More Mario Batali Food Network Controversy

As many of you have read from my posts and from other things online, there was a bit of controversy over Mario Batali awhile ago. The issue had to do with a supposed disagreement between Batali and the Food Network over canceling his shows, Molto Mario and Ciao America that were in repeat loops. The articles released, stated that Batali was so upset by the action that he would no longer participate in the Iron Chef America episodes. It was also reported that Batali was leaving to work on a Spanish cuisine show with PBS.

I later updated from an official announcement stating that the Food Network had in fact canceled his shows. However, new episodes of the shows had not been taped in a number of years and it was a programming decision used to open slots for new shows. They also stated that Batali would continue to be part of Iron Chef America and that there was no disagreement between the two parties. They also noted that Batali would be starting a new show with PBS, but it was in no way an issue with the Food Network.

I thought I would give a little update on what I have noticed lately about the issue. For those of you that have watched the Next Iron Chef may have noticed the same peculiarity that I had. In the final episode of the mini-series, the Iron Chefs were judges for the last two contestants. I noted a strange peculiarity in the episode, while the Iron Chefs were present, one seemed to be missing, Mario Batali.

I tend to read into things too much, but wonder if this is exactly what they were trying to do. Using this supposed disagreement with Batali over the canceling of his shows, and then having him absent from this last episode may just have been a ploy to get us all to watch the Food Network more and see what is going to happen. Ohhhhh, will Batali be there next season? Will he have the newly designed Iron Chef coat on his back when it is gaudily revealed, you know the thing has to be gaudy. At least it won't be denim, I pray it won't be denim. Not all of us U.S. citizens wear denim.

What brought about this blog today you might ask. Well I woke up hearing the familiar Batali voice on the television the other night, but figured it was just an odd dream. I was then just flipping through the channels today and behold, Molto Mario has shifted over to the Fine Living channel, which just so happens to be owned by the same company that owns the Food Network. Other Food Network chefs have made the shift to the channel as well, such as Ming Tsai, Micahel Lomonoco and others. I again am not surprised, as I see this as all part of a ploy to get us to watch their channels more. They can have multiple reasons behind it, fans demanded it and we had to give it to you, or this was the plan all along and you should all feel like dolts for thinking the Food Network empire would ever get rid of Mario.

Conspiracy after conspiracy, oh how I love the drama of it all haha. I'm just happy to be able to see Batali on Fine Living, I really enjoy the shows on that channel. I also began to think of MTV today though and realized, hrm, MTV and VH1 are both owned by the same company. As MTV no longer plays music, and the Food Network no longer shows professional cooking; will Fine Living follow suit someday with VH1 and stop showing practical shows, I hope not. Fine Living started off as more of a lifestyle channel at any rate, so my worries are hopefully a moot point.

Michael Symon Iron Chef Conspiracy Theories

So by now many of you must know that Michael Symon won the competition on the show The Next Iron Chef. I have only seen clips of the show online and watched as people posted information on Wikipedia and what not, but I had some incite previously to the show prior to parts of it airing and I have to say that then and now I was not all that surprised by the outcome. I also have to say I am not all that pleased by the way the show seemed to progress.

Michael Symon is a great chef and I don't really think anyone can argue against that fact. I am actually looking forward to going to one of his restaurants in Cleveland, OH when I go out to Akron to compete with the ACF next year. I do however find a bit of irony in the show, just as I do with many chef oriented shows these days (see Kitchen Nightmares). One must think about what Symon's background is and what got him his "chance" on Next Iron Chef. For those of you that watch the Food Network on a regular basis, you may recall that Symon had his own show on the channel at one point that eventually went off the air. It actually was quite a good show and as with all good shows on the Food Network, the demise comes quickly, but I find irony in the fact that he was already a Food Network initiate.

