What not many people are aware of is that the photo is actually from 2011 from a Halloween episode of Paula's Best Dishes on the Food Network.
There is a whole Facebook album with pictures from the filming of the episode in March 2011 on Paula Deen's Facebook page. The images include the one tweeted out today as well as a few I posted below.
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| Photo - Facebook |
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| Photo - Facebook |
The Facebook album has nobody claiming racism in 2011, the show airing didn't cause anybody to complain, and Eater did a story on the pictures in 2011 with no mentions of racism or anyone being offended.
With the racism scandal that brought Paula Deen's career down, you think they would be more careful of what is put out to the public. Have times changed that much from 2011 until now where there wasn't outrage before? Or has the racism scandal put everything Paula Deen does in the spotlight?
With Bobby Deen becoming more and more involved with shows on the Food Network, this is probably something the Food Network does not want to deal with right now.
Poor judgement on their part, But I'm half Cuban and half Armenian (I apologize for the Kardashians) and I don't see the issue. It's a parody and he's actually playing a character. SNL has done this for years. Anyone remember Damon Wayans' "White Chicks" or whatever it was called.
ReplyDeleteSome people just wake up every morning looking for something to offend them.
Of course they will be directed to their nearest re-education camp.
Oh, for crying out loud soon we won't be able to have any fun due to people being so uptight, and offended by crap.
ReplyDeleteAnybody remember when the Italian-American neighborhoods erupted in violence when Vin Diesel portrayed an Italian-American soldier in Saving Private Ryan?
ReplyDeleteYeah, neither do I.
Oh good Lord. It's called a costume. It's not offensive, it actually paying homage. Anyone that is offended by this is the one with the problem. Not the Deens.
ReplyDeleteAlex is divorced from the most recent or is it a husband past?
ReplyDeleteI've always heard it referred to as "Chinese 5 Spice". McCormick's version of it is: Anise, Cinnamon, Star Anise, Cloves, Ginger, and Sulfiting Agents.
ReplyDeleteI tried it once. I didn't see what the big deal about it was. I didn't like it.
I get your reasoning and you're probably right but I am hoping your wrong. ; ).
ReplyDeleteNo one knows for sure, but on two separate occasions she has mentioned being a single mom and said she cooks at home only for herself and her daughter.
ReplyDeleteCould be a separation or a divorce, but there's no definitive info available.
I'm hoping I'm wrong as well. I want Michelle gone.
ReplyDeleteHe looks more like Adam Sandler.
ReplyDeleteYou say: .."can't see her as a compelling final FN product".
ReplyDeleteOk. But..why not?
In saying that, I am not claiming she is the ultimate best or should be the winner. Thats still open and up for grabs. But she has gotten significantly better--and--even if we take strong front-runners, say, Jay & Eddie....didnt a pastry chef tell Jay he sounded like a used car salesman, and then there was the gumbo...and then with Eddie, he's been on the bottom 3 and I heard him do a presentation that, while clear, sounded kinda flat and unemotional/lacking enthusiasm. So, there's penty of criticism to go 'round.
Question: which two, would you say at this point (subject to revision later) *are* compelling, and what makes them that way? Thanks.
Specifics. (grin)...then I guess I'm probably an usual person in that way. I can ALWAYS, immediately, nearly effortlessly, describe exactly why, when and how I do or don't like/dislike people or things around me in everyday life. It's never "just a feeling i get" or if it is, I can describe it so as to paint a vivid picture. If someone rubs me the rub way, I can always say why. This takes no effort. I'm amazed that more folks cant just rattle that off instantly. But anyway...such is life.
ReplyDeleteYou did very well, above. You are clear on what goes into "it" for you: confidence, knowledge, personable-ness and the rest. Good. Thats all I wanted, something to go on.
I was intruiged by your "who has it and who doesn't" list, above. Aarti, is boring to me. Damaris, I would watch over Sunny Anderson. Michael Symon...hmmm...do you suppose a person can have too much of "it"? People SAY Guy Fieri has it, but he's so predictable and repetitious. that gets old, too. Have you ever noticed how his voice inflections are ssoooo close in their ups-and-downs, voice-pitch-wise to how Rachel Ray spoke on her 40 Dollars a Day? Amazing, Put them both on a voice-spectrun-analyzer-gizmo and I bet you'd get nearly the same up-n-down zig-zag "reading". This, too, is partly what I mean by "predictability". Watching DDD, the inflection has its own "brand". Like Rachels except with a guy's voice. Sita, we agree, was annoying. The way she talks reminds me of that Deagle guy who helps restaurants. Too intense.
