TV Food and Health Personalities that you love/hate?

Who do you love, who do you hate? For me -

On chefs, I love Gordon Ramsey and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Ramsey, yes, sometimes he is over the top and swears to excess, but overall he's an awesome personality, presence and cook. Hugh Feanrly-Whittingstall: I admire his sense of ethics, and he's hilariously eccentric. (See: Hugh Fearlessly Eatsitall). Hate... Gary Rhodes ticks me off. Bloody obnoxious hedgehog.

I don't really have any health personalities I like, but I HATE Gillian McKeith. She's got her basics right - don't eat too little, don't eat too much, avoid junk foods and heavily proccessed stuff and aim to eat as fresh as you can - but the way she delivers her message and the nonsense that dwarfs her common sense... well. It's just that. The stuff she gets right is common bloody sense. And anyone that obsessed with poo is just wierd.

http://jmdl.com/howard/rants/Gillian-McKeith- quotes.html
http://jmdl.com/howard/rants/Gillian_McKeith. html

I'm trying to think of American food and health celebrities right now I love/hate, but I'm a bit more stuck there! But what about you? Who gets your goat and who floats your boat? o:

Original Post by pezzle:

Other likes, which are not currently on Food Network: Ming Tsai

 he made the most awesome lemon grass stuff a few weeks ago, I tried making some things and they were really good.

Yeah! Anthony Bordain is too cool! I love that he drinks and smokes the entire time on his shows. I bet he'd be a blast to eat dinner with.

Mario Batalli is an Italian food GOD! I ate at his restaurant "B&B" in Las Vegas and it was probably the best authentic Northern Italian food I've ever had. I highly recommend you try one of his restaurants in New York or Vegas if you have the means.

I'm surprised no one's really mentioned health personalities except for my initial hatred of Gillian McKeith, yet. xD

While it's not a hate, Jillian Michaels scares the bejeezus out of me. In the good way. Like a drill sergeant, lol.

My favourite TV chef is Michael Smith (I think that's his name) of Chef at Home.  I actually don't mind Gillian - don't know that I'd get along that well with her in real life, but her no-nonsense approach seems to be necessary for the people she deals with.  And I like that she can be flexible (e.g. the guy who just couldn't eat proper breakfast in the morning, so she changed his meal plan to have a fresh fruit smoothie instead).

I also quite like Tommy something-or-other and Nadeen Bowman (?) of Last 10 Pounds Bootcamp and Bulging Brides.  Those shows are great, and I like that they show a somewhat more realistic pace of weightloss (compared to, say, Biggest Loser).  10 pounds in six weeks isn't insanely impossible for people who start off eating absolute crap and therefore have a lot of water weight to lose.  And I *loved* that when one woman "only" lost 5 pounds, they pointed out how she'd really lost more fat than that (but grown some muscle due to her body type) and how much her measurements had dropped.

Bah, Bear beats Les any day. Survivorman is sooo boring, I can't waste the time sitting in front of the TV listening to him drone on in a Canadian accent. I would rather watch someone entertaining with a pleasing accent and...let's face it, Bear is just sexier.

That is all. I don't watch enough cooking shows to have opinions.

I ADORE Jamie Oliver. I'm actually quite obsessed lol! I've got all his books and I'm hoping to pop down to his new restaurant in Bath since I'm at uni in Bristol - soooooo desperate to get my parents to take me there. His Jamie at Home series was awesome, inspired me to get growing fruit and veg. And I love him for his healthy eating in schools campaign although most of my friends despise him for that same reason *rolls eyes* They miss their vending machines...

Also like Rick Stein (fish!), Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Aaron Craze, the Two Fat Ladies (mainly for comic value) and I also LOVE the Two Hairy Bikers. Absolutely hilarious!

Agree with Lala about the McKeith thing - I like a lot of what she says and have a couple of her recipe books which have some delicious things in, but I can't stand her attitude and the way she talks to people. Not pleasant.

Chefs I don't like: Giada, Nigella Lawson, Anthony Worrall Thompson (though amusing in his own right) Gary Rhodes...

Well I LOVE Alton Brown, Ted Allen, and Tyler Florence... oh, and Guy! Even though she's so "mainstream" now, I like Rachel Ray a lot too. And despite her "skinniness" I like Giada, although I often wonder if she really eats what she cooks - I see no evidence of alfredo sauce and cheese on her thighs!

I don't really like Anthony Bordain - both for his recipes and his personality. I personally don't think it's so "cool" to just smoke and drug out all the freakin' time. The Neelys kind of annoy me sometimes, but I don't dislike them.

Nigella Lawson, Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver...Anthony Bordain...love them all !

Neely's- Meh.

Sandra Dee or whatever her name is reminds me of a stepford wife. Redecorating your kitchen and nearly having an outfit that matches your kitchen curtains is a bit over the top. She doesn't seem to be a person who actually knows how to cook. But I guess if she did not use so much pre-packaged food, she might mess up her kitchen.

Sandra Lee, the Semi-Ho "Chef" (known affectionately as "SLoP" by Television without Pity regulars) is the antichrist, but lord I love to laugh at her.

Here's what Anthony Bourdain (who I adore) has to say about her:

SANDRA LEE: Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see. This is simply irresponsible programming. Its only possible use might be as a psychological warfare strategy against the resurgent Taliban–or dangerous insurgent groups. A large-racked blonde repeatedly urging Afghans and angry Iraqis to stuff themseles with fatty, processed American foods might be just the weapon we need to win the war on terror.

