The Kitchen - General Discussion

[Iboatedhere]

I'm with Jeff about the mayo thing. Just thinking about licking it off a spoon makes me gag.

[Febgirl]

I was surprised that Katie didn't make mention that she knew the guest this week, Candice Kumai from when she was a contestant on the one and only season of Top Chef that she robotically hosted.

[NikSac]

Woo hoo no crafts this week!  That was good. Unfortunately they're still rambling off so many substitutions while they talk about a recipe I can barely tell what's supposed to actually be in it, but I was happy with more of a food focus.

[Notmuchofacook]

I enjoy this show and learn a thing or two, but I have to ask: WTH is going on with Sunny's aggressively ugly makeup? The eyeshadow and lip colors have been awful the last few shows.

[Mammalou]

I could do without Marcela's overpronunciation of tortilla lol

[Maverick]

I saw this show for the first time in a while today and I agree with both comments above:   did Sunny get her makeup from the Revlon 1960's Vegas Showgirl Collection and Marcella seriously needs to put a lid on the tortilla shit.  My third--and probably biggest issue--with today's show:  did Jeff really just educate us on a how to do a cheese tray by cutting summer sausage "medallions" and cheddar cheese squares?  Seriously?  The fuck?   Like one who was hated enough to receive a Hickory Farms 'gift set' was smart enough to do that?  And no Jeff, just because you mention that it's "like" that stuff you get in a holiday gift basket doesn't make that shit ok. 

[Mondrianyone]

I enjoy this show and learn a thing or two, but I have to ask: WTH is going on with Sunny's aggressively ugly makeup? The eyeshadow and lip colors have been awful the last few shows.

 

I'm asking myself that very question.  I haven't seen all of today's show yet, but I did see the intros, where Katie actually complimented her on her "pretty sparkly eye shadow."  Katie must've been being shady about that--I can't imagine it was a sincere compliment.  Sunny's been looking as if she went to Klown Kollege Kosmetology Skool the last few weeks.  I don't usually comment on people's appearance, but I don't know what she can possibly see when she checks that makeup in the mirror.  Someone who truly likes her should take her aside and give her a kind word.

[Mammalou]

I could do without Marcela's overpronunciation of tortilla lol

Sorry I somehow repeated my previous post about Marcella and her tortillas lol. I would like to see more inventive recipes than grilled cheese.. I agree about Jeff's grilled cheese! find it funny how everyone oohs and ahhs over how Jeff basically dumped cheese plate onto a slice of bread

[chessiegal]

Considering that Spanish is Marcela's first language, I give her a pass on pronouncing things like "tortilla" like she would in Spanish. I don't expect her to say it like an American would just because she's speaking English, so it doesn't bother me.

[MerBearHou]

Enjoyed this one but then I really love cheese! Sunny's 10 cheese Mac & Cheese is something my family would worship me for. Katie's Parmesan sprinkled on the griddle and then put the grilled cheese on top was a cool idea -- another one I'll try. The cheese and chip volcano was a hoot. I'll never, ever do it but it was fun to watch. I'm always pretty amazed at the ideas the crafty minds come up with.

Favorite moment: when Katie Lee said "this is cheese porn -- are we allowed to say that?" And Jeff Mauro goes "yes, but just don't Google it" was one of my favorite off-the-cuff comments on tv ever. Marcella and Geoffrey could not stop laughing. Jeff Mauro is quick and hilarious -- yes, he's a big, goofy kid at times, but I like and enjoy him a lot and he is wicked smart.

Sunny, dear, the blue eyeshadow did you no favors. It just looked bizarre to the tv viewer. She is way too pretty for that silly overdone makeup.

No, the sausage and cheese were way too elementary for the Food Network -- come on!

Edited April 26, 2016 by MerBearHou

[Lillybee]

I didn't think that it was possible for Jeff to get louder but by God, he did. I am tired of his frat boy personna.

[NikSac]

4 hours ago, Lillybee said:

I didn't think that it was possible for Jeff to get louder but by God, he did. I am tired of his frat boy personna.

I seriously thought he was on something that last episode. He was just acting way too weird.

On 4/26/2016 at 7:47 PM, MerBearHou said:

Enjoyed this one but then I really love cheese! Sunny's 10 cheese Mac & Cheese is something my family would worship me for. Katie's Parmesan sprinkled on the griddle and then put the grilled cheese on top was a cool idea -- another one I'll try. The cheese and chip volcano was a hoot. I'll never, ever do it but it was fun to watch. I'm always pretty amazed at the ideas the crafty minds come up with.

