Bam! Faster than you can chuck a pile of chile powder at a bubbling gumbo, the Food Network has announced that the last episode of Emeril Live will be broadcast on December 11. CNN reports that the best a Food Network spokesperson could muster in terms of an explanation was the following inanity:
The only reason would be that it hit a ton of television milestones and, you know, all good things come to an end.
This certainly looks better than, say:
The Food Network is no longer a network featuring talented chefs cooking real food, and, you know, Emeril Live still fits that definition. Roughly.
All of this conjures up Tony Bourdain’s dourly prophetic blogging over at Ruhlman.com back in February:
[A]s much as I hate the show—compared to the current crop of culinary non-entities, [Emeril] looks like Escoffier. He will probably be the last of the Real Chefs. I’m sure they’re growing future replacement options in petrie dishes somewhere, conducting Top Secret focus groups at suburban malls with their latest Bright Young Hopeful.
What will be interesting is to see what his historical legacy will be considered. Will it be as a talented, knowledgeable, generous accomplished chef/restauranteur, supporter of local producers? Who then sold out to become a cartoonish TV buffoon? Someone who turned on people (especially men and kids) to cooking where they would not have? Someone considered to have sloppy technique, lack of proportion and subtlety in his cooking (more garlic!!)? Where more is better? Or who presence, books, ideas, restaurants elevated the average person’s interest/knowledge of food & wine in this country? Or who dumbed-down the foundations of culinary principles? Or all of the above? Love him or hate him, he certainly had an influence on the American food scene.
the words DUMBED DOWN seem to be thrown around alot lately when it comes to the food network but… if that is what it is taking to get people to cook even a little more
instead of opening a jar of spagetti sauce ( trash) or frozen meals (yuck) so be it
Emeril live was fun to watch back when he was a real chef on tv rather than the “cartoonish TV buffoon” that he has become. Thanks to mark bauman for the term. But, seriously, there are many good shows on food network that I have learned from. Emeril used to be one of them back when he was serious. In the last five years or so, he’s become more and more self-aggrandizing and less serious about the cooking. It’s time for the show to go.
Gahlic…. yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! (audience)
My water don’t come seasoned…..yeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!
Bam…..wooooo hooooooo!!!!!!!!!
Pork fat rules……… Yesssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!! hahahha yeah!!!!!!!!
I’m cancelled….. YES!~~~~ THANK YOU!!!! WOOOHOO!!!!