Smart Money: 10 Things Celebrity Chefs Won't Tell You

By JULIETTE ROSSANT The latest 10 Things column in Smart Money magazine is entitled: 10 Things Celebrity Chefs Won't Tell You. Here is a snap shot of the list: 1. "I'm a celebrity first and a chef second." 2. "There's absolutely no reason to buy my cookbook." 3. "Just because I have a cooking show doesn't mean I'm a chef." 4. "Sex sells, even with foodies." 5. "I'm addicted to porn — food porn, that is." 6. "The dishes I make on TV don't always work so great at home..." 7. "...and sometimes they're just plain gross." 8. "It might be my restaurant, but that doesn't mean I cook there." 9. "My show is one long commercial for my cookbooks." 10. "Bottom line: My celebrity status is great for business." The article goes on to expand on each of these statements, but if you've been reading Super Chef the list will be nothing new. The Food Network has moved away from professional chefs to entertainers who sell sex as much as dinner. You won't find celebrity chefs cooking at their restaurants, and many recipes from TV celebrity chefs don't work or are not as well written as their non-TV counterparts. It is true that there are more and more celebrity chefs and that the hospitality industry has grown greatly in the past decade. Here are two of the statistics the article sites: The National Restaurant Association projects that restaurant sales will reach $558 billion in 2008, a 47% increase over 2000, and the Food Network, the culinary world's premier stage, has seen its subscribers more than double in that time. The article doesn't mention the growth of other networks' food programming (Bravo, Discovery, and even PBS) or non-food celebrity chef activities (like acting, product endorsement and product lines, and speaking engagements), which bring in plenty of bucks. Keep reading Super Chef for in depth analysis. Previous articles: [Food Television - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to Super Chef