Would this man eat soup for dinner?One thing that interests me is the celebrity chef phenomenon. America is head over heels for them, including many Food TV personalities like Rachel Ray, Emeril Lagasse and Bobby Flay. I think it’s interesting that we are more likely to seek out and trust recipes that are endorsed or created by names we recognize.
There are also recipes out there from ordinary celebrities who have taken a fancy to cooking. Last night, for example, we made a recipe titled “Robert Redford’s Lamb Chili with Black Beans”. Now, I don’t know if the ruggedly handsome actor actually came up with the recipe or if it’s a recipe that he enjoyed and merely contributed to the cookbook we were using. When I think of the kind of chili Robert Redford would eat, I imagine a hearty, thick, rich concoction - the kind of filling dish that any cowboy would enjoy in front of a campfire.
This recipe, however, was nothing like my fantasy, and was more of a soup in consistancy than a chili. It featured a TON of sauce (that caused me to squander a good deal of excellent homemade chicken broth, grrr!), interspersed with a few hard-to-find black beans and huge chunks of rather tough lamb meat. (Although I freely admit the toughness could be the fault of the cooks.) The flavor was decent, it just wasn’t what I pictured the Out of Africa tough guy to recommend for dinner.
Am I alone here or are have you ever been led astray by a celebrity chef?
There are also recipes out there from ordinary celebrities who have taken a fancy to cooking. Last night, for example, we made a recipe titled “Robert Redford’s Lamb Chili with Black Beans”. Now, I don’t know if the ruggedly handsome actor actually came up with the recipe or if it’s a recipe that he enjoyed and merely contributed to the cookbook we were using. When I think of the kind of chili Robert Redford would eat, I imagine a hearty, thick, rich concoction - the kind of filling dish that any cowboy would enjoy in front of a campfire.
This recipe, however, was nothing like my fantasy, and was more of a soup in consistancy than a chili. It featured a TON of sauce (that caused me to squander a good deal of excellent homemade chicken broth, grrr!), interspersed with a few hard-to-find black beans and huge chunks of rather tough lamb meat. (Although I freely admit the toughness could be the fault of the cooks.) The flavor was decent, it just wasn’t what I pictured the Out of Africa tough guy to recommend for dinner.
Am I alone here or are have you ever been led astray by a celebrity chef?
I prefer celebrity chefs who are famous for their cooking, not their acting. You will never go wrong with an Alton Brown recipe.
ReplyDelete^ agreed! although, if the celebrity is not a chef, but is known for being a foodie and cooks a lot (i.e. nick frost) then i would ABSOLUTELY try one of their recipes. i mean, i'm not a chef nor a celebrity, but many of my friends LOVE my recipes :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, doesn't sound like Sundance Kid kind of food, but like making commercials, they probably get a good amount of $ for attaching their name to something someone else creates. Nonetheless, extra props for featuring Robert Redford:)
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