Favorite moment: when Katie Lee said "this is cheese porn -- are we allowed to say that?" And Jeff Mauro goes "yes, but just don't Google it" was one of my favorite off-the-cuff comments on tv ever. Marcella and Geoffrey could not stop laughing. Jeff Mauro is quick and hilarious -- yes, he's a big, goofy kid at times, but I like and enjoy him a lot and he is wicked smart.

Sunny, dear, the blue eyeshadow did you no favors. It just looked bizarre to the tv viewer. She is way too pretty for that silly overdone makeup.

No, the sausage and cheese were way too elementary for the Food Network -- come on!

Yes I mostly really liked this episode too!  The volcano was hilarious. I was waiting for someone to get doused in cheese. Not very practical because you'd have to sit there and monitor it put the toppings and chips back on pretty much constantly, but still, fun to watch.

The cheese porn line cracked me up too! I want to know how many people did Google it after that lol. (I didn't, but the thought crossed my mind).

The sausage and cheese were pretty silly, but I can halfway forgive it since it was just the start of a much more elaborate cheese board/platter.

[finnzup]

When did the producers decide to turn Sunny into a gluttenous, obnoxious slob?

I can't stand the persona she has taken on and quite frankly I'm surprised she's ok with it.

[Uncle Benzene]

I feel like I need to state once again for the record that I do in fact enjoy this show for the most part. Honest. I really do. Mostly. (Wait for it... wait for it...) BUT...

I mean, for an episode that featured absolutely no construction paper, glitter, hot glue, or Pop Tart napoleons, this had to be the most annoying episode to date. And that's even despite not being completely useless, as an "Easy Breezy" episode was very likely to be. Nutella and almond milk popsicles? Without a hint of sarcasm... thanks, Katie. I'm gonna do that. Never would have occurred to me. Seriously. "That's a great tip!" I mean, sure, it's not exactly breaking any new ground, and it's about as basic and easy as Irish Cookbook Author Who Has Never Heard Of Claire Robinson Nor Classic French Cuisine's totally original 4-ingredient fish en papillote "parceled fish" but at least the 2-ingredient pudding pops are something I'd never considered before. But hey, no harm no foul. After all, the episode was titled "Easy Breezy." I knew what I was in for, so no harm no foul I guess.

The real problem, for me, is that slowly but surely, for better or worse, it's getting more and more obvious that this is becoming THE SUNNY SHOW!!! What I mean by that is, in my opinion, she's kinda evolved into the de facto "host" of the show. She reads the overwhelming majority of the pre- and post- commercial stuff. She tends to "emcee" the kitchen gadget segments, the "here are three ways to..." segments, and she rarely cooks anything anymore. She just talks and tastes. And talks. And tastes. And talks and talks and talks. And tastes. And talks. And talks.

Which is terrible. Because (think about it and tell me you don't see it) she has basically become Guy Fieri. She was wearing a freakin' snow globe pinky ring today, for crying out loud! The wigs, the comically huge hoop earrings, the oh-so-quirky wardrobe, the BLING!!!, THE YELLING!!!, the goofy faces, the goofy talk. the overwrought cackling laughter, the constant (work in progress) effort to get catch phrases to stick, the incessant "mmm hmmm, uh huh, you know it" interludes, the talking-with-her-mouth-full... every single thing about her these days is deliberately crafted for maximum LOOK AT MEEEEEE!!! Somewhere along the line Sunny got herself a super deluxe full-blown makeover at some salon in Flavortown™ and now she's SUNNY!!! And, much like Guy, SUNNY!!! sucks.

And it's obvious (to me, anyway) that Flavortown SUNNY!!! is not lost on the other folks on The Kitchen. I forget exactly when but at some point during today's episode it was literally figuratively written all over their faces, right there on camera, all at once. All four of them were all but sighing and rolling their eyes and slowly shaking their heads while SUNNY!!! continued to talk, and taste, and talk, and talk, and taste, and taste, and taste. And talk. It might have been right around the time Sunny was double-fisting Katie's pudding pop in the right hand, and Marcella's cinnamon pastry in the left, and then held them both in one hand so she could use the other to taste Mauro's granita. While talking. Flavortown SUNNY!!!, ladies and gentlemen!

