New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Most influential chef(s)

post #1 of 8
1/14/08 at 11:43am
Thread Starter 
If this question has been put up before, my appologies.

I was thinking of the celebrity chefs that have been the most influential in my direction of culinary style.

Two chefs currently that I relate to for cooking philosophy would be Jamie Oliver and Michael Smith. Rustic, simplistic, fresh, and no recipe required cooking is what I derive from them.

In my early years, when kids my age were watching cartoons, I was watching the likes of Martin Yan, Justin wilson, Oliver Rowe of 'The Urban Chef' fame and most of all Jeff Smith of 'The Frugal Gourmet' fame.

Irregardless of the controversy associated with Jeff Smith, he was the most influential of all the celebrity chefs that I just listed. He taught me that you don't need to be pretentious to create fine foods.

Sooo, my questions is who, as a celebrity chef has influenced your style of cooking the most?
Reply
post #2 of 8
1/14/08 at 2:44pm
Julia Child got me started when I was in junior high in the mid-sixties. Madeleine Kaman, Pierre Franey and Jacques Pepin came along later for me and showed me more classical techniques I could reasonably do at home. Natalie Dupree showed me it's okay to make a mess when you cook. :D Gale Gand has made pastry more accessible for me. Lydia Bastianich cooks like my mom, from whom I learned my basics, so she has a special place in my heart. I love Ina Garten's attitude that you can do anything if you have the best ingredients.

Sorry, but Jeff Smith drove me nuts with his mispronunciations and errors of fact. :crazy:
Reply
post #3 of 8
1/14/08 at 3:21pm
Thread Starter 
Ahough not influential but seriously entertaining was Graham Kerr of Galloping Gourmet fame. Was there ever an episode where he did not finish off totaly smashed? Ahh but what a ladies man or maybe the ladies were just as drunk as he was :roll:
Reply
post #4 of 8
1/14/08 at 6:16pm
Jeff Smith, but I can't really call him a celebrity chef.
Reply
post #5 of 8
1/14/08 at 7:46pm
Easy- Paul Prudhomme
Reply
post #6 of 8
1/15/08 at 6:15am
I just about spewed coffee on the keyboard when I read that! My mom would always comment about the mess Natalie Dupree made cooking. lol

I grew up watching Natalie Dupree, Martin Yan, Julia Child, Jacque Pepin, Justin Wilson, Jeff Smith, then later Graham Kerr, but I can't honestly say that any of them inspired me to cook. My inspiration came from watching my mother and grandmother in the kitchen. Then in the past few years, I started watching Food Network and learned more about ingredients I'd never used and putting different flavors together. Again, I can't choose just one person who influenced me from watching, rather I picked up bits here and there. Reading cookbooks has also played a big part in learning more.
Reply
post #7 of 8
1/15/08 at 7:49am
Well, I don't know if she's a celebrity, in the sense that I think you mean it, but Alice Walters has influenced me substantially. Later I was greatly influenced by a simple dessert prepared by Cat Cora when she was the chef at a favorite bistro in Napa, CA. The Buddhists at Greens in San Francisco left a great impression, and later, Judy Rodgers at the Zuni Café in San Francisco and Margaret Fox, owner of the Café Beaujolais in Mendocino, CA moved my interest and understanding of cooking up several notches.

Madeline Kaman's book, When French Women Cook, Paula Wolfert's The Cooking of Southwest France, and Josephine Araldo's recipes as found in From a Breton Garden also made a great impression.

shel
Reply
post #8 of 8
1/15/08 at 8:01am
When it comes to those "I relate to for cooking philosophy", there is only one:

Jacques Pepin

His "Fast Food My Way" DVDs (from the PBS series) are the best money I've ever spent.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home