Sometimes, but not always, when I listen to someone who many people think has "it"--I wish they would have a couple glasses of wine or just shut up. One persons "it" is another persons irritation or over-bearing-ness.
Here's another thing. For example: Dancing with the Stars. Announcer Tom Bergeron. Hosting. I think people could say he has "it". And yet, i find myself thinking: yeah, so what, big deal. He can stand there and talk. But what about skill? Why should I respect him (other than common courtesy)...for his public speaking ability? Despite "it"---what is he good at? Can I learn from him? If we say everything isnt a learning experience (and it isnt), what then? Is he funny? Not really. He just announces. So did Dick Clark on American Bandstand. It woukld seem a person could have "it" and have too much of it and/or still be fairly uninteresting. Compelling--is very good. But if we ask 20 peoploe in an audience, what one finds compelling, another doesn't. Here, I imagine JFK with a cooking show: "We choose to make Boysenberry Pies and Rissoto's (like going to the Moon) NOT because they are easy, but because they are hard!" (insert thunderous applause here).
You are right about not being able to get blood out of a turnip and we do the best with the group we've got. Speaking of that, while the network does what they want and is in business to make money and has more experience and knowledge than we do....all true. And yet, for all that, if you look at the last 5 or 6 years, they haven't done so well. Sandwiches, was a bad concept from the get-go. Aarti, bores me. Justin Warner was a disaster and can hardly fathom how he ever won. Then last year with Lenny. All that television experience and know-how hasnt served them so well. And if the group is poor, we can still say why dont they look harder or interview more people to find a better group to start a season with? Having the job, doesn't mean one is necessarily good at it. But what do I know, I'm not in TV...
Looking forward to another exciting adventure, Sunday.
PS...I know....I'm a horrible typist. Typos. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say? It keeps me humble. And gives me a goal to aim for.
There are too many people with nothing better to do than to get offended over everything. Get a life losers.
ReplyDeleteThere is a whole cadre of White-trained chefs who learned not only cooking, but also attitude from him.
ReplyDeleteIt also didn't help that he referred to a pot roast using the "c" word.
ReplyDelete"Pie Guy" was an original concept for NFNS.....where there isn't much new under the sun.
ReplyDeleteThat was foul.
ReplyDeleteI think that is actually very close to Christina's pov.."I like all kinds of cuisine, I like bold flavors".
ReplyDeleteYum, sulfiting agents. Alex should have listed that gem, he for sure would have rendered Bobby speechless.
ReplyDeleteThe more I think about this, it is somewhat offensive. Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) was light-skinned...a better parody would have been to give him a wavy wig. Think your first sentence says it all...they really are ignorant (especially Paula), and, although it's an overused expression, you really can't fix dumb.
ReplyDeleteKookoobirdz, hats off to you. I read all your back and forth and it was very interesting on both ends. I understand exactly what you are saying about the it factor. It's intangible but it exists. I think Bob and Suzie summed it up (I honestly don't remember which said it) "Some people get larger than life on camera while others get smaller". It has nothing to do with body size or the words they are saying. It's not based on humor or beauty or any of the other things we can critique. I use the term engaging since its the closest I can come to describe it and even that is not an adequate description.
ReplyDeleteThe other part is finding someone who's "style" appeals to more people. By style I mean their mannerisms, humor, speech patterns, looks etc. The things that say you,I and gravyman appreciate differently. The task is finding someone with "it" who is also broad spectrum appealing.