I know Mauro can be a little much sometimes. A little too loud, a little too silly, a little too fratboy. You'd think he'd be the heir apparent to Guy. And I know Katie can be a little too precious from time to time, and her voice is nasally. And Marcella has the Jahdah-esque "overpronunciation of Mexican words" thing going on, which grates on some folks. (Though that doesn't bother me at all in her case, if only because Marcella does it with good humor. Unlike Jahdah, she's not pretentious about it. We're all "in on the joke." To me, that makes all the difference. There's nothing phony or pretentious about Marcella. While Little Big Head really REALLY wants you to believe she's "authentic" Marcella just IS authentic. And when she "overpronounces" she does it with a wink and a grin, as opposed to Giada's smirk and turned-up-nose. YMMV.) Anyway, I get all that. (Notice I've listed no popular objection to GZ, because I'm pretty sure we're all in agreement that he's pretty much perfect. Heh.)

Anyway, TL;DR and whatnot... to summarize, while all the others (except GZ) have their weaknesses/faults/etc., and the cooking isn't all that challenging, and all the goddamn crafts, to me the main thing bringing this show down is Flavortown SUNNY. Which is a shame, because I used to really like Regular Sunny.

[finnzup]

Just posted the same opinion of Sunny on the "Sunny" thread and could not agree with you more.  I too also noticed the other hosts' looks they shoot Sunny's way as she turns herself into some kind of Bozo the Clown character.

As I said in the other thread, I don't know why on earth she would do this to herself, it's so buffoonish and demeaning.

[buttersister]

Going to the Sunny thread. Posting here to say the eye-rolling was hilarious, but the episode was pretty unwatchable---an easy, breezy WTF collection of nonsense. Is Marcella trying to emulate Katie's vocal fry or are my ears burnt out from Katie? I don't watch this often, but every once in a while I hope that Show has coalesced to something besides annoying as hell that I can do something with besides hate watch. Nuh-uh.

[buttersister]

I wonder if she's okay with it or has been promised whatever they promised Guy to become the network clown. She's competing for my most-loathed cast member at this point and honey, Sunny, you have some stiff competition.

[Mondrianyone]

Aside from all that, have they completely stopped giving quantities when they cook an actual recipe?  I assume this is to drive traffic to the website.  But if I have to go to the website to get precise ingredients and amounts, why the eff would I want to waste an hour of my time watching what's increasingly becoming a total joke?  I can just go to the site, see if there's anything there I'd be interested in making, and be done with them.  When they used to give quantities, I would go to the site anyway so that I could print things out, and that way I would both watch the show and visit the website.  Now I won't bother with the former and just go straight to the site.  Also, there are still people living in the world who aren't on the Internet, so I guess the hell with them.  Smart way to cut your own nose off to spite your face, show.

[NikSac]

@Mondrianyone I agree, but they've barely even been giving actual ingredients for quite awhile now so I guess removing quantities is the next natural step. Every recipe is "use this, or you could use this, or this would be good, or you could try this... okay back to the recipe.  Add X, or you could use Y, or Z..."  Seriously by the time they're done I can barely remember what actual ingredients were supposed to go in there.

Then there was Mauro's brilliant reminder about not using peanut butter in that banana/peanut butter ice cream recipe if you're allergic to peanuts. Whew, thanks Jeff - might've saved someone's life on that one. Guess anyone allergic to bananas but ok with peanut butter is out of luck ;) .

I was surprised they didn't do a 2-'ingredient' recipe with the two ingredients being a container of flavored yogurt and an ice pop maker. Voila, frozen yogurt.

I had started to like the last few episodes more again but definitely did not like this one at all.

[NikSac]

I was wondering the same thing. It used to be Katie eating every single thing the second it was served, if not before it was even plated. Now they seem to be having Sunny do it. Kind of weird.

[chessiegal]

Anyone see the promos for Katie Lee's new show on Cooking Channel? It's called Beach Bites with Katie Lee, for those who can't get enough of her nasally voice. (Not me)

[NikSac]

Did anyone catch this new show, The Kitchen Sink?  I just caught the very end of it by accident and was surprised to see The Kitchen hosts on another very similar show.

Edited May 17, 2016 by NikSac

[finnzup]

NikSac, that was their very first episode.  I guess it was called "The Kitchen Sink" and then it turned into "The Kitchen?"  

[finnzup]

Quote

 It used to be Katie eating every single thing the second it was served, if not before it was even plated.

Yes! and I always thought it odd Katie was the go-to-taster.  Kind of like they had to show Katie does, in fact, eat.

Now it's just the opposite with Sunny and honestly, both scenarios are a bit awkward.

[NikSac]

5 hours ago, finnzup said:

NikSac, that was their very first episode.  I guess it was called "The Kitchen Sink" and then it turned into "The Kitchen?"  

