Food Network picks style over substance

Food on television used to mean one of two things -- low-budget shows on public TV, usually on Saturday mornings or afternoons, or cooking segments on local morning or midday shows.

I used to love watching the food shows on Saturdays. It was the late "Frugal Gourmet" Jeff Smith who inspired me to buy a garlic press and start using fresh garlic in recipes. Just this weekend, when I was helping Andy Borders (one of the best cooks I know) prepare a steak dinner at the church we both attend, Andy measured some salt by pouring it into his palm and we both laughed about the late Justin Wilson, a Cajun cook whose down-home style combined with a real flair for food.

I fondly remember "Baking Bread with Father Dominic," in which an actual Benedictine monk guided his viewers through the process of homemade bread-making.

"It's bread," he would say, in a reassuring tone. "It'll forgive you."

Then, along came the Food Network.

Most of us on cable TV here in Bedford County didn't get to see the Food Network during its real formative years -- by the time it became available on our local cable system, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay were already well-established. But at the time, the network was still similar in content to those PBS shows, only with a little more polish. The other great thing about Food Network is that almost all of the recipes are available online. Most PBS cooking shows have cookbook revenue as part of their business plan, and while you might be able to send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the recipes from a specitic episode, many of the shows are reluctant to give everything away online.

However, during the past few years there's been a huge shift in Food Network's programming and emphasis. Today, it's all about competition -- "Food Network Challenge," "Iron Chef America," "Chopped," "Throwdown with Bobby Flay," "Ultimate Recipe Showdown," "The Next Food Network Star," "The Next Iron Chef," and on and on ad infinitum.

And the cooking shows that are emphasized tend to be more style than substance. One of my co-workers loves Guy Fieri, who seems to have a dozen different shows on the network at any given moment. I can't stand him; to me, he symbolizes everything Food Network has become. He's more interested in showing off Guy Fieri than in showing off whatever it is that Guy Fieri is cooking or tasting.

Sure, Emeril had his catch phrases and his theatrical side -- but you also knew he could cook. While "Emeril Live" -- which can still be seen on Fine Living, a sister channel to Food Network -- was funny and flashy, his other show, "The Essence of Emeril," was all about the food, and it reminded you of Lagasse's credentials.

Like Emeril, some of the other stars pushed out by the Food Network have found refuge elsewhere. Sara Moulton, for example, is on PBS. She was always one of my Food Network favorites -- although expertly trained and eminently knowledgeable, she would take calls on her live Food Network show and always sounded interested in what her callers had to say. She never condescends, never presents herself as the ultimate authority, and always seems like her top priority is sharing her love of cooking with others.

Ming Tsai and Mario Batali have also been seen on PBS lately, although Mario hasn't cut his Food Network ties completely and is still one of the Iron Chefs.

I'm not saying there's not a place for food competition. I loved the original Japanese "Iron Chef," and I enjoy "Iron Chef America" in all its campy glory. And there are still some good cooking shows on the network. But I miss the days when Food Network was a little less style and a little more substance.

-- John I. Carney is city editor of the Times-Gazette and covers county government. He is also the author of the self-published novel "Soapstone." His personal web site is lakeneuron.com.