Kid Chefs. What do you think?

As many of you may have already noticed, there have been a few kid chef tv shows lately. I'm really curious as to how people see these children. Personally, I'm a little torn. I think it's wonderful to have kids cooking on TV, assuming its a show for kids. It's kind of like Sesame Street or any other show that shows kids doing something good. It gives the child audience something to potentially aspire to. BUT on the other hand, it would be horrible if children are being forced into the entertainment industry and are exploited in this matter. I also know there are people out there who are outraged and believe it is a mockery on the hospitality industry.

My coworker posted this link on our Korin Facebook and we got a negative feedback. We're a little unsure of what to do next:
Remmi Smith, a 11 year old chef who is on "Cook Time with Remmi" and the host of "The Culinary Kid" show. Read about her amazing story! http://bit.ly/LaNF1y

We got this comment from an angry chef: "this **** is killing our industry 11 yr old chef ? anyone can be a chef now the industry is being mocked.. this needs to stop. why would korin even support this you guys are ******* incredible, making a mockery ,your disrespecting the chefs that came before us who paved the way so we can make a living cooking."

I think Korin would encourage everyone who aspires to be in the food industry. It's a wonderful industry and there is no reason to discourage anyone from being in it. There is no doubt that its a make it or break it industry, but it's not like she's managing an entire restaurant either... It's like every other kids show. PLUS, learning how to cook at an early age is SO beneficial for a child's motor skills and is a great skill to have at any age.

What do you think? Maybe it's a touchy subject.

I am extremely negative about every all the "cute" commercials and shows with kids.

1. Find a popular format.
2. Put a child there.
3. AWWWW so coooot
4. ???????
5. Profit.



Also. That angry ass chef seems to be too full of himself. I don't find it a mockery, i more find it like.. exploiting the success of cooking-shows lately.
With a presumably cute kid.
For instant cash.

Should add that i haven't watched an episode (or heard about this before your post)
But i would probably just be annoyed by it. I seriously hate people thinking "act + kid = COOOTIE, is money tiemz naow."

So.. for me the turn-off isn't the cooking, it's the kid. God i look like a hateful cynic now.

But if, as you say, it's a show for kids. It's great that it's an inspiration.. even though this is a gruesome business that really takes it's toll on you.
But then, it's something you are, not something you do. You do it because of the love, not because of the rewards.




Edit: Might that angry ass chef be ChefGiovanni? The smurf with the biggest napoleon-complex i've ever sighted.
God that dude has something to prove.. even though he's worthless.

If this guy feels his job is threatened by a cooking 11 year old, his job needs to be threatened.

Candlejack said:

I am extremely negative about every all the "cute" commercials and shows with kids.

1. Find a popular format.
2. Put a child there.
3. AWWWW so coooot
4. ???????
5. Profit.



Also. That angry ass chef seems to be too full of himself. I don't find it a mockery, i more find it like.. exploiting the success of cooking-shows lately.
With a presumably cute kid.
For instant cash.

Should add that i haven't watched an episode (or heard about this before your post)
But i would probably just be annoyed by it. I seriously hate people thinking "act + kid = COOOTIE, is money tiemz naow."

So.. for me the turn-off isn't the cooking, it's the kid. God i look like a hateful cynic now.

But if, as you say, it's a show for kids. It's great that it's an inspiration.. even though this is a gruesome business that really takes it's toll on you.
But then, it's something you are, not something you do. You do it because of the love, not because of the rewards.




Edit: Might that angry ass chef be ChefGiovanni? The smurf with the biggest napoleon-complex i've ever sighted.
God that dude has something to prove.. even though he's worthless.