That's what I originally thought but looked it up on Food Network and it's listed as a new show that debuted on the 15th. They have several episodes listed out. 

[NikSac]

Ah ha, knew I'd find it on the computer - phone wasn't cooperating.

Here's a blog about The Kitchen Sink Premiere: http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2016/05/what-to-watch-may-14-15/ And the show schedule here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-kitchen-sink.html The good news is it looks like the same hosts but they're kind of rotating them through. The first episode was Sunny, Jeff, and Marcela, and the next one is Jeff and Marcela. The rest seem to be GZ and Katie Lee. Surprised Sunny isn't on more. Is she busy with something else?

[NikSac]

Totally agreed @finnzup it's weird!  Can't they just plate the food and then take turns tasting?

[buttersister]

Kitchen Stinks, iirc.

[Hero]

I cannot stand Marcella. There is something about her I just don't like, I can't put my finger on it. 

[Kathcart]

On this week's episode they showed a clip from what appeared to be a new FN series, "Katie Lee, Visiting Nurse."

[Mammalou]

Why Katie has a show of her own is a shock to me.  Her voice is grating and she has zero personality. her cooking ideas are hardly new or innovative.   I used to enjoy this show but am tired of the crafts or celebrities who are pushing their cookbooks. 

[imjagain]

GZ's shade was hilarious! 

Sunny said Hasselbeck potatoes ... GZ repeated it,   loudly. Lol. 

I don't dislike like SA. But really?  She is in the food business.  

[Mammalou]

Plus sunny didn't wash her hands after massaging the chicken!! Also Katie said 'breakfastis' instead of 'breakfasts'. Come on!!!!!!

[LazyToaster]

I am just SO glad they stopped the sing-song "it's 5:00 somewhere" thing - really grated on me. 

[imjagain]

On 5/17/2016 at 6:46 PM, NikSac said:

Totally agreed @finnzup it's weird!  Can't they just plate the food and then take turns tasting?

I have never understood why the tasting of the food is so awkward. I watch the Chew and they manage to cook and taste the food without it looking strange and clumsy.   

[Kathcart]

Just caught an unbelievably cheesy in-show commercial for a faucet. Sunny was telling us how to wash berries and she took a sieve-ful of them over to the sink, we cut to a closeup of her waving her hand in front of the magical hand-wavable faucet, then hilariously we cut to a long shot of all the backs of the other hosts as they stood there reverently, not saying anything, just standing there watching Sunny wave her hand at the faucet, then back to Sunny and your normal Kitchen episode. SO CHEESY.

[butterbody]

@Kathcart!!! I laughed so hard at this. I was like, why is everyone having a moment of silence while she magically waves her hand in front of the faucet? And  they ran the faucet commercial during every break.

[ohoksohitoyou]

I love The Kitchen. I don't know what it is but its currently my only must-watch on the foodnetwork. If I have to work on Saturday morning I record it so that I can watch when I get home.

That being said I cannot stand Katie Lee. Its not the vocal fry (although, child. Stop. Please.) Its that she seems completely pointless. Every single thing she has ever made seems like she was browsing pinterest and decided to present it as her own. Especially her crafts.

I've never particularly minded Marcella but--I'm starting not to like her as well. On last weeks episode when they were doing their crafts Sunny was drilling something for her and Marcella was saying that she personally never touches power tools. Sunny was saying (...yelling...)that it was ok, she didn't mind doing it for her and it made her feel special. And while she was saying it Marcella was talking over her and said that she has a fiance and that's what he's for. Now, this could be my perpetual single-status talking but that seemed so unnecessarily bitchy. It wasn't just the words, it was the tone, it was the look she had on her face as she said it. Gross. And then on todays episode when Jeff was singing--ok. No one really needs to hear Jeff sing about potato salad but she snapped at him to stop singing and made her commentary about the potato salad. Gross. 

[Kathcart]

This Father's Day episode I am watching is so hilariously awful! Did you know that all fathers are lazy bacon-obsessed slobs? Well, according to this show they are. Bleaugh.

However, watching Geoffrey Zakarian's face as they present Food Craft after Stupid Food Craft is just GREAT. "Look! We're making an above-ground pool out of lasagna noodles, and we'll fill it with semi-solidified blue Jell-o and THEN we will sculpt little people figures out of melted gummy bears and Smarties and blueberries and ramen noodles and pieces of kale!!! And with little swimsuits made out of grains of rice dyed with beet juice and glued on laboriously using melted cheddar as our glue!!!!!"  ... And cut to GZ's look of horror thinly disguised as glassy tolerance.