I say all this because I think that where the network drops the ball in picking hosts for the last few years is this.....I think Bob ans Suzie are the folks that can see the it factor. Not everyone can see it.( It's like the old stories in Hollywood where a studio head was in a diner and spotted a future star such as Marilyn Monroe and had her come for a screen test.) They see the big picture. Then they leave finding the people who will appeal to the masses to Bobby and Giada. That choice is subjective and the FN heads assume those 2 have their fingers on the pulse of America. I don't always think they make the best choices. I think they at times confuse a larger than life personally with someone who is larger than life on camera. It's 2 separate things....example: Lenny or the pie guy. I know a lot of folks don't like Bob and Suzie but I think they would have better results if they were more involved. I know that's not going to happen, they are busy and that's the reason they hire producers like Bobby and personalities like Giada.
And besides, it's "'splainin'," not "esplainin'."
ReplyDeleteThey made up. On Twitter there is a pic of the two of them standing side by side smiling together with Michelle saying (to the effect, that): things are not always how they look on the outside. There was likely more to the whole thing than what TV showed us. Also, a new commercial for this upcoming Sunday, *Appears* to show Emilia in a bad light. It will be very interesting to see if they just showed her a second after making negative comments, or, if this is another of Food Networks famous audience-fakeouts. It wouldn't be the first time.If something like that (with anyone) were to happen, it may buy Dom another week.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing, this last week, both Dom and Michelle continue to have fans rooting for them, even after this argument. I'll be watching to see if people cut the same slack to whoever acts up or has a hard time this next week. Or, maybe it'll be blatant and obvious. "Editing"? I'm curious to see what goes on next time.
Oh, Mo...how funny...I mean to comment on that, too! Par for the Deen family, though. On Rachael Ray's show, Paula said she couldn't "phantom" something...uh, that would be "fathom."
ReplyDelete(nods). Yep, and that never works when one is all-over-the-map like that. And now, I think she has changed her POV to an upping-the-veggies/meat-on-the-side concept. This years Nikki Dinki? Dont these people ever watch previous seasons to see what has worked, doesn't work, how many times its already been tried, and who loses from using those ideas?
ReplyDeleteIt's tempting, to say "Concept is everything". Well, not totally, but HUGE. You could be the greatest cook all day long, but if the IDEA for yer show is bad, its like shooting one's self dead-in-the-water. I never did think that Sandwiches was a good idea for a show at all. Still dont. If "anything can be a sandwich", then you or I can do it, too, and we don't need to be taught. Its almost demeaning. Just a bad idea. And then there was Aarti and her middle-east spices. Pffftt! I knew before her show even began that that would never last. And sure enough, it didn't. Only so much one can do with that. After 5 episodes: boring. And then Justin and his odd, far-out, extreme concoctions. Who is really gonna serve this stuff? Bad concept/idea. Same with the Pie-Guy, bad concept for show. One-trick pony.
That said, the Network, and viewers would be FAR better off right now, if Ippy would have won hi season (think of all the variety and new-ness) and if Nicole Gaffney had won (they can still use a seafood show now). It sure beats the losing concepts I mentioned, and meat-on-the-side, too.
I know we can also say that while an idea for a show can be good, the individual cook presenting that idea may not be the most charismatic. True, that can happen. Perhaps FN should decide what niche/concept/idea they want for next season, and then lace the group with 3 or 4 contenders that all do that POV in the hopes that one of them will also have "it". hehehe Why Not? The bad concepts and failed seasons/shows in the last several years speak all to clearly for themselves! People have dropped like flies. Where is Bob Toren? and Wayne? and Elderleigh? and Sugarcube? and Biil O.? and Monte? and Rosie? and whoever else? They have likely become disgusted with all the bad seasons.
Thankfully, I do like this year.
I would have sent Dom home (on the bottom 3 times), then Michelle, then Alex. Once we get to that point it'll be more of a close horse-race.
ReplyDeletePeople have gotten more aware in the past few years. The brownface is insensitive at best, and Ricky was never this dark but the Deens are perpetuating a stereotype instead of reflecting reality. Of course, he was Cuban but to the Deens, no doubt all Hispanics are the same. FN must be delighted though that the press emphasis is on "Paula Deen's son" instead of "FN host Bobby Deen". After all, he was a grown man when this aired but he's getting none of the heat. And it is so Deen family to fire the "social media manager" instead of taking ownership for doing the brownface in the first place. You'd have to be nuts to work for these people.
ReplyDeleteRight and if the pic did not still exist, it could not be posted.
ReplyDeleteWhat's next? Minstrel shows with burnt-cork makeup and big white lips?
