Sunday, October 14, 2007

Eight Wannabe Iron Chefs and a Gourmet Next Door Walk Into a Bar...

I caught the last ten minutes of Amy "Winner of Next Food Network Star #3" Finley's series premiere today. Yes, I have only seen 1/3 of her show Gourmet Next Door, and yes, she's just starting out. But I hate to admit: it was kinda dull. Maybe I wouldn't be able to do any better. But I found myself reaching over to my Playstation 2 (which doubles as my DVD player) and finishing up an ep of Six Feet Under. Have you seen this 6FU? I just discovered it. Very cool show. As for GND: hopefully it'll find its groove. 'Cuz it ain't found it yet.

As for right now, I'm trying to get through the Next Iron Chef. Not a bad show, but (as Dan pointed this out a little while ago) Alton is getting a bit irritating. He seems so, well, bitchy. That's the best way I can describe him. Bitchy and bullying. As for the contestants: nobody jumps out as sensational yet. But Chef Morou Outtara would be a nice addition. This guy, an Ivorian-American who now calls Bowie of all places home, mixes the spices and flavors of West Africa (a culinary region we just never hear about on Food TV) with techniques and flavors of France and the US. To be honest, with the region's burgeoning West African immigrant population I am not sure why we don't see more African restaurants in the US. I would love to see some Nigerian restaurants outside of DC! There is, at least, the Tam Tam Restaurant, this Senegalese place near the Senator that I've been meaning to try. But apart from that there's nothing I can think of in the Baltimore area.

So I may stick with Next Iron Chef. But even if I lose my interest in this program, at least I can check out the Amateur Gourmet's high-larious NIC blog at the Food Network website. While the show is on, I'll put it on my blogroll at least.

2 comments:

foodette said...

I am actually not surprised to find that Amy's show is boring. To be honest, I wasn't all that interested in her before and I doubt I will be now. With her, it will be all about the recipes - I really don't think she will win anything with her personality. (harsh? yes)

I was sad to hear how you feel about Alton - I think I am biased, because I will always love him. Is it his fault that he is just so much smarted than everyone else? Just kidding. To be honest, I think he is doing all of that for effect - these are all great chefs, and he has to bring them down to size somehow, right?

John said...

Foodette: I hope you're right about Alton Brown. I love his Good Eats show - it's hilarious! But since Next Food Network Star he's just gotten irritating, and not in a Rachael Ray kind of way. More in a mean-spirited way. Of course, he does need to bring 'em down a notch or two. But so does Tim Gunn on Project Runway, and he doesn't need to be an asshole.