A pox on both of them: the-overly-impressed-with-himself Bourdain and the gratingly-false-down-homey Dean. Could we go back to actual cooking shows and ditch the "food reality shows" and celebrity food travel shows?

I'd rather watch reruns of the wonderful Julia Child or early Alton Brown.

JMHO, but I agree with this. Folks who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones:

http://leshalles.net/brasserie/menus-wines

Let me get this straight...a man who, on his show, gorges himself on local cuisine, drinks like a fish, and chain smokes is lecturing someone else for being less than healthy on her show? Pot, kettle, and all that...

The truth is, there's a McDonald's on every corner and whether you choose to eat there once a year, 15 times a week, or never is completely your choice and McDonald's shouldn't be held accountable for your health problems. It's no secret that their food is crap and it's your choice if you want to eat it so much of it that it makes you sick. Same with Paula's recipes. Anyone can choose how many of her meals to cook and how often. Cooking Southern food is her thing and if someone is stupid enough to not realize constantly eating foods laden with fat and sugar could cause diabetes then it's no one's fault but theirs.

And are we supposed to believe that Mr. Bourdain has never had butter or sugar in any of his kitchens? I like his show (and his caustic wit) but these comments about Paula (and other chefs) make him seem like a bitter old man. At least Paula seems happy.

You guys do know that it's all for show, right?

^ This.

I love his show, but seriously, he's always half in the bag. I believe he quit smoking after his daughter was born, but we have years of episodes with him with a drink in one hand, smoke in the other, and admissions that he spent a good chunk of his life with powder up his nose. And some of the stuff he eats isn't so healthy either. I distinctly remember him on a Prague episode, staggering out of some bar to eat what was basically a thick slab of melted cheese on bread with a huge glob of mayo.

That being said, I too think that the whole hiding your diabetes til you got an endorsement deal situation is skeevy.

But Paula has always claimed that her fat laden recipes were for special occasions and not for everyday consumption. I've made her recipes before, and will do so again. They're indulgences. It's not Paula's problem if people can't figure that out on their own.

(bolding for emphasis added)

I suspect that this will be sooner, rather than later

It's all entertainment and PR for show renewal = $$$$.

Food network is now all about food related entertainment.

How about Andrew Zimmer for pushing more bugs?

True. It reminds me of when MTV forgot they were a music channel and became all reality TV. Now it's all about cooking competition shows on FN. Thankfully they've moved the bulk of their actual cooking shows to The Cooking Channel.

Anthony Bourdain seems to have a particular disdain for cooks that pretend to be chefs, use box mixes and have a gratingly fake TV-persona. First Sandra Lee, then Rachel Ray and now Paula Deen - see a pattern here?

Yup, separate the education from entertainment.

What were you expecting from a CIA grad's attitude towards cooks without formal training.

Rachael has gone out of her way to make sure people know she's not a chef. I've heard her say it at least 10 times, including when she competed on Iron Chef. She mostly cooks from scratch except when the confines of her show (30 Minute Meals) makes it impossible to do so. I'm someone who relishes spending all day cooking and am not looking for short cuts but for the busy mom of three her recipes have proved invaluable to get fresh, healthy meals on the table quickly.

Paula has never claimed to be a chef. She's just a Southern cook. She may be annoying but her TV personality isn't fake. Cameron Crowe put her in one of his movies as a motherly Southern cook type because she was basically playing herself.

I have nothing good to say about Sandra except that of course she uses box mixes being that her show's called "Semi-Homemade". Believe it or not, there is a niche for her kind of cooking otherwise she would have been pulled ages ago.

But, you're right, I suspect that Bourdain is critical of these people more because their personalities annoy him than anything else.

Looks like there is more bad news for Paula, it looks like her publicist quit back in December because she didn't agree with the diabetes deal and how Paula intended to roll it out. I have wondered about this disaster of an announcement on why her team with three years to deal with it didn't do a better job. I guess it is further complicated by the information now that she possibly has high blood pressure, no big surprise there. I guess her $6 million for promoting Victoza will console her while the worm turns.

I miss Emeril Legarce "kicking it up a notch" but two of his favorite ingredients were - butter and pork fat. Not healthy, but darn good tasting.

Following Bourdain for many years now, and reading some of his earlier books when they first came out, I agree 100% with your comment. Now, for my own rant:

Bourdain came from a time when food network(s) (NOTE: Bourdain is on the Travel Channel now, hence the pluralism) barely existed in any capacity and you had to work your butt off to become a good cook, which over time would lead into you becoming a chef (a cook can be taught, a chef is/was earned). However now, the term 'chef' is thrown around so loosely that I could see how someone who had to work so hard to earn his keep is upset with how polluted this once-revered industry has become. Rachel Ray may not think of herself as a chef, but a large percentage of a certain demographic would, and I could see how Bourdain gets quite a bit of exposure to this same demographic. However, if you want to use the successful restaurant to continue to open more and catapult your career, don't be upset when your type of diner begins to change. Especially in NYC.