Cheating in plain sight? Hiding a broken marriage?
This is just a sample of the times the Food Network left a bad taste in viewers' mouths.
Sandra Lee is, to some minds, the discount version of Paula Deen and Rachael Ray: a TV chef who
brings all of the comfort food with more canned goods. She constructs her easy recipes using her
70/30 rule — namely, easy meals that consist of 70 percent canned fare and 30 percent fresh
food. While some may raise an eyebrow at that ratio, Lee's cooking show, "Semi-Homemade
Cooking," came under more serious criticism when she decided to make a Kwanzaa-themed cake.
Anthony Bourdain himself called Lee's creation no less than "a war crime on television."
True to her show's concept, Lee's dessert consisted of a grocery store angel food
cake covered in store-bought icing and topped with corn nuts and pumpkin seeds.
It was also filled with apple pie filling.
According to Salon, a food stylist and recipe writer on the show apologized,
saying they were pressured by Lee into creating the cake. Jessica Harris,
a professor and author who studies foods of the African diaspora,
said the cake wasn't exactly problematic, though it was culturally irrelevant and
horrifying-looking. Nothing about the cake really said "Kwanzaa," besides the candles.
Ree Drummond may not be one of the most modern homemakers around, but she is definitely one
of the most influential. The Pioneer Woman has taken her traditional roles as a wife,
mother, and homemaker and monetized them into a brand that's downright ubiquitous. Her fans
already know that she is an accidental country girl who moved to rural Oklahoma
with her rancher husband, Ladd Drummond. What began as a small food and lifestyle
blog after the move has turned into a powerful brand with considerable income.
However, not all viewers idolize her more-traditional lifestyle. While
discussing an essay about Drummond's brand, Psychology Today notes,
"​​Austin-based writer Melanie Haupt [...] sees The Pioneer Woman as a modern-day Betty Crocker,
someone who turned herself into a living trademark to sell a product."
In the essay, Haupt states that Drummond, quote, "offers up domesticity as escapist entertainment."
She further claims that to achieve this, the TV personality indulges in outdated nostalgic
narratives of docile women and espouses narrow views of masculinity and femininity.
Haupt also targeted the "worshipful" portrayal of Drummond's husband,
arguing that it paints domesticity in an overly romantic and unrealistic way.
"Chopped" chefs are often given completely unrelated ingredients and told to whip up
a masterpiece, which makes even a poorly executed effort still worthy of some praise.
However, the celebrity edition of "Chopped" is arguably the most entertaining version of all,
as fans get to see a variety of stars show off hidden cooking skills — or flounder trying.
One of the biggest Food Network cheating scandals happened on "Chopped," and it
involved rapper Coolio, who is best known for his hit song, "Gangster's Paradise."
In his Season 19 appearance on the show, he was going head-to-head with magician Penn Jillette,
singer Carnie Wilson, and actor Lou Diamond Phillips. As Coolio was trying to put the
finishing touches on his version of a beef and broccoli dish, the clock ran out of time.
The rapper then not-so-stealthily took a lemon wedge off of Wilson's plate, placed it under
his armpit, and juiced it onto his plate as the other contestants watched in disbelief.
Fans on Reddit were steaming, especially because the celebrities were playing to benefit
charities. To be fair, Coolio was eliminated after the debacle not only because he cheated,
but because his dish failed to impress the judges.
Perhaps we should all try to live by Coolio's final words before he departed the show:
"Cheaters never prosper."
Food Network has been criticized for its lack of diversity before,
but now "Chopped" is on the chopping block, too. It may have a selection of female judges
like Alex Guarnaschelli [gwahr-nuh-SHEH-lee], Maneet Chauhan [muh-NEET choh-HAHN], and Amanda
Freitag [FRY-tag], but fans are not always pleased by the portrayal of women on the show.
A contributor writing for Medium analyzed 278 episodes of "Chopped" to see how well
the show represented female chefs. Of the episodes surveyed, approximately 37% of
"Chopped" competitors were women. Around 33% of the winners were women. Of 22 seasons,
only four had a higher percentage of female winners. Intriguingly,
the study also discovered that, when there were at least two female judges on the panel,
female contestants won less often than if there were a majority of male judges.
The Student Life argues that shows like "Chopped" are catered to male viewers
with its aggressive energy, while, quote, "domesticated" cooking shows like "Barefoot
Contessa" are catered to more female-centric audiences. Whether consciously or not,
the target audience may push "Chopped" to cast more male contestants while
also portraying its female contestants as "underdogs" for the sake of fake diversity.
"I'm feeling an incredible amount of pressure because I'm the youngest person here. It's very
intimidating but I'm gonna try the best I can."
There wasn't anything quite like "Down Home with the Neelys." On air, the title couple,
Pat and Gina Neely seemed almost perfect as they peacefully cooked together in their beautiful
home. For many, it was no less than a picturesque image of the American dream. However, that dream
shattered when the Nellys announced that they were divorcing after 20 years of marriage.
After the couple split, their once-secret marriage troubles
began to see the light. Gina Neely told People,
"I never wanted to be a TV chef."
"You've been married to me way too long."
"I've been married to her way too long, y'all."
She also revealed that she was planning on divorcing her husband prior to the
show's 2008 debut. But once it started, she felt conflicted. She wanted to keep her commitment to
Food Network and her husband but also wished to leave because her children disliked the
attention brought on them by the show. Gina and Pat essentially became little more than business
partners playing husband and wife. Yet, she told People that when she announced her divorce, fans
initially were mad because their idyllic image of love and family was broken because of her.
For his part, Pat Neely told People that he was concerned he let fans down because
their love had become so central to their Food Network fame. Despite everything,
the two have moved on amicably, even after the divorce forced the show to end. Pat has since
remarried and had two more children, while Gina went on to star in Bravo's "To Rome with Love."