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Yea, I understand. I was a little torn for the same reason, except for me it's not the kid or the show I particularly find distasteful, its the exploitation. It's not the kid's fault, she just happened to like cooking and her parents decided to taste advantage of it for money. She's only 11, there is probably only so much she really understands. The entertainment industry can be pretty messed up, so I feel bad she has to be in it. :[

Nope, it was not Chef Giovanni. lol

Korin_Mari said:

Yea, I understand. I was a little torn for the same reason, except for me it's not the kid or the show I particularly find distasteful, its the exploitation. It's not the kid's fault, she just happened to like cooking and her parents decided to taste advantage of it for money. She's only 11, there is probably only so much she really understands. The entertainment industry can be pretty messed up, so I feel bad she has to be in it. :[

Nope, it was not Chef Giovanni. lol

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Yeah, everything plays it's part. Should clarify: It's not the kid i dislike, it's the use of it. (as i find no value whatsoever in the cuteness-factor, it just feels so fake and exploited.)

I abhor exploitation of kids and phony TV for money repulsive as well, but the guy who wrote to you desperately needs ego reduction surgery.... and a lesson in simple manners.

I don't know squat about this show, but I'm going to assume (and correct me if I'm wrong) that the point of the show isn't about converting legions of kids into aspiring chefs, but simply to get them into the kitchen at all! Given the number of my peers that can't even make mashed potatoes unless it comes in a box, I don't think a re-emphasis on cooking at home is a bad idea. It's a kind of crappy replacement for sitting in the kitchen watching your grandma make your favorite dishes, but there seem to be fewer and fewer of those grandmas these days...

As for the @sshole commenter, I guess I get where he's coming from, maybe. I figure he's just generally pissed about the new industry that exists around promoting the idea of being a pro-chef (Food Network, Mater Chef, etc.) and is disappointed that a company he thought was an 'ally' in these faux Cooking Wars ostensibly crossed over to the other side. That's my guess anyway. Nothing you can do about that one... I'd ignore him.

bikehunter said:

I abhor exploitation of kids and phony TV for money repulsive as well, but the guy who wrote to you desperately needs ego reduction surgery.... and a lesson in simple manners.

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Agreed.

By the way I love your signature quote "I believe it's a cook's moral obligation to add more butter given the chance.~~~Michael Ruhlman." LOL That is a fantastic obligation.
I think the quote I live by is "life is short, eat dessert first" by Jacques Torres.

I also don't know if it's exploitation, or rather, if the exploitation is anything worse than it was for, say, the mouseketeers when i was growing up. There is truth to the idea that kids like the novelty of seeing people on TV closer to their age. Whether allowing that inevitably exploits the person that gets put on TV... Not sure.

BurkeCutlery said:

If this guy feels his job is threatened by a cooking 11 year old, his job needs to be threatened.

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+1

I find that guys post hilarious really. It's a kids show for goodness sake. She's a child.... And its TV..... Lol.

It's almost as if you "liked" the series finale of General Hospital and a heart surgeon got all pissy at you for undermining the integrity of his career.

wenus2 said:

It's almost as if you "liked" the series finale of General Hospital and a heart surgeon got all pissy at you for undermining the integrity of his career.

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ROFL A very nice summation.

I'm in agreement with most of the sentiment here. I used to get pissed at Sandra Dee, who I never really considered a cook, my aunt reminded me its just TV and they aren't paid to cook, just to entertain.

Korin_Mari said:

By the way I love your signature quote "I believe it's a cook's moral obligation to add more butter given the chance.~~~Michael Ruhlman." LOL That is a fantastic obligation.
I think the quote I live by is "life is short, eat dessert first" by Jacques Torres.

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Absolutely. While watching Julia one day (I think on the series with Julia and Jacques, as it was relatively contemporary), she says, and I paraphrase...If you are one of those people these days who doesn't like to add a lot of butter, tho' if you don't, you'll be sorry....just add cream.

El Pescador said:

I'm in agreement with most of the sentiment here. I used to get pissed at Sandra Dee, who I never really considered a cook, my aunt reminded me its just TV and they aren't paid to cook, just to entertain.

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Yeah, but she was great in A Summer Place. (is my age showing?) ;-)

wenus2 said:

+1
It's almost as if you "liked" the series finale of General Hospital and a heart surgeon got all pissy at you for undermining the integrity of his career.

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ROFL You couldn't have phrased that any better.

