My favorite TV celebrity chef was always Emeril Lagase, but even he has gotten old. I just can't stand snobbish bores like Bobby Flay, and some of the others on Food Network! I used to love to watch the Iron Chef back when!

P.S. But I can assure you I bet if I ever tasted some of dishes "Shipscook" puts out she would surely be on my list forever!
I could not agree with KYH more, he said and awful lots in a few lines, and in my book... the everyday, "down in the trenches", homemakers, and plain ole' common folk just trying to feed their families are the real unsung celebrities! Like all of us!!! So we should salute ourselves and say "Damn good job there, and it tastes wonderful too"!!! And that is the ultimate celebrity each and every one of us.

Cheers to all, CCCathy

Yep..I totally agree.

+1 Well said

Julia Child & James Beard were my early favorites... I cried like a baby when 3 celebrities died: Julia Child, Lucille Ball & Carol O'Conner (Archie Bunker). I also should admit that I even teared-up a bit yesterday when watching coverage of the Tim Russert funeral.

But today? I love Martha and Ina best. I also like Michael Chiarello.

And I can't dare let this slide KYH, without remarking that although I understand why the straight dudes here all dig Giada and her low-cut bosom-revealing-t's, the guys like ME adore Rocco & the Deen brothers! (hee-hee!)

Now... celebrity cookbooks (that is, celebrities that are NOT real chefs?) I like the books by Sophia Loren, Patty LaBelle, Mo'Nique, Trisha Yearwood, Linda McCartney, Naomi Judd, and I also dig "The Soprano's Cookbook"...

(Okay, lastly- and I hesitate to admit this 'cause I often caught HELL for this from folks back at "the other" food site... I really, really enjoy Paula Deen! Now just shut-up and leave me alone about her! )

I never claimed to dig Giada, Chubbs. What I was trying to say is that I'm underewhelmed with her cooking skills, and if she wants to bounce her boobs in the soup she should take it to a soft porn station. And I often wonder if that square smile is really her, or do they paste that on with some sort of graphics program.

Do you really find the Deen brothers attractive? I thought you had better taste than that. Well, the older one, maybe...... And, unlike they momma, neither one of them can cook, IMO.

Speaking of their momma, I think you came under fire not so much for admiring her, but for buying in to the idea that she's the queen of southern cooking, which she most emphatically is not. And frankly, especially lately, I'd much prefer her if she'd cook with her mouth shut.

I'd have to agree with you about both Ina and Michael. Oddly enough, while I love watching Michael do his stuff (Lawd but he makes entertaining look so simple), I can't get his published recipes to work, most of the time. Something seems to get lost between his kitchens and the printed page.