show on even to clean by.  Something odd as well about how she talks about her son (it sounds like a marketing ploy and doesn't come off as natural).  Your point about Giada and Arron is well taken- I hadn't noticed before you said anything.  Does Mario do this as well?

[chessiegal]

This came on this morning while I was doing something else, and Jeff demonstrated a "breakfast sandwich". Some baked egg dish put on a sausage patty and English muffin. Good grief, is this what passes for cooking instruction on this show? I changed the channel.

[Uncle Benzene]

This came on this morning while I was doing something else, and Jeff demonstrated a "breakfast sandwich". Some baked egg dish put on a sausage patty and English muffin. Good grief, is this what passes for cooking instruction on this show? I changed the channel.

 

Ha! You missed the best part, chessiegal. Katie's offering was (I kid you not) day-old donuts reheated on a panini press with a dollop of Nutella for dipping. They swooned.

 

 

Edited to add: I think my favorite part of the show is catching Geoffrey Zakarian's (frequent) eye-rolls at stuff like that.

Edited April 28, 2014 by Uncle Benzene

[Viqutorious]

The shrimp Zakarian made this week looked really good. I wish they would stop with all the kitchen gadgets, that was a waste of Bobby Flay as a guest.

[Stinger97]

[Jeff] won Season 7 of Food Network Star and currently hosts the Emmy-nominated series Sandwich King, which begins its fifth season in 2014. Jeff lives in Chicago with his wife, Sarah, and their 5-year-old son, Lorenzo, and Jeff's favorite color is pastrami.

[Stinger97]

[sunny's] cooking style combines classic comfort foods along with unique flavors inspired by her many travels. With an understanding of everyday life and the belief that real people deserve down-to-earth, delicious meals, Sunny offers real food for real life. In September 2013, she released her New York Times best-selling debut cookbook, Sunny’s Kitchen: Easy Food for Real Life (Clarkson Potter). Sunny lives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, with her four rescue cats: Cheddar Cheese, Truffle Tycoon, Milky Mouth and Sea Salt.

[Stinger97]

[Marcela] successfully translated her culinary knowledge and passion to the small screen as the host of her own Food Network series, Mexican Made Easy, which premiered in 2010. Wanting to share her expertise on great Mexican food that combines freshness and flavor with kitchen ease, Marcela published Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor” (Clarkson Potter) in 2009 and Mexican Made Easy (Clarkson Potter) in 2011. Marcela lives in San Diego with her 9-year-old son, who often doubles as her sous chef.

[Stinger97]

Geoffrey is a master of modern American cuisine, has presided over some of the country’s top kitchens in the past 25 years. He opened two New York City restaurants, Town and Country, both of which received three stars from The New York Times. Currently, Geoffrey is chef/partner at The Lambs Club and The National in New York City as well as at The Water Club at Borgata in Atlantic City.

[Stinger97]

Katie’s first cookbook, The Comfort Table, was released in 2008, soon followed by The Comfort Table: Recipes for Everyday Occasions (2009). In addition to her comfort food cookbooks, she writes a column for SELF and published her first novel, Groundswell, in 2011. Outside of her culinary and literary adventures, Katie sits on the Celebrity Board for Feeding America. When not working or volunteering, she enjoys surfing, traveling and playing with her pug, Fionula. She resides in the Hamptons.

[Rhondinella]

This is the Marcela who was on both The Apprentice: Martha Stewart AND The Next Food Network Star, correct?  (I haven't watched the show).

[imjagain]

A couple weeks ago Katie said vinegar-ette instead of vinaigrette a million times and I about died!

Then the last show( I think) Jeff said it too. Ugh , I try not to let things bug me too much but Katie said it often.

[LemonSoda]

Am I the only one that fast forwards through Katie's parts?

[imjagain]

Am I the only one that fast forwards through Katie's parts?

I don't ff through Katie but I watch while I do other thing. So it is on in the background. She is very hard to watch though. Her voice is like nails on a chalkboard.

I like the show OK, it's not great but it is fine while I clean up on Saturday or Sunday mornings.

[Maverick]

WTF was up with Katie this week?  She looked like she was cleaning her house and FN called to remind her there was a taping so she dropped her Pledge and ran to the studio.

