Cable T.V. cooking shows

W.DeBord · #1 08-23-2001, 08:30 AM

I know many of your will find this hard to believe, but I don't have cable t.v., never have. I've only seen it in hotels while we were on vacation, but then your really not there to watch t.v.. My husband and I have talked about getting it for years but we seem to procrastinate because it's hard to figure out which package to buy....because I don't even know what's what. I'm truely in the dark ages and don't know the names of the cooking shows that are good? (Although I have rented the Sapranos series from Blockbuster and *** in the city, which I greatly enjoyed both).

So I read all of you taking about cooking shows, but I don't know when and what channels have these shows. So can anyone advise me about choosing cable t.v. in respect to the fact I'd love to see the cooking shows you all talk about plus see the hit HBO series I've mentioned above...??? Is this all on HBO or are they on local stations that you get tons of with basic cable?

Oh, could you tell me the names of those cooking shows that are good, too?
TIA

KyleW · #2 08-23-2001, 09:57 AM

Cable providers usually have several tiers of service. The most basic will include local channels and a few cable channels. The next level will include the local channels and all of the cable channels your provider offers. On top of these layers you can add Premium channels, like HBO, on an individual basis. I you want to watch Food TV and the Sopranos, you will have to find out if the cable company offers Food TV (not all do) and which tier it's in. Then you would order HBO on top of that. Fun, huh

Risa · #3 08-23-2001, 10:35 AM

The cable channels I watch for cooking shows are the Food Channel and Discovery. You will get an overdose ( if you haven't already) of Emeril on the Food TV and I don't really get all that inspired by the cooking shows on the Food Channel. I did enjoy the new show My Country, My Kitchen, but that's almost more of a travelogue. In Chicago, I think you have to be on the digital cable package to get Food TV. I just like seeing all that food on tv.

I like both Great Chefs series on Discovery. I find the food a bit more innovative and you get to see inside a real kitchen rather than a teaching kitchen. An added bonus of the Discovery Channel is that you can first watch a show on Reconstructive Surgery then watch some meat grilling right after

My favourite cooking shows are actually not on a cable channel. I much prefer the shows on PBS. Jacques and Julia, Kitchen Sessions, One Plate at a Time, Jewish Cooking in America and even MasterChef USA. I just wish that my local PBS channels had more cooking shows.

Live_to_cook · #4 08-23-2001, 10:46 AM

If you're a pro, I can't imagine you'd learn anything from Food Channel shows. They're not too deep.

Personally, as an amateur, I like Alton Brown's semi-educational take on ingredients and processes. I find Iron Chef a hoot, for the high-pressure artistry and the Japanese kitsch to boot.

As noted previously, the really classy cooking shows are on public television. You may still have to get cable in many areas, but you probably get PBS with the bottom-tier package.

The Sopranos, well, that's a whole different bowl of meatballs.

[ August 23, 2001: Message edited by: Live_to_cook ]

angrychef · #5 08-23-2001, 12:32 PM

The only show that I watch is Alton Brown's Good Eats. Educational, fun, well done. Can't stand Bobby Flay or Emeril. Wendy, there hardly are any shows focusing solely on pastry. The only one I've seen is Gale Gand's Sweet Dreams and Martha's segments on wedding cakes and such. Sometimes they will do specials on chocolate and candy. The Discovery shows that Risa mentioned are pretty good. Maybe you can check out the website and take a look at the recipes/chefs featured.

Mezzaluna · #6 08-23-2001, 07:00 PM

Risa, you tickled me when you said that about the Discovery Channel! But it's true... Between Discovery and PBS, I make do without Food TV. As in Chicago, we'd have to shell out big bucks per month for the digital tier in order to get it. Can't even think of how many inspirations for dinner I've gotten from watching Great Chefs on Discovery in the afternoons this summer.

W.DeBord · #7 08-24-2001, 01:23 AM

Angry, where do I see Gale Grands show? And where is Martha, isn't she daily on cable vs. once a week on network t.v.?

I do love the pbs shows, I guess I thought the other shows would be much like those...

The great chefs series on discovery, I watched that series in the 70's...they are doing this again with current great chefs or is this reruns from the first series? That would be wonderful, truely a learning experience.

So is Alton Brown found at the food channel?

And is food t.v. different than the food channel?

So I have to ask the cable provider if they have these...they aren't part of the cheaper packages?

