Yeah - I think its the porn-esque filming style and music choices that take away a bit of Giada's credibility. Her recipes are sound, though - she just comes across a little strangely onscreen due to the filming.
I have no problem with the fact that she is slim...just don't understand the "chef as sex symbol" thing that has been going on lately...plus she is definitely not the "type" of most of the guys I hang around with in that demographic, so I get sort of confused.
My daughters and I watch Paula for the laughs--she's so over the top and spunky that it's great entertainment. We try to guess what she's going to put butter on next. They gagged when we saw her put a huge chunk of butter on spaghetti with tomato sauce and mix it all together.
As for Giada, we call her "bighead" around here. Her head is definitely outsized, sort of like Nancy Reagan's was. Her husband is a designer for Anthropologie, which I think explains the wardrobe. The Giada cranberry disaster, where she actually tastes something, is documented here:
Giada's food are excellent! Seriously, I am in the process of buying her cookbooks because every receipe downloaded from the Food Network website on her has been so good. And yes, she does taste her own food on the air. She just tends to take a very small portion of it. I think she's one of those that subscribes to the mini-meals a day kinda thing. Whatever works for her.
As for Paula Deen, her original show format, before she moved it over to her new house in later seasons, were actually quite entertaining and didn't show all this sex talk that she now seems to be doing. I'm not crazy about her cooking, because as others have said, it's just too much butter, calories and fat, but I love her as a person though!
I doubt I'm going to change any minds here, but I had to just sound in here to say that I think Giada rocks! I lived in Italy for several years in my twenties, and that's where I first learned to cook. (I went on later to graduate from a culinary college back here in the states, where I studied professional cooking and was surrounded by -- and taught by -- plenty of female chefs.) Giada's family is Italian (not Italian-American) -- and is actually a very prominent and famous family in Italy (she moved here when she was a kid.) If you know how Italians cook, you'll know by watching her cook that she grew up cooking in the Italian way. Also watch that Christmas special she did a few years ago with Mario Batali and see her cooking with her mother and sister and aunt and others to see how they cook together. The way she cooks Italian food is just like Italians cook in households all over Italy -- both her recipes and cooking methods are 100% authentic.
I couldn't care less about the size of her head in relation to the rest of her body, or the size of her waist or breasts or anything else for that matter. I care about the quality of her cooking, her ability to articulate her methods, and the ease of application to my own style and preferences. On each of these I score her high, high, HIGH! And I see her tasting her food all the time -- I don't get what you guys are talking about! She doesn't mouw through big mouthfuls, but then it seems that she not only cooks like Italian women, but eats and looks like a lot of them, too! Italian women stay slender by staying away from processed food, eating their food in small portions and living active lifestyles -- I daresay that's what Giada does as well.
Just as there are plenty of different ways to express ourselves as women, there are plenty of different ways for a female chef to "carry herself." The fact that she was a recognized and lauded [by finer food publications as well as her peers] female chef for years in an industry which has historically chewed women up and spit them out if they couldn't pull much more than their weight -- and that she did it in some of our country's finest restaurants, no less! -- tells us that she's a chef who has earned the respect of her peers for the quality of her food and simply "carries herself" as she sees fit. As for the lighting and camera angles, etc., well that's TV! I know I don't have to tell any of you that it's not the first time they've worked the female sex appeal angle to maximize viewership, and God knows it won't be the last -- but this chef is more than that!
Obviously we're all free to have our own opinions and turn the channel whenever we choose, but I think the perceptions around Giada speak more to assumptions about what female chefs supposedly look and act like, and less to this woman's capabilities or professional legitimacy. I find it interesting that the folks here who don't particularly admire Giada commented primarily on her appearance and demeanor rather than her skills in the kitchen. It wasn't very long ago that you rarely saw female chefs on TV (aside from notable exceptions like Julia Child and Marcella Hazan and a couple of others,) and you'd be hard pressed to find a female executive chef or sous chef in the kitchen of any high profile restaurant. I think we should celebrate seeing women on TV in this role instead of picking them apart. And what about the FOOD??
Alright, sorry for the -- I just wish we women supported one another more -- and I freaking love Giada's food and think she's absolutely great at what she does.
(and did you know that she's got a new book coming out at the beginning of April?? It's called "Everyday Pasta", if I recall correctly, and is available on pre-order through Amazon )
I've deleted my posts because I really don't care one way or the other about Giada and feel like this is getting to be more confrontational than I want.
Alright, sorry for the -- I just wish we women supported one another more -- and I freaking love Giada's food and think she's absolutely great at what she does.
Sweetie, this isn't a women's rights movement, we're talking about food shows
If I'm not particularly fond of someone and the way they conduct themselves, then oh well. I don't care if they're male, female or primate.
And who the heck is Giada?
Editing to add: I went and looked up who Giada is. I think I've seen her before a couple of times, but I've never really sat down and watched her show.
I'll have to watch Sandra Lee sometime just to see what everyone is talking about.
