Eating as Entertainment April 7, 2008

Looking at the theme for Unit Three in comparison to Unit Two, Eating as Entertainment vs. The Obesity Epidemic, I feel a few correlations can be made.  Foremost however, I would like to comment on the whole concept of celebrity chefs and the arguments they might be making…with the likes of Emeril and Giada gracing everything from the Food Network to magazine covers, celebrity chefs are more popular today then ever.  They tout their DIY recipes in every avalaible source of media, advertising them as feasible possibilities for the “everyman.”  So to ask a seemingly simple question: Is this message good or bad?  On one hand, famous chefs are promoting “actual food” in respects to the current culture of fast food and processed goods, real meals that quite frequently incorporate food rich in nutrients and therefore valuable to our diets and lifestyles.  On the other hand, they are turning food into a source of entertainment, providing more of an excuse to consume it on numerous (perhaps even too frequent of) occasions and underminding the notion that many of the dishes promoted by chefs are not the most health-conscience.  Once again, like many arguments, it all comes down to perception, and what one does with them.  Following the works of “healthy” chefs and using their recipes at appropriate times, instead of eating without consideration, is key to moderating one’s health and weight if one chooses to follow celebrity chefs.

That’s what it boils down to-do celebrity chefs, in any way, contribute to the “obestity epidemic?”  Is making light of food, something that should be enjoyed, but where the enjoyment is often abused, a wise move?  People tend to assume that chefs have taken nutrition in accordingly when developing and relating recipes, and thus tend to disregard any second thoughts about what it is they are putting into their bodies.  What about the Southern-Cooking Chef, where everything is drenched in butter?  Sure, her meals may look delicious, but everyone knows that a key ingredient to taste is fat.

Some go the route of Tony Bourdain, where it can be argued either way about his effect on eating “right.”  On one side, he eats everything he comes across despite what it will do to his body, but it’s exactly what he consumes sometimes that my turn people off altogether.  However, he continues to trek on, despite his hard-smoking, eat-anything lifestyle…then there’s the lovely Giada, who promotes her Italian cuisine not only through her cooking ability, but her beautiful exterior as well.  Does one even consider the implications behind her cream-covered pasta? 

I am defaming celebrity chefs or the art of food in any way- it helps the worst of cookers to find an outlet where they can have recipes explained step-by-step, instead of opting for fast food and frozen dinners, and it promotes age-old traditions of various cultures who center around food to bring the community closer together.  All that just needs to be factored into the current so-called “health crisis” in order to promote healthy lifestyles which involve moderation and good choices.