 

I still can't stand Katie and am not a fan of GZ.   I wish they'd dump Katie and replace her with Damaris and swap out Scott Conant for GZ.  They still have their Southern woman and pretentious  "real" chef but I find the other two far more entertaining in this sitcom/cooking show.

[justspiffy]

Well, at least they finally acknowledged the "audience"...the crew! I really don't like that they are trying to compete with "The Chew". They can "own" their show without copying the other. I have come to enjoy aspects of this show, and I FF through the rest (especially Katie).

[imjagain]

Well, at least they finally acknowledged the "audience"...the crew! I really don't like that they are trying to compete with "The Chew". They can "own" their show without copying the other. I have come to enjoy aspects of this show, and I FF through the rest (especially Katie).

Are they? I don't think they are trying to compete. The Chew wins hands down every time as far as I'm concerned.

The Chew is a daily talk show. This show is a once a week food show. And they really aren't a talk show. Just a show that focuses on food with a lots of hosts, similar to The Chew, yes.

I'm sure food network saw the success of The Chew and wanted to jump on it, TV does this all the time. Remember after Friends first season, the next season every other show was about young 20 something's living in large NYC apartments.

I enjoy the show. It really is background noise for me. I have started paying more attention to it though. The hosts seem more at ease with each other, that's a good thing.

I think it is easy to compare this show to the The Chew, I just don't think the kitchen is trying to compete with the chew. Food Network just wants to cash in on a good idea.

The chew is one of my favorite shows but it took me a little while to enjoy it.

Edited June 28, 2014 by imjagain

[maggiemae]

I came back into the room and this show was on....haven't watched for weeks....

 

I don't see the charm at all, or the humor, or even the skill. In fact it seems cold with the crew laughing and clapping hysterically, no audience, crosstalk. And I noticed just 2 of them tasted the burger and the other 3 were left out. That never happens on The Chew.

 

Plus they move so quickly from one recipe to another, inside, outside etc.

 

And their humor and crosstalk and nonsense are annoying - to me anyway.

 

And what's up with the jacket and sometimes tie?

[Rhondinella]

Isn't Zakarian on this show?  Yeah, he sucks the life and joy out of me anytime he's on TV, so I don't think I need to check this out.

[SoCal Mema]

I can generally watch an episode in 15 minutes or less when using the fast forward button on my remote.  That means whizzing by all Katie Lee-commentary.  And is it just me, or does she have beaver teeth?  I just cannot take her and she adds no value to this show for me.  Zakarian has had a few good recipes on this show, but he has to be taken in small doses. 

[mlp]

 

I can generally watch an episode in 15 minutes or less when using the fast forward button on my remote.  That means whizzing by all Katie Lee-commentary.

 

I do the same plus I don't watch much of Marcela either.  I do like Geoffrey, Jeff and Sunny.  I'm afraid this show is going to go the way of The Chew with me.  I couldn't stand Daphne Oz from the get go and began FFing past her.  Then I started skipping all the guests I'd never heard of who had nothing to do with cooking.  And the commercials.  Eventually, it got to be too much trouble and I stopped watching it entirely. 

 

I haven't yet seen one comment from someone who enjoys Katie Lee.  FN needs to replace her.  I'd prefer any other FN female except Giada.

[imjagain]

I do wonder what Katie has on people, that she keeps landing on shows and TV commercials. I also have never heard anyone say they enjoy her.

I don't hate the woman but she is not pleasant on my ears.

GZ is my favorite on this show. Sunny and Jeff I enjoy and they make me laugh. Marcela is OK. I enjoyed her more on her own show. But I don't mind the 4 of them together.

Edited July 12, 2014 by imjagain

[smiley13]

On this morning's show, why are these women pronouncing buffet as boofay?  Sunny is the only one getting it correct.

[imjagain]

On this morning's show, why are these women pronouncing buffet as boofay? Sunny is the only one getting it correct.

Lol, were they saying like that? I had it on but must have missed it. I guess they are all very fancy ;)

[jcbrown]

I tried again to have this on as background this morning. Can't stand Katie Lee's drone and Sunny Anderson's voice feels like an assault to me. She and Jeff Mauro are always performing and it feels like they are constantly yelling at me. No thank you.