And I agree that Paula Deen can be entertaining. In a "I need something to laugh my butt off at" sort of way, LOL.
Yeah - I think its the porn-esque filming style and music choices that take away a bit of Giada's credibility. Her recipes are sound, though - she just comes across a little strangely onscreen due to the filming.
Porn-esque filming style???. Aaah, give me a break. The extreme close-ups are food focused, not boob focused! (So some boobage sometimes gets filmed. If you've got it, flaunt it.) Nothing is taking away her credibility. Her recipes look good; try them. If you like them, great. If not, turn the channel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mariposita
My daughters and I watch Paula for the laughs--she's so over the top and spunky that it's great entertainment. We try to guess what she's going to put butter on next. They gagged when we saw her put a huge chunk of butter on spaghetti with tomato sauce and mix it all together.
Paula is a little too "southern" for me (oh stop, ya'll are thinking the same thing. ) But so what, I check out some of her recipes if I think they look good. Too much fat? So reduce it; change it. Cooking isn't a science. Her "MY Friend Flicker" pie (it's a Snickers pie) is wonderful. Gobs of calories, but wonderful!!
As for Giada, we call her "bighead" around here. Her head is definitely outsized, sort of like Nancy Reagan's was.
Yeah, I noticed that too. She could fill in for Vanna White! But hey, non of us are perfect!
"Maybe we should try to get AL GORE to drop his global warming fiasco and !STOP! PAULA DEAN! "
I had to post, because I was just channel surfing and came across Paula adding an entire stick of butter to a corn chowder that already had large amounts of butter, flour, half and half, and montery jack cheese.
I don't have a problem with the over the top food (and personality), as there's a place for even this kind of eating in a healthy diet (say once or twice a YEAR), but I don't understand why she isn't MUCH bigger (say bigger than me). I've never eaten (or desired to eat) like that in my life. I do not believe everything is better with a pound of butter added (though my mother did add a half stick to every vegetable, when I was a kid. Funny thing is I've always preferred even canned veggies without the added "slime".)
If she really eats like this, she has to have the metabolism of a humming bird. Yes, she's plump, but you'd expect her to have seven chins, and be on her third bypass surgery.
I agree that most of her dishes can be drastically fat-reduced and still have great flavor, and I think it's hilarious to see what she's going to add butter or mayonaise to. You can't help but feel you're eating healthy, no matter what your diet, after watching her. The only time I was actually sickened was when I watched her BBQ show. I love BBQ, and when she showed a "white bbq sauce, I nearly hurled." SHe had grilled a quarter of a chicken, and when it was done, dropped it into a huge bowl of "white bbq sauce" (basically a ranch dressing or garlic flavored mayo), before putting it on the plate.
Blech! My husband occasionally uses ranch dressing as a "dipping sauce," for chicken, but I bet this was at least 1/4 cup or more of mayo on a small chicken quarter.
I find her cooking pretty revolting. I also can't imagine cooking anything made by Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa). It all looks delicious but I can't justify the fat and calories. I still watch the shows though.
Ina's recipes are easily adaptable, though - they work with very little oil in most cases, though sometimes they can't be adapted. Paula's recipes are so based in fat that they can't even be adapted.
I'm not going to lie. It annoys me a little bit that a petite woman like Giada or even her mom, can eat pretty much all the things they want and still look at good as they do. But then I realize that everyone's body is different and handle foods different ways. I read an article on Giada awhile back and she says that she has her mom to thank for her weight because of her fast metabolism. She says she loves to eat anything, but she eats six small meals a day and indulges a little.
As for Bourdain, I do find him oddly and disgustingly appealing. I don't know if sexy would fit it, but appealing and interesting if nothing else.
I call him sexy! I think it's the bad boy attitude that does it for me! It even comes across in his books.
Oh, and I think Alton Brown is great. Sexy too in a geeky sort of way.
I don't care for Paula's recipes (I just can't cook that way.) She can be entertaining though. As to the comment about her being on late at night, I thought she was on at 4pm. At least she used to be? I haven't had cable for awhile.
Does anyone remember the episode where she made bread pudding out of Krispy Cream donuts? I just about died! She added cream and sweetened condensed milk to it (I think there was a can of fruit cocktail involved too.) Sounds like enough sugar and fat to make anyone go into a coma.
Just my 2 cents LOVE Alton Love Ina gaarten I'm cool with Paula Tho I don't like her live show SANDRA LEE IS EVIL!
I made Paula's Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving slimmed it down a bit I use LF cream cheese it was delish it was also not something you could eat all the time
I made Ina's Creamed Spinach and it was too DIE FOR! and if you ate it every day you would!
-- I just wish we women supported one another more -- and I freaking love Giada's food and think she's absolutely great at what she does. 
Sarah! I totally agree!
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(So some boobage sometimes gets filmed. If you've got it, flaunt it.) Nothing is taking away her credibility. Her recipes look good; try them. If you like them, great. If not, turn the channel.
