I am an avid Food Network watcher. It is my go-to-channel when the television is turned on! I do not watch the cooking shows as frequently because they are on during the day when I am at school or work, but I really enjoy watching the food competition and food exploration shows. My personal favorite show is called Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. This show is hosted by Guy Fieri, who is a vivacious, outgoing, relatable person. He travels around the country going to places that viewers recommend. These places are typically small, family owned and operated, with home cooked food and generations of family recipes. Although the show is about amazing food in unrecognized places, it sends positive messages about food. (Citation)
This show helps to get every age group, including the younger cookie cutter fast food generation, excited about what they are eating and the idea of using quality ingredients. Guy brings relaxed diners, drive-ins or dives to life and explores their conceptualization of food. Many of the diners and dives that he visits are using family recipes passed down from generations, which require time, effort, patience and the most important fresh, quality ingredients. There was an episode on Monday where he went to a restaurant called Tap Tap Haitian Restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida where the owner was making a classic marinated pork and a watercress sauce all from scratch with local
ly grown ingredients. Many of the places he stumbles upon, with a little help from viewers, emphasize the need for fresh, locally grown ingredients. One particular chef noted how buys ALL of his ingredients locally because he wants the community to support him in turn, which they do full force. Unlike in Fast Food Nation, how we are continuously reminded of the lack of care and unhealthy ingredients put into our food. The breakdown of what happens behind the counter in fast food chains shows just how much love is put into that food, ZERO. Food becomes a monotonous task and they have to inject fun into the meal with toys and bright colors to get kids excited. (citation)Guy Fieri is married with two sons, whom he constantly talks about on the show, and is an all around family guy. When he goes into a restaurant, he sometimes mentions what his sons like to eat or cook and how food brings them closer together. I could be wrong, but I couldn’t imagine his family frequenting fast food chains. He also has a cooking show called Guys Big Bite, which I feel appeals more to men than women. Typically, cooking shows are directed toward women in general, the stay at home mom, the busy wife and women with families living on a budget. Guys Big Bite is directed toward the Food Networks male audience, (I believe) targeting a heterosexual, masculine cook. I particularly see dads watching this show because Guy shows frequently how to grill chicken, steak and vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, his show does have variety, but overall it brings out the masculinity about food. I feel like it sends a unique message about gender roles by encouraging men to get into the kitchen and interact with their food and families.
Guy’s messages about consumption tend to be in quantity, but also in quality! Unlike what is being engrained in our younger generations today, quantity over quality. Fast Food Nation highlights how children are targeted with low quality foods because if they get them addicted, in a sense, early enough it will become engrained in their lifestyle well into their adult years. This also ties in with another post I made about our conceptualization of quality over quantity. Indulging in excess of food, low in quality is more of a want versus a need. Many of the places he visits serve large quantities of food. In the episode I included in my post, they have locally grown ingredients with family history behind them. The owner of Mulberry Italian Ristorante traveled to New York to learn Italian cuisine, but returned to his roots to make fresh, light, flavorful food. He makes hand stuffed peppers, homemade lasagna with all homemade ingredients. He makes his own pasta, sauce, meatballs and mozzarella from scratch! He changes the idea of consumption we have now back to old school cooking, where getting involved with you food is just as important as eating it. This ties into the video we watched in class about how large of a role food plays in a farmers life. It is more than just simply the act of farming; they are seeking to protect the “old” way of farming without added pesticides and harmful bacteria. Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, shows examples of home new and flashy aren’t always better. Getting back to our roots and the simplicity behind our actions can make all the difference.
(At the end of the video there is something unrelated to what I am addressing, it is no longer a Diners, Drive-in and Dive episode.) (Citation-YouTube)