Sorry, I can't believe I'm the last person on earth to get this.......

Kimmie · #8 08-24-2001, 05:04 AM

Dear W.,

I don't get Food TV and Food Channel, the packages available are too crazy. For instance, we would have to take a package of say, 12 channels, comprised of 8 french channels and 3 english ones, to accomodate cultural bull**** in this province. What's up with that...

So I watch the cooking shows on the PBS channels.

You would probably love Baking with Julia; a great combo of bakers and pastry chefs; Martha was invited to demonstrate the how-to's of wedding cakes.

As far as I'm concerned, anything with Julia is worth watching.

Kitchen Sessions is with Charlie Trotter. Although I find him a bit haughty, his food is often interesting but unfortunately for you, the desserts are too few and far in between.

I also like Great Chefs.

P.S.: Pending your decision, you can watch Julia's multiple series directly on your computer. Julia Child Videos just scroll down the screen to the Prime Video Cuts and take your pick. It's very

[ August 24, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

Risa · #9 08-24-2001, 08:18 AM

I always thought FoodTV, Food Channel and Food Network were all the same except FoodTV usually refers to the website.

Gale Gand is on the Food Network, but most of the recipes I've seen her do on the show have been pretty blah. They're mostly everyday type stuff. The Sweet Dreams recipes are posted on the FoodTV site. The dessert recipes on Discovery's Great Chefs are probably closer to the desserts that you do.

W.DeBord · #10 08-24-2001, 08:25 AM

OH MY GOD KIMMIE, that's really cool!!!!!!!!!
All I could get was the sound, I couldn't figure out how to see the videos.......but WOW, how neat.........how does everyone know about all these cool sites??????? I have to go back and explore more, thanks!

Kimmie · #11 08-24-2001, 08:38 AM

I'm glad you like it Wendy. For the picture, you have to choose your settings according to what you have i.e. Real Media or Windows Media 56K connection or 220K high speed connection and load it in your computer.

I hope I'm clear. If not, I wish KyleW came to the rescue...

[ August 24, 2001: Message edited by: Kimmie ]

W.DeBord · #12 08-24-2001, 08:57 AM

And so are the sites you posted Risa! I just love new sources for dependable recipes.........!!!!!!!!!Great, thanks!

Live_to_cook · #13 08-24-2001, 05:31 PM

W,

You may have gotten this all straight already, but what the hey.

Food TV (website: foodtv.com) is The Food Channel.

All of The Food Channel shows' recipes are posted on foodtv.com except for Iron Chef and a few other exceptions.

In most areas, it will cost money to get the group of cable channels that include The Food Network, probably $20-30 a month. In metropolitan areas you should be able to get PBS (Julia, Pepin, Trotter shows) with your basic rabbit ears. If not, PBS is probably in the super-bargain-basement cable program your local provider offers ($8.95 a month or somesuch here).

If you're into multimedia cooking stuff on the Web, epicurious.com and The New York Times' food sections occasionally do unusually interesting bits. There are plenty more, those are just my faves.

W.DeBord · #14 08-24-2001, 08:57 PM

In Chicago pbs is VERY good, it's just rare that I'm home on the weekends to see Julia and such and I'm so un-tech. I don't ever think that I could tape the shows for later....it just doesn't seem to accure to me!!!?*&^%#

So would that be 20 to 30 dollars in addition to what hbo costs? And the vote seems to be that it's not worth it....hum, I'm rather supprised.

I didn't catch on that food tv is the the food channel, thanks for clarifing that. Well, now that I know I can look them up on the net that will help me to decide. Thanks!

I really really enjoy the sites several of you posted on this thread. Any more neat reputable sites????

nancya · #15 08-27-2001, 04:54 PM

Wendy, IMHO, PBS is serious and generally wonderful cooking. Food TV is just fun. Recently found that I can enjoy Emeril again so long as I keep him in small doses. Martha is indeed on everyday. Alton Brown is educational and frequently hilarious. And has anyone caught Jamie Oliver's new series, Pukka Tukka? Still pretty basic but someone washed his hair and broke him of the habit of running his fingers through his hair while cooking. I don't think any of the Food TV series would inspire a professional chef, but some are a lot of fun to watch.

BTW, some of my favorite web sites are the ones done by the folks here, such as:

The Olive Tree World

a la carte