Susan Feniger on Real Housewives of OC

[goodhealthgourmet]

anyone catch this last night? i got a call from a friend back East who watches the show, telling me that i *had* to watch, so i did...or at least i tried to. it was RIDICULOUS. some couple on the show decided to hire her to cater a party they're throwing, but apparently they were unaware that Susan specializes in Mexican cuisine...even thought the meeting was at Border Grill and the wife mentioned that they've eaten there before! they shot down every dish she suggested, asked if she could make Spanish food instead...and at the end of the segment there was a clip of the wife saying "I don't really care about the food, I'm just excited to have a celebrity chef catering my party."

what is WRONG with these people??

[maxie]

I would like to see Marcel Vigneron on the Real Housewives. They would all get lathered up. Marcel would bust out his gangsta arms and pull on his wolverine hair. The Housewives will refuse to try his dishes, or reject them all as they taste them. It would be hilarious!

On the other hand, my heart goes out to Susan. It must suck to be a nationally recognized chef and have someone ask you to deep fry Oreos, and even worse, hire you but not be familiar with your cuisine.The only sense it makes is to highlight how unsophisticated said couple really are. Poor Susan.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I like that idea about Marcel, that would be hilarious! I met him when he was working at Bazaar in LA and he was actually very nice :o)

[maxie]

I'm sure he is. His excitability makes him fun television.

[MartinDC]

Oh, I wouldn't too be concerned for Susan about the Oreo request. It's a great TV moment! There's a lot of wink wink from the producers/editors to the TV audience. The joke is really on the housewife bimbos.

[foodseek]

Wow, Top Chef meets Real Housewives. Bravo loves the cross promotion of their shows but this combination had trouble written all over it. What a disingenuous couple. I loved the look on chef Susan's face when asked if she makes the Fried Oreo and also when Micah commented that Mexican food fit a pool party. Too funny!

[coney with everything]

they had the RHOC go to Hubert Keller's Fleur de Lys a year or so ago, with predictable results. One of them actually spit out their foie gras. No one had a clue who Keller was.

Add to that the time where a ho-wife went to Italy and loudly insisted on California wine...

Klassy all the way.

[foodseek]

Yes, I remember that one too! Another cringe worthy moment for RHOC. The chef tie-in as well on RHOMiami when Christy hosted cooking party featuring Chef Pepin-the talkative, packaged Cuban food chef.

[jmckee]

Susan and Mary Sue Milliken have impressed me ever since I saw them on Julia Child's Cooking with Master Chefs series. I just thing they seem smart and fun and gifted.

They tell a story in a book called "Don't Try This at Home," a book of chef's disasters, that has to be read to be believed.

[ttoommyy]

Although I'm sure these women are "housewives" in "real life," you do realize most of these shows adhere to loose scripts? Otherwise, where would the drama be? I'm sure this whole situation with Susan Feniger was a bit of a set up to garner some publicity for her as well as the show.

[ferret]

And I don't doubt that Feniger - or any well-known "personality" chef - has run into people with more money than sense in the past. I have friends who do high-end catering and teh level of sophistication of their customers isn't necessarily related to their bank balances. A lot of the people on these shows are "new money" people. One of the women was criticizing her husband for ordering a white wine with his steak as if not having red wine was the most serious social transgression imaginable.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i caught that thing about the wine - it was silly, and unnecessarily critical. and the dynamic between those two was bizarre to me - they seemed to know absolutely nothing about each other - it had all the makings of an uncomfortable first date - but aren't they married?

[goodhealthgourmet]

you do realize most of these shows adhere to loose scripts?
~~~~~~~~~~
[gasp!] no! really? ;)

*of course* i know it's not all spontaneous...i just don't understand why Susan agreed in the first place to participate in such dreck with people who clearly have no respect for her craft or her personal culinary style.

[ttoommyy]

Because she has obviously jumped on the "reality" show train to garner some publicity. It is the ONLY reason these shows exist: to put the spotlight on those participating in hopes that something more will come of it.

[goodhealthgourmet]

you make it sound like she sought out the opportunity...which i absolutely don't believe. neither she nor her restaurants are exactly hurting for publicity. i'm sure she was approached and decided it wasn't worth the potential backlash or *bad* publicity if word got out that she turned down the request to cater the party...though i don't necessarily believe that even would have been the case.

her participation in Top Chef Masters just made more sense to me. of course she knew doing it would be good for her image & brand, but she was also doing it for charity, which, IMHO, makes for far better publicity than indulging the whim of a couple of social climbers who don't even care about her food.

[ttoommyy]

I think foodies know who she is but the demographic who watches this show may not. It brings her to a wider audience. I really cannot think of any reason someone would appear on such a show other than to garner publicity. What else could she possibly have gotten from agreeing to be on such a show? Other than a paycheck? Hmmmm.

[BombayUpWithaTwist]

I was cringing as I was watching that episode. I'm not sure why Susan even agreed to be on the show. I'm surprised she just didn't say that they weren't a match and she didn't want to cater their party.

[Chimayo Joe]

The husband didn't like flan and wanted to know if Feniger would do fried oreos. LOL

She said "no" and was even polite about it.

[ferret]

Pretty funny line from EW's recap of show:

"Cut to celebrity chef Susan Feniger's increasingly astonished face, as she started wondering whether she would whip, puree, or sous vide the spit in Micah's dishes."

[goodhealthgourmet]

love it. as i was watching i couldn't help thinking that i'd be so VERY tempted to "violate" the food if i was in her shoes!

[amykate]

I give susan so much credit for dealing with those 2 boobs. I actually watch the show (dont ask me why) and I am always amazed at the low level of sophistication and class these people have. Susan is an amazing chef with many years of experience and success and handled herself so well. I would have probably laughed in their faces.

[mariacarmen]

ahahahahahah! Poor Susan! my mom, while she was sick, used to watch the Housewives endlessly (meds made her forget she'd already seen an episode a few times), of all the different cities, and on finding a new one, i think Beverly Hills, her question re their unending bitchiness was, "Ok, so what's wrong with THESE women.... too rich? too healthy?" my answer - too unbearably stupid to live. and yet they're all here and my mom's gone. alright, so i don't wish DEATH on them, but gaaddd, how about a severe bout of laryngitis? the only good thing about my mom being gone is i don't have to watch the shows anymore. But, i probably would have tuned in to see Susan too, if i'd known....

[goodhealthgourmet]

But, i probably would have tuned in to see Susan too, if i'd known....
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unfortunately Bravo tends to air *many* repeats of these shows, so i'm sure you can catch it. i was SQUIRMING for poor Susan - every time they rejected one of her suggestions i wanted to slap these people! you could tell she was just exasperated...and i'm gonna guess that this particular couple may not have much luck hiring a "celebrity chef" to cater future parties. word travels :)