Signe Rousseau
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The humanised commodity
Thanks Eric, I actually hadn't seen this clip. But I think it's very much as Andrew suggests, that part of the appeal of the commodity that is the celebrity chefs is his/her humanness, which suggests a certain fallibility (in this case, a child ... -
Poof! (like a souffle)
Just to add that a) it has indeed been a fun week (great idea, Eric!), and b) no, Jamie is still happily married. At least as far as the public eye is concerned, that is. Though to bring it back to your opening post about Nigella, Kathleen, the boundary b ... -
Long Live Keith Floyd
This conversation makes me miss Keith Floyd. Not sure how well known (if at all?) he was in the US, but he was, to my mind, the pioneer celebrity chef. And by that I mean a chef who became famous because he was also a good performer. But his performance w ... -
Spectator sport, or messy reality?
Megan, like Kathleen, I am pleasantly surprised by considering a perspective which I hadn't before, namely that shows like these are *more* rather than less realistic because of their in-built chaos. I think that's a really interesting way to th ... -
Should everyone be a critic?
Agreeing with everyone that Kathleen raises an important and interesting question. I'm personally inclined to the slightly cynical answer, which is no, we don't need everyone to become a food critic- or to fancy themselves as such: (at the risk ... -
Allowable indulgences?
Sorry to be chiming in a little late to this great discussion; lots of good points made already. I've long been fascinated by this sense of "permission" that Kathleen alludes to: how Nigella somehow makes it OK to raid the fridge alone at n ... -
Exactly. And watching isn’t
Exactly. And watching isn't as (potentially) fattening as eating! ... -
Misplaced authority
Alison: I'm sorry you weren't able to watch the clip (seems to work OK for me?). It's a little different to what you imagine, in that it isn't a "standard" cooking program, with Jamie showing us how to make something. Rather ... -
Numbered days?
Given how the industry has mushroomed, I'd hesitate to predict numbered days for celebrity chefs. But who knows, you could be right. One thing is for sure, though, and has come out variously in all three posts so far, is that being a celebrity chef i ... -
Celebrity Suicide
Indeed, Eric, without the cameras Jamie Oliver would *just* be a philanthropist. This reminds me of a line from the great essayist Joesph Epstein, who wrote (I paraphrase) that it is no longer good enough to be known; now we have to be known to be good. A ...