Cooking show sellouts

I seem to remember a time when "celebrity chefs" were few and far between. Julia Child was probably the most well-known, but, who else could you possibly see appear on a television program, and go "I know who that is!!"

Enter the Food Network in 1993. Three of the network's earliest stars were Mario Batali, Bobby Flay, and a guy named Emeril Lagasse. Soon, "celebrity chefs" were everywhere. Everywhere as in, now I can't go to a grocery store without seeing some chef's face on products.

Emeril himself has several restaurants and books. He had two cooking shows on Food Network (Emeril Live was recently cancelled for some odd reason). He appears in commercials for Crest toothpaste, and Louisiana tourism. And for reasons I still don't fully understand, he had a short-lived sitcom on NBC. Go to a cooking store, and you're likely to find his own line of cookware. Grocery stores carry pasta sauces, marinades, salsas, and spices with his face and name. Until recently, I'd say Emeril was the highest-profile chef out there.....

...until Rachael Ray came along. Her show 30 Minute Meals is a good one, showing you how to make a full meal in little time. Fans will probably say they're attracted to her "bubbly" personality. For awhile, you could only see her on her show, and on her books (based on the show). Not too long ago, she started her own self-titled syndicated talk show, and now she's EVERYwhere. She has her own magazine now. She's got her own line of cookware (I gotta say, Rachael, I'm not a fan of the cookware - too gaudy). She loves cooking with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) so much, that now she's got her own brand of THAT. Endorsements? Let's see...Burger King, Nabisco Crackers, and Dunkin' Donuts, among others. Apparently she's got her own sheet and blanket line now. If you go to a grocery store, you're bound to see her face somewhere.

Mario Batali is branching out (he too, has his own cookware). Giada De Laurentiis, with her enormous mouth which I fear could bite my head off, is starting to appear more places now. I got a Crate & Barrel catalog in my mail the other day, guess who appeared on the cover?

Do I hate these chefs for all these products and endorsements? Of course not. Several of them didn't even start off on television, they opened/ran restaurants, which can be an expensive business. Why not use your celebrity to make some of that money back? (Though Rachael doesn't seem to need the money - her family has owned several restaurants)

My problem is, for many of them, it's not completely about the food anymore. I admit several Food Network personalities really got me into cooking (though to be perfectly fair, it was my Mother who did the most inspiration). But now I'm being put off by some of their antics. I see shows like Hell's Kitchen and think "wow, that really takes the fun out of cooking." I see chef's faces on products at the store, like so many sports stars that irritate me, and it turns me off. You'd think that an accomplished chef would be against endorsing a prepackaged product. After all, isn't that what cooking is about? Making your own food using fresh ingredients? And it certainly boggles the mind endorsing something like Dunkin' Donuts.

Would I take cooking classes? Sure, I'd like to some day. Would I use it to become a chef? Probably not. I like cooking, and I'd use the classes to cook for myself and my family. I don't want to use my training to sell frying pans.