The website Television Without Pity has a HILARIOUS user-created forum just for her. The Kwanzaa cake episode, especially, got a lot of laughs, but the whole forum is a scream.

In the Kwanzaa cake episode, she filled the center of a store bought angel food cake with canned apple pie filling, frosted it with Betty Crocker vanilla frosting from a can colored with brown food coloring, and topped it with CORN NUTS. A classic

You Tube is crammed full of videos of people recreating this monstrosity. Worth a peek.

raspberrydreams - LOL i love the hairy bikers too :] 

oh and john burton race! he's so funny.

I do like Anthony Bourdain...LOL what he says about Sandra Lee, who works my last nerve.

Gordon Ramsey: Really, no lie, he is "true to life" in the restuarant biz (as is his show). Wonder what is going on in the kitchen when you are eating out on the weekend?? Yep, that's it. You will never hear the *F* word more, then in a local eatery on a busy night.

Original Post by modifiedme:

Sandra Lee, the Semi-Ho "Chef" (known affectionately as "SLoP" by Television without Pity regulars) is the antichrist, but lord I love to laugh at her.

Here's what Anthony Bourdain (who I adore) has to say about her:

SANDRA LEE: Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see. This is simply irresponsible programming. Its only possible use might be as a psychological warfare strategy against the resurgent Taliban–or dangerous insurgent groups. A large-racked blonde repeatedly urging Afghans and angry Iraqis to stuff themseles with fatty, processed American foods might be just the weapon we need to win the war on terror.

The website Television Without Pity has a HILARIOUS user-created forum just for her. The Kwanzaa cake episode, especially, got a lot of laughs, but the whole forum is a scream.

In the Kwanzaa cake episode, she filled the center of a store bought angel food cake with canned apple pie filling, frosted it with Betty Crocker vanilla frosting from a can colored with brown food coloring, and topped it with CORN NUTS. A classic

You Tube is crammed full of videos of people recreating this monstrosity. Worth a peek.

 Glad that I am not alone in my opinion about Sandra Lee. Yiikes. She scares me. Maybe they should send her to culinary school. Teach her to cook REAL food.

Bugsy and Raspberry: Hah, how did I forget the Hairy Bikers? And the Two Fat Ladies. OMG. Their recipies were SO unbelievably bad for you but they looked so delicious. From wikipedia:

"While cooking for at Westminster Cathedral, Jennifer cooked an original dish, Peaches Cardinal Hume. In the same episode, Clarissa Dickson-Wright demonstrated a bubble and squeak recipe which used 2 ounces of lard, which she insisted was the only fat that could ever get hot enough to produce the recipe as it should be produced. Similarly, her recipe for buttered spatchcock saw chickens covered with a thick layer of butter, bread and more butter on top of the bread. Recipes such as this led to criticism by some journalists who considered them a bad influence on the British diet."

LOVE IT.

John Burton Race, Tom Parker Bowles and Aldo Zilli I also like. And, I haven't seen much of Bourdain outside of his Top Chef judging but I've always enjoyed watching him when he's been on that; I should look for more of his programmes. I like Raymond Blanc's personality as well as his cooking. He seems very easy going.

I don't like Matthew Fort, or Antony Worrall Thompson. They both come off as very snobbish, to me. James Martin is so-so - he can be horribly obnoxious sometimes. And also, how so many of his recipes throw back to his upbringing and how he ALWAYS seems to reference it where he can. JESUS CHRIST, WE GET IT, YOU'RE FROM YORKSHIRE. 

Bobby Flay is too corny. And man, I have to look for something about Sandra Lee and that Kwanzaa cake, now... the woman sounds like a trainwreck! Lol.

Original Post by lalabanana:

I'm surprised no one's really mentioned health personalities except for my initial hatred of Gillian McKeith, yet. xD

While it's not a hate, Jillian Michaels scares the bejeezus out of me. In the good way. Like a drill sergeant, lol.

I can contribute to the health personalities. I don't quite hate Jillian Michaels, but she really annoys me when she screws up her face and then looks like she's trying to suck her teeth off, which happens about every 4 minutes. Plus she only picks the right positions that show off her biceps (of course, not that I blame her with a body like that). I just wish she didn't have such a sour look on her face all the time. Plus, I think her personality is entirely fabricated by the show. The producers love it when she goes bonkers on the contestants.

Gillian McKeith needs to eat something. And a lot of it.

Lala - hahahaha @ the two fat ladies quote.. i seem to remember being very young when they were on TV, but i do remember watching.. did they used to drive around in a bike and side car, or is that my memory failing me??

i like raymond blanc too, he makes me feel really relaxed ahah. 

Bugsy: Yeah, they did. I'd love to ride sidecar, bahaha. I want to watch old episodes now.

Pegamoose: Yeah, I always noticed Gillian McKeith is really small and scrawny. In my opinion, she works out way too much; generally the reccommendation she makes to people working under her is at least half an hour's exercise before every main meal minimum? That'd mean one and a half hours a day, bottom line, of working out. Every day. That's far too much.

Maybe Jillian Michaels likes to suck lemons?

I love Gordon Ramsey! He does swear to excess! Isn't it great!? He gets so mad and I just adore that, hahahah :D

I'm not a big fan of that lady from Health Decadence, she creeps me out xxx