My second notion was where the first episodes were taped and the final three who were in the competition. All three of them were graduates of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Now one might say, "well of course they were, the CIA puts out some of the top chefs." How much money did the CIA invest into the Food Network though, would it have been bad for advertisement and business to not have all three of them be grads? Would it help get more advertising dollars from the CIA by getting these three to the top. What great advertising for the school in general, to have the show tapped there and then to have a CIA grad win (whether or not Symon was the best choice)

Finally, isn't it ironic that Michael Symon was a big part of the book Soul of a Chef? For those who have never read Soul of a Chef, it is a great book, but it was also written by none other than Michael Ruhlman, who just so happened to be a judge on the show. Ruhlman also happens to live in Cleveland, which is where Symon's restaurant is. Does this not play a bias into the judging? I trust Ruhlman's choice without a doubt because once you read all of his books, and then see who he has written books with (Like Thomas Keller for the French Laundry), but you just have to ask yourself about the irony again.

Maybe I am just doing the Tanner cynicism on culinary television again, but after the catastrophe that Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmare's has turned out to be and the removal of many of the best culinary shows on TV to make way for "culinary lifestyle" shows, I am suspect. I for one have not been a fan of watching all of the new Iron Chef episodes, I often find the judging suspect itself and loaded with pre-conceived bias.

On a regular basis I watch dishes made by far superior chefs that look, and surely must taste better than the Iron Chef's dishes fail. Heck, but the Iron Chef must win on a regular basis to be an Iron Chef, otherwise why are they the Iron Chef? Most of the public doesn't know the difference anyways, so what if Cat Cora makes a Moussaka out of potatoes, when the key ingredient is eggplant and an eggplant is no where to be found.

Maybe Symon will be the key to improving the show. From what I have heard, they will be replacing those awful denim chef coats in favor of a more glamorous designed coat. But a glance at the shows website on the Food Network has the "team" all wearing the same old denim coats. As I am back in New York for the next few days, I will get a chance to watch Symon in full action for his first battle as an Iron Chef and hoepfully get to see some reruns of The Next Iron Chef show (for those of you that don't know, I don't own a television, I watch all my shows and movies on my 20" screen computer otherwise I'd be in front of the TV all day.

The Next Iron Chef

As I mentioned the upcoming show The Next Iron Chef during my post on Mario Batali, I thought I would share some more information on the show for those of you who have not read about it yet. The premise of the show is similar to the Who Wants to be the Next Food Network Star in that there are a number of contestants, eight to be exact who are in competition to be part of the Food Network. In this particular case however, they will become part of the show Iron Chef America.

The series will begin with Alton Brown traveling the country looking for the top ten chefs in the country to qualify as the next Iron Chef. The series will continue with the chefs showing the chairman why they should take the honor. One of the judges will be Andrew Knowlton, restaurant editor for Bon Appetit magazine.

The show will premiere on Sunday, October 7, at 9:00 p.m. EST.

The Chefs include:

Aaron Sanchez chef-owner of Paladar and Centrico both in NYC
Cooking style: Contemporary Mexican and Latin

Morou Outtara chef-owner of FarrahOlivia by Morou in Alexandria, VA
Cooking Style: Creative American

John Besh of August, Luke, The Besh Steakhouse at Harrah's, New Orleans; and La Provence, Lacombe, LA
Cooking Style: Contemporary Louisiana French

Traci Des Jardins Chef and co-owner of Jardiniere, chef-owner of Mijita, and managing chef of ACME Chophouse in San Francisco, CA
Cooking Style: French-California

Chris Cosentino chef of Incanto and co-owner of Boccalone Artisinal Meats in San Francisco, CA
Cooking Style: Peasant-style, rustic farm-driven Italian

Jill Davie chef de cuisine of Josie Restaurant in Los Angeles, CA
Cooking Style: California bistro/ American progressive

Michael Symon chef-owner of Lola and Lolita in Cleveland, OH
Cooking Style: Local, farm-driven, and sustainable

Gavin Kaysen chef de cuisine of El Bizcocho in San Diego, CA, he was also the U.S.A. representative for the Bocuse d'Or for 2007
Cooking Style: Fanatically seasonal French