Customer Reviews

Watching What We Eat: The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm absolutely addicted to cooking shows, so this book really reached out and grabbed me. It was fascinating to learn a little more about the context that these shows came out of and the transformation of the genre from serving a purely educational purpose to something approaching pure entertainment (a lot like the change in the role of news media in the last 50 years, but that's a topic for another conversation altogether). And it's also interesting to see how these shows have shaped the attitudes we hold as a culture toward cooking and the food we eat.

The author has obviously done a lot of hard research and knows her stuff, but at the same time you can tell she's a fan and delivers the goods in a non-stuffy way... Her approach is reminiscent of a certain television chef named Julia, come to think of it.

Highly recommended summer reading.

This book by Ms. Collins is certainly worth the read, to say the very least.!!
For one who counts himself among the kitchen illiterate, though for many years wanted to be the "sous chef", I found this to be a tremendously educating and inspiring book.

I would be redundant using words that have been well placed such as;great research,
clarity, wit, historical, educational, inspirational,etc...but, I must say that one such as myself who knows little and does little in the kitchen, I find Ms.Collins' book a boost to my pursuits in that same venue. I can see,watching at times the food channel and listening to friends comments on food and cooking in general, how the author came up with the idea for this book as everyone, young and old with no gender barrier seems to be "into it".! It is the kind of book you can pick up and select a few pages at random and enjoy it all over again, which I've done more than once already.! Hopefully this will be the first of many books from this talented author.!

James Doolin, Portland, ME.

P.S. I would like to briefly comment on a review written by a Ms. Appelton of Arizona.....This book is entitled, "The Evolution of Television Cooking Shows", NOT,.How Not To Overeat..!! Obesity, Anorexia and Bulemia are topics unto themselves and this was not supposed to be a medical journal or encyclopedia of same.
References to Japan/A-Bomb, Germany/Holocaust and Sixties/Vietnam as to matters being left out..!!??..seems to contradict your applause for both author and book.?
There is a plethora of books on the aforementioned subjects which you can buy and note that NONE of them will reference cooking shows or similiar venues.!!
BON APPETIT..!!!

on a journey I didn't know I wanted to take! I would never have suspected how much influence these shows have exerted on our cooking and eating habits, our culture and the food industry overall. Collins loves her topics and respects them through her impeccable and more than thorough. Better still, her enthusiasm is infectious, and her prose is as breezy and entertaining as an episode of "The Galloping Gourmet."
The addition of photographs throughout the book is a pleasant surprise, though their effectiveness would be enhanced if they were a bit larger and in color. And wouldn't it have been fun if the publisher had included a DVD with excerpts from some of the classic shows contrasted with some from the "Modern Period."

Kathleen Collins cooks up a feast for the literary gourmand with her delightful book, "Watching What We Eat." My wife (a cook) received it for a gift but I (former TV exec) grabbed it and couldn't put it down. The book's rich content includes profiles of TV cooking hosts from when the medium began, up through today's multi-channel environment and offers a mouth-watering menu that focuses on some of television's most colorful personalities over the years. A great gift idea for anyone who cooks, watches TV or eats.

This book is so enjoyable that you don't even know you are learning about the history of the food shows on TV. Kathleen Collins puts it all together like a story unfolding.

I hope this talented woman continues writing. She has a great, easy-to-read style, dry humor in many parts.

I look forward to reading more of Ms. Collins' works.

I thought the book was generally well written and organized by definable category. For me, the size of the hardcover was a bit small and I would have appreciated larger type and pictures (more of them) It was fun to see the old B/W photos of the culinary hosts. I appreciated that Sara Moulton's comments and observations were included , along with Chris Kimball of the PBS show America's Test Kitchen, among others. The continuing analysis of the varied styles, trends,etc. of the evolution of food shows kept interest. It was obviously well researched and I would recommend it, and would hope the many more recent shows might be mentioned in more details in a new edition, or supplement.

This is a surprising book. For one thing, I did not know prior to reading this book that TV cooking shows have been around since the very earliest days of TV. Turns out that there have been certifiable stars of TV cooking long before Julia Childs. Not only does this book introduce you to stars of TV cooking shows that you have never heard of, it also details
their back stories and even some gossip about these TV pioneers. This is a human interest book at its very best.

Kathleen Collins has written an excellent book that should be on the book shelf of everyone who is a regular watcher of TV cooking shows.

A platterful of tasty information on the evolution of TV cooking shows. An expert researcher, Collins provides an extremely detailed history of this genre of TV programming, incorporating rare historical photos and texts as well as juicy personal interviews with contemporary cooking show commentators. Especially interesting is her discussion of the ways TV cooking shows have changed with the times, from selling gas ranges, refrigerators, and other kitchen appliances to a country unfamiliar with these items in the 1930s and 1940s (ushering Americans into modernity), to selling sophisticated French and other gourmet dining in the 1970s and 1980s (encouraging Americans to become cosmopolitan), to selling notions of social class and cultural capital in the 1990s and beyond (teaching viewers about the wine & food lifestyles of the rich and famous or, conversely, the down home cookin' ways of the girl next door). At times, I wished this analysis had been pushed further, since there was so much information to absorb! Educational and entertaining, the author's witty writing style makes us feel as if we're having a face-to-face conversation with her and the famous cooking hosts she describes.

A splendid read! With the prevalence of television cooking shows these days, it's easy to forget the pioneer TV chefs. Collins brought me back to my days as an adolescent foodie, watching Justin Wilson, Jeff Smith and Graham Kerr when most kids were outside making mud pies.
I found most fascinating Collins thorough examination of the cultural juggernaut that is the Food Network and it's ability to appeal to everyone from professional chefs to those who "keep sweaters in their stove" (and instead prefer to just watch other attractive, manicured people do the cooking).
The author provides sometimes shocking historical anecdotes from the very moment when cooking and media merged on radio in post WWII America. An incredibly well researched and entertaining book! If I were a professor teaching a Sociology of Food course, this would be an indispensable addition to my reading list.

This is a great history of the evolution of food shows on television. From the almost amateurish Julia Child shows in the 1960's(Julia and one cameraman on a simple set) to the enormous productions we see on Food Network with "superstars" like Emeril and all the rest.