[tabloidlover]

Geoffrey was pretty horrified at the cocktail floats they made as well.  He even spit one out, I think it was Sunny's.

Edited June 18, 2016 by tabloidlover

[MerBearHou]

I love The Kitchen.  Love it!  But today's craft with Katie Lee's coaster with the bottle caps was hilariously bad.  Geoffrey's face was one of disbelief -- it was fun to keep an eye on him.   Who thought that one up??  At the end when he tried to put a wine glass on it....total fail.  And Jeff was only slightly less incredulous over the horrible apron made of an old shirt.  Please, people -- stop with the stupid crafts!!!!!!!  I blame the show-runners, not the stars, for these lame-o ideas.  They are cheap and cheesy.

[justspiffy]

 It's not a craft corner without Clinton Kelly. 

[outtahere]

The network must be paying Geoffrey Zakarian a ton of money to do The Kitchen.  This show feels like "daddy" working with the "kids" in the kitchen.  I'm surprised they were able to get an Iron Chef to participate in this mess.

[Westiepeach]

17 minutes ago, outtahere said:

The network must be paying Geoffrey Zakarian a ton of money to do The Kitchen.  This show feels like "daddy" working with the "kids" in the kitchen.  I'm surprised they were able to get an Iron Chef to participate in this mess.

OMG. I totally was thinking the same thing! Lose the crafts. Really. Concentrate on the cooking. Really. When I saw the "shirt" "apron" I really thought it was a joke. I was embarrassed for them.

[Maverick]

 Given that he had to go through a reality show gauntlet to become an Iron Chef (even though he was already a FN "name"), I'm sure GZ is willing to go through a lot if it means being on TV.

[imjagain]

On 6/18/2016 at 1:27 PM, tabloidlover said:

Geoffrey was pretty horrified at the cocktail floats they made as well.  He even spit one out, I think it was Sunny's.

I was pretty horrified myself, wtf was all that mess about? I don't know any one that would drink those drinks.... Well,  maybe I know a couple of friends that might drink the cocktail that Katie lee made.  If they were on vacation. 

 

Sunny's had to have been the worst. 

Edited June 19, 2016 by imjagain

[melbethel10]

Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents. Rev Run was a complete Jerk at the South Beach food and wine festival a few months ago.  My sister wanted to simply say hello (he was sitting in a public aread: under the large tent, where they held demonstrations and contests). He had his head duwn and appeared to be scrolling through his cell phone. His "manager"? Was standing next to where he was sitting and my sis--who was literally 4 feet away from Her said "Rev Run, we love you" . He didn't flinch, he didn't turn around and he didn't acknowledge her. Instead, his "Manager" said 'Miss can I help you?' And my sister said,  oh i just wanted to wave at Rev Run, and the Mgr said "I'm going to have to ask you to move on". He NEVER even looked up at my sister. We were SO disgusted at his behavior because as kids we Adored Run DMC (esp. My sister). Well, he fell from that high and mighty pedestal he was on....and we no longer have interest in supporting his shows. LASTLY, he has the nerve to be so hugh & mighty about sex & relationships on his show w/Tyrese Gibson  (R&B singer); in the meantime, his oldest daughter had a child out of wedlock, and now his younger daughter is pregnant out of wedlock, as welI. I personally believe "to each his own"; I just don't like the way he behaves, and the way he throws rocks in HIS glass house. Thank you!

[burner]

So they keep saying there's a live audience (omg, how boring that must be) but I'm still having trouble believing it. They film in New York, right? Are shows taped really far in advance? Do they just knock out the whole season in a few days? The episodes are themed to be somewhat topical, but there's nothing in the shows actually preventing them from taping a Father's Day show in March for instance and just airing it later.

I love to hate this show. It's mostly entertaining but the crafts are godawful. I don't really understand why they do that. Even the hosts look embarrassed with having to present those.

[LiveenLetLive]

OK, I don't mind this show BUT sometimes they give out bum info, for example you can't really freeze cucumbers? (except for ice cubes-->huh?) I can say from experience that you can chunk and freeze cucumbers just fine--needless to say these will be good for smoothies, juices and gazpacho primarily, but if you raise your own and want to preserve them other than pickling (which I do as well) freezing is a great way to go.

Also, I will never understand Katie Lee--she is singularly talent-less.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 7/9/2016 at 9:26 AM, LiveenLetLive said:

Also, I will never understand Katie Lee--she is singularly talent-less.

I have to hand it to her for going on the Slip'N Slide.  I know almost nothing about her, but she didn't seem like the type to do that.