501859 Sat Mar 22 21:57:14 -0700 2008 9 33 Food Media and News 0 3518748 I just saw my first episode of this, which was the season 2 episode 1, Chicken Tikka Massala. Wow. When are we going to get this series? Hey BBC America - where are you with this? Or WGBH or anybody else - who is going to step up to buy this series for us? This is Alton Brown upped with about 30 IQ points and 100 foodie quotient points (just made that up, but you get my meaning). Just imagine what Alton could be like if he didn't have to dumb down for the TVFN audience. Of course, I understand that Tikka Massala in the UK isn't that different from AB doing Mac 'n Cheese here. But the explanations, both historic and scientific, are much more complex and satisfying. The ingredients and process are not simplified. And yet, he does the same kind of inventing. Where Alton took his Weber kettle and poked a hole in the bottom to put a hose and hair dryer (thus making a close to 2000F grill for searing steaks like a steak house), Heston creates a brick chimney up the middle and creates a workable Tandoori oven. The difference is that while I rarely wanted to actually try Alton's inventions, I'm just itching to get out there and make that oven. I can only get this one episode for now - I'll be looking out for others and hoping that it gets picked up for the US. Any info on getting more from this series would be much appreciated. Sat Mar 22 21:57:14 -0700 2008 10312 applehome 1 3518858 The series is readily available from the BitTorrent sites. It's a great series, and your assessment of it is right on. I particularly enjoyed the segment on Neapolitan Pizza and on Steaks. Though all enjoyable, the one on Hamburgers almost took things to a ridiculous degree when he tried to optimize the size and shape of the bun. But his solution to making sure the hamburger patty was tender but stayed together was just classic HB ingenuity at work. If you wish to actually put his techniques to practice, the BBC book of the series provides a lot of detailed information missing from the tele series. I've been wanting to experiment with his techniques ever since I saw his presentation on doing a roast - essentially the same as his method on steaks - on another BBC series "Full On Food". Reading "Perfection" gave me the confidence to finally tackle his 24 hour steak... Sat Mar 22 23:48:50 -0700 2008 3518748 20300 cgfan 1 3520222 Series 1 was fun to watch and my absolute admiration for anyone who tries to replicate any of the recipes at home. Series 2 seemed to me to be a series too far. It was doing it for the sake of doing it, IMO. Sun Mar 23 16:11:02 -0700 2008 3518748 154102 Harters 1 4708304 I disagree. Heston Blumenthal isn't Alton Brown upped with 30 IQ points. I figure comaring the two is like the proverbial apples to oranges comparison. Perhaps I'll give on the foodie quotient points for being creative in looking for the perfect ingredients, but that's about it. Comparing the spaghetti bolognese episode with the Americana - spaghtetti and meat sauce episode, I see far more history and easy to understand illustrated science in the Good Eats take on it. Sorry, but wire frame CGI animation of anise/onion flavour compounds does not make one smarter than the other. For a food show, I prefer good information and techniques that are easy to do with good consistent results. Isn't that the essence of why someone would turn to a cooking show for referece? Nothing I've seen on HB's show inspires me to go out and attempt his methods if I were looking to put together a good meal. OTOH, if I were looking at it from the perspective of the Food Jammer guys, Blumenthal would be a good model to look up to. Fri May 22 22:16:20 -0700 2009 3518748 322173 wing05 2 4708391 I don't think you turn to a cooking show for reference. You use books for that - cookbooks, as well as books written to explore food science, such as Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking. Cooking shows are not indexed, and are simply not a ready reference for individual facts or methods - although they can illustrate technique. Cooking shows are entertainment. I lived in the black forest for 3 years as a tenant of a bakerei. I had real black forest cake as often as I wanted - the baker and his son were famous for their version. Watching Heston's convoluted, complex, deconstruction/reconstruction, was a wonderful piece of entertainment. I just knew that he would have developed some truly intense flavors, from the cherries to the cake. But I know what goes into a real black forest cake, and Heston's wasn't it. Alton Brown simply has never been a chef in any restaurant. In my mind, that disqualifies him as a chef instructor. Ironically, Blumenthal has never been to a culinary school, which Alton has attended. Alton comes up with cute explanations (and while he uses no animation, he uses foam pieces) for the science, and uses scientific facts (easily found in the index of McGeee's or other writers books, researched by his staff and dumbed down to his audience), to build his recipes from - too bad his recipes have never been served professionally, or to a critical audience. But ultimately, Alton is also entertaining. He just doesn't sound as sharp. Perhaps it's just the British accent... Sat May 23 00:15:33 -0700 2009 4708304 10312 applehome 3 4708463 "But I know what goes into a real black forest cake, and Heston's wasn't it." But, of course, Heston wasnt trying to make "authentic" but his own interpretation of the dish. If I recall the series correctly from when it was shown here, it isnt even his interpretation of "authentic" but his interpretation of how the dish had been traditionally interpreted in the UK (if you see what I mean). Black Forest gateau was an absolute standard deserrt of cheap chain restaurants, like Berni Inns, in the 1970s - and it was always shite. Sat May 23 03:17:27 -0700 2009 4708391 154102 Harters 3 4720215 "I don't think you turn to a cooking show for reference." True enough. After having a few days to mull my post over, I'll bring it down to this. Alton Brown and Heston Blumentall have cooking shows in common and that's about it. Topics and treatments of each episode's subjects are completely different. Brown aims to be educational entertainment, Blumenthal goes for artistic entertainment. Comparing the two by putting them in the same category of educational entertainment isn't appropriate. Had you started by comparing Blumenthal to the Food Jammer guys who also go for artistic entertainment with a Rube Goldberg flair, I'd agree whole heartedly. Wed May 27 17:10:06 -0700 2009 4708391 322173 wing05 1 4724167 I do really like his show! It's very informative and his food is more awe-inspiring than like Alton's Brown's. And he definitely has more credentials. But I think Good Eats inspire more people to cook. I was watching his baked Alaska episode and my god...that's very, very, VERY, labor intensive. And that burger episode, he like took 40 tomatoes just to get the seeds and then drain the pulp and then to reduce it to a paste like ketchup substitute. What are people going to do with 40 tomatoes left?! Uh, what I'm saying is, they're different shows with different tones and audiences, it's not really a comparison...just cause they both explain the science behind food and things. But the show does makes me want to go to The Fat Duck more than ever. I am just in awe over the way he's so passionate about his food and he is so talented. Oh and you guys don't get this in the US? They show this on Food Network Canada =D! Thu May 28 23:49:38 -0700 2009 3518748 212885 AngelSanctuary 2 4725880 I have watched both AB and HB on Canadian TV and also, would not dream of comparing them. Never even thought about it until I read this thread, they are so different. Neither would I reject what they were trying to achieve on their shows because of their backgrounds as chefs or lakc of that training or vocation. I just find the meeting of food chemistry and food prep for the home kitchen fascinating and enjoy both as distinct entertainers. But I have been influenced by both and have tried techniques because of these shows. I am not going to convert to HB's trifle approach, but I did incorporate his idea about the marscapone cheese. I am not about to squish 40 tomatoes to get AB's ketchup substitute (or that complicated chicken wing idea-go to a bar, for heaven sake!) but his cranberry granita is GOOD! It is what it is... Fri May 29 13:21:29 -0700 2009 4724167 24738 LJS 3 4727183 oh my...after reading my reply it was a bit unclear. HESTON was the one who squished 40 tomatoes to make a ketchup substitute! Fri May 29 23:11:25 -0700 2009 4725880 212885 AngelSanctuary