ReplyDeleteYou've seen my act! lol
ReplyDeleteHow about not spending a day getting dressed up in brown face? Talk about a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteEddie and Jay are passable, but neither really are that interesting a the greatest chefs, just OK. I get sick of ex football players quick when they always talk about football. I have worked with a couple ex NFL players.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you.
ReplyDeleteHere's what Wiki says about Alex and her marriage so I'm thinking maybe they just separated and have never pursued divorce?: In 2007, she married Brandon Clark;[3] they have one daughter, Ava.[9] While there has been no subsequent public announcement that Guarnaschelli and Clark have separated or divorced, Guarnaschelli indicated that she is now a single parent in a February 2014 interview in New York Family magazine [10] -- a suggestion that she reinforced by stating in a June 2015 broadcast of Chopped that she now cooks for a two-person household consisting of herself and her daughter alone. [11]
ReplyDeleteI will take sandiches and make them into pies, and turn pies into sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteYou have a banjo?
ReplyDeleteWell, where do you think I got it from? Besides, I saw the Chopped episode where she said it was just her and her daughter. In fact, that statement is what sent me to Wiki.
ReplyDeleteSounds pretty judgemental on your part. I'm sure I could find some activity you have done and point to what a complete waste of time it was............
ReplyDeleteActually I do, but it's a 5 string. I need to get a tenor banjo to get the image right! But I can play them!
ReplyDeleteI had to look it up to see what it is:
ReplyDelete"sulfiting agents
[sul′fīting] food preservatives composed of potassium or sodium bisulfite or potassium metabisulfite. Sulfiting agents are used in the processing of beer, wine, baked goods, soup mixes, and some imported seafoods and by restaurants to impart a "fresh" appearance to salad fruits and vegetables."
Ok...something to preserve food is good, I guess. But then I read on:
"The chemicals can cause a severe allergic reaction in people who are hypersensitive to sulfites. The reactions are marked by flushing, faintness, hives, headache, GI distress, breathing difficulty, and, in extreme cases, loss of consciousness and death."
I've had a few of those symptoms after eating. We all probably have.
I guess the old saying about not wanting to know how the sausage is made is true. I think it's time to get a second job and start buying all organic and doing all my own cooking.
Definitely agree. I'm never impressed by any of these "I've-travelled-orlived-all-over-the-world" types. Almost as if they feel entitled or automatically better than the competition just because of travel. Ths is NO guarantee of superior flavors, or ones smootness on camera.
ReplyDeleteJay & Emilia-- I think like them both and see good ability/potential. And Eddie.
A new TV commercial for this coming Sunday LOOKS like Emilia is giving a bad impression. However--this would not be the first time that Food Network did one of their famous audience-fakeouts. No way to know yet if this is real or not. The judges make negative comments and then half a second later * show* Emilia. AS IF they are talking to/about her. But are they really? They've done stuff like that many times before.
Here's a theory. What if--- Michelle amped up the drama, or become even more offended by whatever in this next show and the judges were really talking about her instead of Emilia? But i admit, at this point, I dont know.
High-Five!! Gaawwwd, i LUV it!
ReplyDelete#TruthInHumor
Imagine if Ippy Aiona had won his season.
ReplyDeleteLadies would melt over his smile ( but he didn't use it often enough). His cooking was awesome. Hawaii offers a HUGE abundance of new things that are NOT being addressed on the network now--and-- while Nicole Gaffney didn't win last year, seafood/shellfish/CoastalCuisine is also a new Niche the network could fill.
Seems to me that in this endless quest to find larger-than-life enery and "Pop" they too often get next to nothing for it and--the network misses out on interesting POV's (and new things) that would attract NEW viewers, and that the audience would appreciate.
I'd rather have Ippy & Nicole...than Aarti, Justin or Lenny.
I'd swear I heard them say she has an attitude problem, and I'm willing to bet it's Michelle, not Emilia.
ReplyDeleteIt's very common on teasers for reality competitions to show the judges making a negative comment and then splicing in a totally out-of-context reaction shot from a different person.
Why did Dom state shell fish does not go with cheese. I am certain in Staten Island he serves Shrimp Parmigiana.
ReplyDelete