Exhibits, Shows and Displays

Does the Food Network need more ethnic dishes in their shows?

Am I the only one who can't seem to find enough diversity on this channel? I mean, it's all about food, and yet whenever I turn on my TV, I only see American, French, or Italian. I love those foods, but what about Mexican or Indian? I like a little spice in my diet...

Public Comments

1. Watch Simply Delicioso ... I rarely see any French food at all, now that Julia Child is gone:) ... The shows are geared to an American audience, with the foods that most Americans prefer......
2. Does FN need more ethnic shows? No, not really. I think too many people look to TV to "represent". We don't need no stinking ethnic host to "represent". We represent ourselves in our daily lives. They (FN) have their target audience and knows what works for them. In fact, does Food Network really show cooking shows anymore? All they seem to do is show competitions, travel bits and how things are made. The only person worth watching is Alton Brown. All the real chefs have left the network, except for Bobby Flay and Giada. Emeril retired from FN. Four or five years ago, Ming Tsai decided not to renew with FN. Mario is no longer making shows for FN. Now we're stuck with phony, happy, smiley host telling us how to cook - Rachael Ray, Paula Deen and Sandra Lee. For cooking shows, I watch PBS. Edit... Wow! I completely forgot about Nipa on TNFS. She was a total train-wreck who was all talk but couldn't handle the pressure of the kitchen. I'd be embarrassed to have her represent. That's why I prefer watching professional chefs. The pros have cooked dishes 100's, if not 1000's, of times (practice makes perfect and you know they can cook) and they can handle the pressure without the meltdowns.
3. I agree! That's why l was so upset/disappointed when on this season's Next Food Network Star....Nepa, the woman from India didn't put her best food forward and nail it. I would have loved to see some Indian food represented.....oh well.
4. Yes, I would love to see Emerill make tacos(authentic)
5. They used to have a few ethnic shows like East Meets West (Ming Tsai), Two Hot Tamales (Susan Feniger & Mary Sue Milliken), The Melting Pot (with a variety of hosts), Chef du Jour (guest hosts).... But apparently they could never compete with shows like Emeril, Paula Deen, Rachel Ray...... even Molto Mario isnt on anymore. I agree, FoodTV has really changed their format. It's less cooking and more reality food tv & travel shows. PS: Nipa was absolutely horrible! She should been kicked off much earlier. What an embarassment she was.....tsk tsk tsk....
6. They do need some more ethnic representation, because the network is evolving as it's followers are becoming foodies. The target market is evolving. In the Top Chef book (season 1-3), one of the producers was mentioning that foodies are asking for and talking about ingredients or techniques that were typically known to chefs. These new cooking shows are educating the masses and could use an ethnic update. I was sorry that Nipa couldn't bring her game to the competition, too. The judges were really rooting for her for this reason : underrepresented ethnic foods. I remember Bob Tuschman stating that he REALLY wanted her to succeed for this very reason. She was really weak, I have to concur. So who do we get? The Neely cooking duo. Oh well. PBS has been a source of inspiration for me too, as well as the main library downtown, with hundreds of books and great photos.
7. They need to stop with the I am so cute and perfect business, stop hiring personalities and get chefs back on the air. The public is tired of the contests, people who don't get thier hands dirty, or know about ethnic cuisine. For once, I would like to see them run a show with different ethnic chefs, from varied countries come on, do thier thing, and actually cook thier native dishes. Hate to say it, but what they are passing off as Italian, most Italians from Italy wouldn't touch. Ditto for the french. True ethnic cuisine is simple, not showy, has guts, (not the stomach kind), is earthy. The publlic needs to write thier complaints and send them to the network. If enough people complain things might change.
8. I love food network. But agree that I would like to see more diversity. I enjoyed two hot tamales, east meets west, and melting pot, but those shows are gone.
9. Alot of people complained about the lack of African Americans on the FoodTV, so now they have the Neelys and another gal (she does the "How did that get on my plate").
10. Mipa was a nasty rude girl, but I WOULD LOVE TO SEE AN INDIAN CHEF!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA