Tselani
Before I became a chef, I used to watch the Food Network religiously. I was drawn in by the celebrity chefs and their seemingly fabulous recipes. They made cooking look exciting, easy and glamorous. After I returned from culinary school, I even made it into the top ten candidates in the country for one of their new cooking shows.
But then I started to really watch what the celebrities were doing and what products they were promoting. Have you ever really paid attention to who the advertisers are? They’re mostly processed and fast food companies. Sure they have big budgets and can afford to launch fancy advertising campaigns, but I wondered. Do I really want them paying my salary since they represent everything I fight against?
Back to the new Cooking Channel. As I read further down the New York Times article, I learned that the channel is close to creating a new show with Lisa Lillien. If you’ve never heard of her, she writes the very popular blog called Hungry Girl. Here’s what the New York Times says about her. “Ms. Lillien has criticized as unrealistic those who suggest dieters stick to fresh foods sold in the perimeter aisles of the supermarket. Her recipes unapologetically suggest ingredients like no-fat Pringles and Cool Whip.”
Gasp. Really?? I mean, really? Has Ms. Lillien ever taken the time to read the ingredient list on some of those processed foods? How can she feel comfortable promoting a product with so many chemicals? Does she even know how the chemicals are made?
But what’s really scary is that she has a huge following. With almost a million subscribers to her newsletter and three books under her belt, she’s enormously popular. Obviously people want to learn more about cooking this way. It makes me sad.
And it makes me all that more determined. I’m currently working on what I call my “I believe” statement. It’s everything that I stand for when it comes to cooking. I see my job as an opportunity to inspire, excite and educate people about their food and where it comes from. I strongly believe we wouldn’t have a health crisis, so many diseases, and we’d all be a little happier if we just ate real foods
If anyone out there has any thoughts about the above subject, I’d love to hear what you think. I invite you to post a comment below.
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Reader Comments (1)
I agree with you. Food should be healthy, or help us be more healthy. I admit that once in a while I am tempted by the "shinny, new product" out there, or by the samples handed out on the grocery store aisles, and yes, they DO taste good, but then I have learned to "read and understand" the Nutrition Facts and Ingredients, and if there is something on there that sounds like it came out of a chemistry class, it does not make it to the grocery cart.
I'm not sure who this Lisa Lillien is, nor really care to find out, but it sure sounds like there is one well designed marketing campaign standing behind her, and a bunch of "hungry" people following close behind if she can get a TV show which clearly does not help in making what we eat healthier, just more convenient.
If you can't wake up a bit earlier to fix a healthy breakfast, or leave the office and head towards the grocery store to purchase healthy fruits, vegetables and lean meats.. maybe that show really is for you, and then we'll probably see you in another TV show... Biggest Loser!