Celebrity chefs (bit of a rant - sorry!)

Sugarsnap1982

Sugarsnap1982

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Do you use celebrity chef recipe books? I never really used to, but people tend to buy them as presents for birthdays and Christmas, so I've ended up with quite a collection and some (Jamie Oliver!) are used more than others. I was making a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe the other day that involved three different pans, two mixing bowls, a hand mixer, a baking dish and all the associated measuring, chopping and mixing tools. That's fine in itself; I expect one of his recipes to be rather more involved than something out of a more basic cookbook.

But when - after thirty minutes of preparation and cooking - I actually got the dish into the oven, I sat down to have a bit of a break before tidying up the bomb site that had once been my kitchen, and browsing the introduction to the chapter of his book, found that he described these recipes as everyday classics re-interpreted for the busy modern family. I'm sorry? In what possible world does the busy modern family want to spend this much time and effort preparing an everyday dinner? And then the same again cleaning up afterwards?

So, has anyone found a celebrity chef who actually lives in the real world, or are they all as bad as this?
 
It depends on certain things: 1) how comprehensive the cookbook is and 2) if it fits my budget. The downside of cookbooks supposedly written by celebrity chefs is that they are just too pricey. Usually, the recipes you see in these cookbooks are the same recipes you see in much cheaper cookbooks.
 
I dont buy cookbooks by celebrities. What they say happens and times etc and the reality are always totally different.
 
I don't buy cookbooks in general. I find celebrity cookbooks even more ridiculous. The recipes there are just ordinary ones. They just "sell" because of the picture of the famous chef. They are really silly. I still prefer the free recipes that I find online. At least with them, I don't have to shell out so much money and end up being disappointed.
 
This is why I don't like following recipe books. It's much easier to visualize when I can see them on action on TV or through online videos. That way, I could discern for myself if it is indeed simple and easy before I dive in. Sometimes the claims are too exaggerated and it's obvious that they can only say it's easy because they have a team working for them behind the scenes, including unlimited resource for ingredients.
 
Oh, I agree totally about the price of celebrity cookbooks; I get them as presents because people know I like to cook. Especially people who don't really know me well enough to think of something else; my mother in law gets me one virtually every birthday and Christmas! The only one I've ever bought for myself was Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess (oddly, she is one of the more realistic ones; if something's going to be a faff then she tells you so up front, and she's always pointing out shortcuts).

Jade said:
This is why I don't like following recipe books. It's much easier to visualize when I can see them on action on TV or through online videos. That way, I could discern for myself if it is indeed simple and easy before I dive in. Sometimes the claims are too exaggerated and it's obvious that they can only say it's easy because they have a team working for them behind the scenes, including unlimited resource for ingredients.
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You're so right about the ingredients! Perhaps it's another thing about not living in the real world. But some of them can be quite pricy, or hard to find in a normal shop, and it adds up. Especially if you're only ever going to use them for one or two recipes. The worst for that, I've found, is where you get a celebrity who's not a chef but has brought out a cookbook. They seem to think that they have to have a list of ingredients as long as your arm and half of them really obscure - sorry, authentic - to convince you that they really do know what your talking about!
 
The only celebrity cookbooks I have are Delia Smith! Everyone loves her recipes from watching her shows, she does test them all. Most people rely on her recipes and swear by them.

I've read a few of the glossy books, and with the internet you can look up all the recipes you need to be honest. The books make nice gifts, but often they are coffee table books or sit on a bookshelf for visitors to browse through. This is how they make their money, marketing their image and books, that lead to other sponsorship deals.
 
I have not been a big fan of any of the celebrity chef cook books either. I was given a couple of them but they just got given away. Problem is I don't use cook books or recipes or anything over 90% of the time. I can't afford to buy all the ingredients in the recipes, it takes too long, I don't even care more often than not. When it comes down to it and I'm busy, I just want to cover my nutritional bases as fast as possible, make sure it tastes good enough to get down, and get it on the plate and eaten in the least number of minutes possible. I don't think they understand that. When people are really busy, they don't even care if their food has such a wonderful flavor or texture, they just want to get it down really quickly be done.
 
I like some, not all, celebrity chefs. I don't have any cookbooks but I would probably buy the Jamie Oliver or The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) ones. Someone gave me a Guy Fiery "cookbook" once and I use that term loosely because it wasn't really a cookbook. It was one of his Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and there's supposedly recipes from the show on there but it's mostly stories about all the places he's been to and such with a few recipes tucked in there. I, honestly, loved that show when it first came on and now I pass when it is.
 
Autumn_Hearthwitch said:
I like some, not all, celebrity chefs. I don't have any cookbooks but I would probably buy the Jamie Oliver or The Pioneer Woman (Ree Drummond) ones. Someone gave me a Guy Fiery "cookbook" once and I use that term loosely because it wasn't really a cookbook. It was one of his Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and there's supposedly recipes from the show on there but it's mostly stories about all the places he's been to and such with a few recipes tucked in there. I, honestly, loved that show when it first came on and now I pass when it is.
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I watch a lot of cookery shows but confess that I really dislike most American shows. Most of them seem to involve a lot of shouting and fast paced editing. Why do American presenters shout? The exceptions are Ree Drummond who I do occasionally watch and Barefoot Contessa (although her original programmes were made by a British producer, I believe). I don't know if you are able to see British cookery shows in the USA, but we do have some of the finest cookery programme producers in the UK. One of the most notable is David Pritchard who originally produced the early Kieth Floyd series (ground breaking for its time) and now produces Rick Stein's programmes.

Also Peter Lawrence who has produced programmes with Nigel Slater, The Hairy Bikers, Nigella, Lorraine Pascale, James Martin, Rachel Khoo and most recently Food and Drink hosted by Michel Roux Jnr. He is one of my ex-students so I am rather biased and proud of him! :D
 
Yip, Ricks and Keiths are where it's at for me too in terms of cookery shows as entertainment.
. The best celeb book I have is HGW's first one, it's a family cookbook but has the pizza recipe that I still use, plus a decent spag bol one.

As an aside, I normally don;t enjoy Jamies output but his series on money saving recipes was splendid. Not only did he look enthused, probably due to his shedding dome lumber, but so many great ideas regarding pickling and freezing. Freezing cheese, who knew?
 
keemanan said:
Yip, Ricks and Keiths are where it's at for me too in terms of cookery shows as entertainment.
. The best celeb book I have is HGW's first one, it's a family cookbook but has the pizza recipe that I still use, plus a decent spag bol one.

As an aside, I normally don;t enjoy Jamies output but his series on money saving recipes was splendid. Not only did he look enthused, probably due to his shedding dome lumber, but so many great ideas regarding pickling and freezing. Freezing cheese, who knew?
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I sometimes think Jamie is is better at giving tips than whole recipes and I often watch his shows just to steal a few ideas rather than copy recipes. Are you in the UK @keemanan? Its really useful to put your location under your picture to save confusion. Easy. Just click here to see how: How to add your location to below your avatar
 
We do get some British shows in Canada/US but not as much as I would like. I have watched Nigella quite a bit though. British cuisine is probably my favorite, I've said it before and I'll say it again. It's hearty and comforting, at least to me anyway. It's exactly my type of food. I have a Harry Potter cookbook of all things (don't laugh now) but there are quite a few really good recipes in there. I haven't had the chance to make a whole lot but I have made a few things and they've been a hit with my family.
 
[QUOTE="Food and Drink hosted by Michel Roux Jnr. He is one of my ex-students so I am rather biased and proud of him! :D[/QUOTE]

Ok, need more details!
 
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