[smiley13]

This was the first time I have tuned in to it in a while.  The group just does not "mesh" well for me.  Sunny is the only one I like,  Katie Lee must have some dirt on someone, Mauro is over the top, the Hispanic woman is annoying as is the guy in the suit.

[Carolyn15]

Marcela's over-pronunciation is so offputting that I can not have this show on even to clean by.  Something odd as well about how she talks about her son (it sounds like a marketing ploy and doesn't come off as natural).  Your point about Giada and Arron is well taken- I hadn't noticed before you said anything.  Does Mario do this as well?

I just do not like her all that much  .. I totally agree about the over pronunciation of everything She was on The Talk yesterday and she was worse then she is on the Kitchen . And her always having to say her son's name. She was on the baking show that was on CBS last summer. I read some place that she had a role in the divorce of her co judge- a pastry chef from England ..

Edited July 25, 2014 by Carolyn15

[imjagain]

Why is Katie Lee the only one who get to eat on this show? I noticed this on the last few shows. She is always front and center for the first bite.

That lobster roll that GZ made looked amazing.

OK, I might have knocked them over to get a bite too.

The jerk chicken looked good too. It seemed pretty easy, I might try it. I'm scared of scotch bonnets, maybe I'll just use jalapeños.

Edited July 26, 2014 by imjagain

[DownTheShore]

I find the show virtually unwatchable.  There is no chemistry between the participants and they all come off as trying too hard.  If they were trying to recreate The Chew on HGTV, I think that they failed.  I like the idea of a show like it on HGTV, but this show just proves the maxim that "too many cooks spoil the broth".

 

They need to get rid of Jeff Mauro and Katie Lee - those two add nothing to the presentations, and to tone down the energy levels of the rest because they approach manic at times.  As much as I questioned the inclusion of Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz at the beginning of The Chew's run, those two really act well as the glue between the other three larger personalities (Carla, Mario, and Michael).

 

And can someone explain to me why TPTB think that it's appetizing to have all that long hair swinging around over the food when it's being prepared?  The first thing my grandmother taught us when we were cooking or baking was to pull our hair back, so that none of it would fall into the food.

[Iboatedhere]

I find the show virtually unwatchable.  There is no chemistry between the participants and they all come off as trying too hard.  If they were trying to recreate The Chew on HGTV, I think that they failed.  I like the idea of a show like it on HGTV, but this show just proves the maxim that "too many cooks spoil the broth".

 

I think Jeff and Sunny have pretty good chemistry but maybe that's because they have similar personalities. Both loud and attention grabbing. I'm not saying it's a bad thing really- they're my favorite on the show and I really like Jeff anyways. I watched his season of Next FoodNetwork Star and he was my pick the whole way through. Usually I shy away from bold personalities like that but for some reason they make it work for me.

And can someone explain to me why TPTB think that it's appetizing to have all that long hair swinging around over the food when it's being prepared?  The first thing my grandmother taught us when we were cooking or baking was to pull our hair back, so that none of it would fall into the food.

 

That's what I like about Daphne on The Chew. Whenever she's cooking that hair of hers is thrown up on her head. 

[imjagain]

A million times yes to Marcela's over-pronunciation.  I like her for the most part, but it's very off-putting.  I don't mind an accent, but she's putting it on for show.  She's as bad as Giada and worse than Arron Sanchez.

I don't understand this? if you speak Spanish you say words the correct way, you don't change up the word. The words are being pronounced the correct way

 

I'm not sure what is off putting about it?.

[DownTheShore]

I think it's about applying the accent to only certain worlds and not others.  If you're going to roll your "r's" when you pronounce certain words, then you should be rolling your "r's for all words if that's how it's normally done in your native language.  Otherwise it comes off merely as an affectation.  If you've lost most of your accent because you've become primarily an English-speaker, then ramping up a heavily accented pronunciation for only certain words seems false.

 

It's the "Nik-a-rhag-u-ah, Nik-a-rrha-gwah, Neeka-rrrhah-gwah" thing.

