Cooking shows provide comfort - and kitchen company - while we're home

Posted April 14, 2020 11:00 pm

Susan Stark

Julia Child is one of Food Editor Susan Stark's favorite television chefs. You can watch nearly every era of Child's career on PBS Passport, a streaming service, on demand and YouTube. Courtesy of PBS

Under our stay-at-home order, I've turned to TV cooking shows to feel like I'm, at least, seeing three-dimensional people.

And Ina Garten and the chefs at "America's Test Kitchen" speak right to you. Wow, it's like a conversation.

If you've run through what you saved on your DVR and all the various streaming options, perhaps cooking shows have become more of a fixture in your TV-watching repertoire. Without a nearly two-hour commute each day, I've found that I have more time to devote to other areas of interest, and watching cooking shows is one of them.

I've been a big fan of "The French Chef" with Julia Child ever since I watched reruns with my mom as a kid. I watched Julia cook and spar with Jacques Pepin, and then all the spinoff shows Child was involved with until her death. Now, of course, we have access to watching any era of Julia Child we wish with the help of streaming services and on demand.

PBS' "Dishing With Julia Child" shows current celebrity chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson and Vivian Howard watching and discussing vintage episodes of "The French Chef." Courtesy of PBS

One of the best is the series "The Way to Cook," which I found on YouTube. Child teaches viewers how to saute a chicken, cook eggs for more than just breakfast, and how to make sauces. She sticks with the basic techniques and then goes on to show you several ways to serve that sauteed chicken, for example. There is also a fun show I found on PBS and PBS Passport called "Dishing With Julia Child," where current TV chefs caption and comment on iconic episodes of "The French Chef." They talk about how engaging Child is while always teaching the best way to cook, which turns out to be pretty basic, but just plain good.

I also love the "Barefoot Contessa" with Ina Garten on the Food Network. You can find her shows on demand, too. I like her homey approach to cooking with fresh ingredients. She is so personable; it's almost like you've pulled up a stool to her kitchen island, and she's talking right to you about the easiest and best-tasting lasagna.

On Food Network's "Barefoot Contessa," it's as if Ina Garten is speaking right to you as she welcomes you into her kitchen and shares her favorite recipes. Courtesy of Food Network

I just started watching "A Chef's Life" on PBS. I can binge these shows because I'm five seasons behind. This show is about chef Vivian Howard, who, with her husband Ben Knight, left the big city to open a fine-dining restaurant in small-town eastern North Carolina. They're out in the fields and on the farms sourcing fresh ingredients for their restaurant and exploring Southern cuisine.

As for competition shows, I devour episodes of "Chopped" on Food Network mostly because the cooking competition is similar to how we run the Daily Herald Cook of the Week Challenge each year. I love that the secret ingredients or particular challenges are sprung on the contestants, and I think the judges give good constructive criticism. Plus, host Ted Allen was my favorite on the original "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."

In PBS' "A Chef's Life," chef Vivian Howard often has her mother, Scarlett, in the kitchen while she's cooking. Courtesy of PBS

And I'm fascinated by Food Network's "Cake Wars," which is also available on demand. Bakers and designers fashion over-the-top creations to wow the judges. The amount of rolled fondant used is mind-boggling. I consider myself more of a baker than a cook really, but some of the towering structures they create are truly fantastic and fall under the edict "Don't try this at home."

Chef faves

An avid home cook and two professional chefs share their favorite cooking shows.

Corporate Chef Matthew McCormick of Weber Grill Restaurants:

I'm addicted to "The Mind of a Chef" on PBS. The host chefs are very high-caliber, it is amazingly informative on interesting cooking techniques, and the production quality is awesome. I repeatedly binge-watch episodes I've already seen when my brain needs a break!

Penny Kazmier, winner of the Cook of the Week Challenge in 2011 and Culinary Adventures columnist:

I absolutely love "The Great British Baking Show" because the contestants are regular people who are learning as they progress through the season. I also like anything by Alton Brown, along with "America's Test Kitchen." I think it is the science side of cooking that makes me enjoy these programs. I also really like "Top Chef."

Palmer House's Executive Pastry Chef, Walleska Cianfanelli:

I enjoy "Chef's Table" because it shows unique cooking styles from each one of the chefs that are featured. It also showcases how the majority of chefs have to overcome many challenges and disappointments to get to where they are today.

I also watch "Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell and Back." This show is very inspiring and shows how business owners can turn around their restaurant from failure to success.

I do enjoy all of the Food Network battles and competitions, especially those focused on pastries, as well as "Chopped," where chefs have to be creative and fast to win the competition.

• Contact Food Editor Susan Stark at sstark@dailyherald.com or (847) 427-4586. Be her friend on Facebook.com/SusanStarkDailyherald or follow her on Twitter.

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