[Qoass]

I'd be happy if they just quit saying "It's five o'clock somewhere!" in the exact pitch and cadence that The Chew's Clinton and Carla use for "It's Extra-Value Friday!".  It's like copyright infringement!  Or plagiarism!  Or laziness.

[stafford]

I am surprised that the Iron Chef guy puts up with this type of a cooking show. They rarely, if ever, give measurements or cooking times (I guess you are supposed to go to the web site for the recipe) and they throw the stuff together so fast and turn around and bring out a dish that's already been cooked and then they all clap like they've just made the most delicious dish ever. Today I saw a show (it may have been a repeat) where they taught us how to pack up food to take to a pot luck. Very common sense sort of stuff but you would have thought they'd cured cancer with all the whooping and clapping...I mean using a laundry basket to pack your food dishes in, isn't rocket science.

The worst was filling up some old tights with rice to wrap around a pie. I bet it took five to ten pounds of rice to fill up that used tight--of course they didn't say how much rice they used. I'm sure the tights we're washed beforehand but it still gave me the creeps. You know you can also place the pie in a box and not drive like a maniac. Finally the Mexican speaking woman makes the guys sit in a mock up of a car and talks about taking two bottles of wine to a party and how WORRIED you are that they will crash together and break. So she hands them each a child's water wings (although she never identifies what they are), makes them blow them up (oh, how hilarious!!!) and jams them over the wine bottles. Again, huge applause for common sense.

By the way Jeff's tortellini with pesto didn't turn out (the pesto was way, way too thick) but never mind everyone applauds and pretends to eat the glop. The African American woman (sorry I don't know their names) thaws out pastry/Filo?) dough and slathers it with some pre-made dip, rolls it into a cylinder and then slices and bakes it. It comes out hard as a rock. By the way I'd be embarrassed to bring that to a party. To transport it to the party she puts them on a cookie sheet and covers it with another cookie sheet and then wraps Saran Wrap around it so they won't get damaged (honey, you could drive a truck over those pin wheels and they'd never crack).

You know they have an hour so how about they take the time to actually teach people how to cook instead of rushing through everything? I miss Julia Child and the Frugal Gourmet--they knew how to teach.

Edited to add that they also included a pitcher of vodka lemonade as an example of how to pack it for the car ride to the party. Hey, in my state that's called an open container of alcohol and is illegal-even if it's in the trunk properly "cushioned" and kept cool by freezing wet dish towels and placing them around the container (another revelation of biblical proportions worthy of Ohhhs and Awwws).

Edited August 3, 2014 by stafford

[Iboatedhere]

 You know you can also place the pie in a box and not drive like a maniac. 

 

I kind of need you to do a guest spot on this show and say this to them. ^ That especially made me laugh. 

[BennyB]

 

I miss Julia Child and the Frugal Gourmet--they knew how to teach

 

Make haste over to your nearest PBS station....most of the cooking shows are much better at teaching how to cook.  Much to choose from...in my area, Martha Stewart, Lidia Bastianich, ATK, Sara Moulton, etc. (check your local listings)

 

This episode of ''The Kitchen' was as lame as they come. Along with what was already mentioned, GZ made meatballs (really?)  Ex-Mrs. Billy Joel made chicken swimming in BBQ sauce, GZ made a pitcher of margaritas and when he asked Sunny to dip the edge of the glasses in a salt/spice mixture, she made an incredibly rude comment about rimming!  Gah! 

 

 

 

 

[Kathcart]

when he asked Sunny to dip the edge of the glasses in a salt/spice mixture, she made an incredibly rude comment about rimming!  Gah! 

I thought I was the only one cringing at that. That really should have been edited out just in case there were other 12-year-olds like me out there watching.

I have to admit I was amused when Marcela corrected Zakarian on the meaning of [the Spanish word I can't remember] that he said meant "millions" and she told him meant "thousands." And she corrected somebody else's lousy pronunciation of another word. I'm all for that. People want to throw around Spanish or Italian or French words, let 'em know how to say them properly and what they mean!

[Uncle Benzene]

Boxed chocolate cake mix baked around a store-bought apple pie, y'all!

 

 

Aunt Sandy:

Damn! Why didn't I think of that?!?