Hmmm. I've never seen the show, but maybe I will record it and check it out. In general I don't like shows or food magazines that are too kid-focused on cooking. I subscribe to a couple of magazines, and though they are pretty good, they get a bit 'preachy' and rule oriented. Yes, it is good to enforce safe/clean rules when cooking, but once you combine a bunch of safety rules, with a big dose of "fighting childhood obesity" type of food fare, and the limited recipes made for youngsters, these things become a bit boring and repetitive. And most of this stuff is really for the parents and not the kids.

I actually like how Jamie Oliver incorporates some child-friendly cooking into his real magazine about cooking. He has a good balance I think.

In the end, kids are going to watch cooking shows that are entertaining, not watch shows just because a kid happens to be on it. If little Remmi inspires kids and is entertaining, then I don't have that much of a problem with it, but the second that a Little Remmi Cookware line comes out, then I would bet she is being exploited.

The last thing I would say is that if Little Remmi can somehow wrestle the concept of kids cooking away from the baking/cupcake crowd, I would fully support it. That cupcake and macaroon crap needs to die a quick death IMO.

k.

The angry chef needs to grow up, back in the day kids as young as eight started in the kitchen as part of the apprenticeship program, they practically lived in the restaurant and learned the craft from the bottom up. My chef and a few others that I worked with started out at 8 or 9 years old scraping butcher blocks and cleaning out the ash from the ovens and peeling vegetables. This kid I'm sure doesn't have to work brutal 16 hour days, 7 days a week for room and board. Times have changed. If you feel threatened by an 11 year old, you need to get out of the business. I don't agree with child exploitation, but we are making assumptions thyat are not based in fact. She may very well love doing what's she is doing and the difference is she can say no.

sachem allison said:

The angry chef needs to grow up, back in the day kids as young as eight started in the kitchen as part of the apprenticeship program, they practically lived in the restaurant and learned the craft from the bottom up. My chef and a few others that I worked with started out at 8 or 9 years old scraping butcher blocks and cleaning out the ash from the ovens and peeling vegetables. This kid I'm sure doesn't have to work brutal 16 hour days, 7 days a week for room and board. Times have changed. If you feel threatened by an 11 year old, you need to get out of the business. I don't agree with child exploitation, but we are making assumptions thyat are not based in fact. She may very well love doing what's she is doing and the difference is she can say no.

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I doubt anyone could have said it better. Hear hear. ;-)

I kinda agree with the mad chef. If it wasn't a kid's show and on let's say Ray Ray's show. I can see that being a huge problem. Many times I hear Chef thrown around to people that haven't deserved it. Which is the only problem I see with the surgeon. This can be seen as when someone writes about Rachel Ray and calls her chef. She is classified as a celebrity Chef. No were on her website and books (from what I have seen) does she have the prefix of chef. For some reason she pisses a lot of people off because she is famous. Don't get me wrong I kinda like her, haven't watched her show though.

As for being on a kids show, she can say, "I'm not a chef, but I play one on tv. Does that count??"

I am always puzzled by people who are against things that they have not actually seen.

"Chef" Giovanni and I have an ongoing "conversation" at youtube. If you don't know about him, here's a few pictures.

If she likes it and wasn't pressured into to it. More power to her and her supportive parents. Some of those little girl beauty pageants with the pressuring moms are what get me.

All I have to say is get used to it. The media drives this industry. And they are clueless.

Salty dog said:

All I have to say is get used to it. The media drives this industry. And they are clueless.

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Unfortunately, that's a pretty friggin' accurate analysis.

bprescot said:

I also don't know if it's exploitation, or rather, if the exploitation is anything worse than it was for, say, the mouseketeers when i was growing up. There is truth to the idea that kids like the novelty of seeing people on TV closer to their age. Whether allowing that inevitably exploits the person that gets put on TV... Not sure.

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nice fuzzy gray area you've got going there bprescot. imo, in this situation, exploitation starts when the child ceases to enjoy what he or she is doing and is forced to continue. Unfortunately, we don't see what goes on behind the cameras, but the kid in the show seems to be happy and genuinely interested

Out of everything that makes it onto television with regard to cooking, this guy loses it over "Cook Time with Remmi". That's fantastically absurd~

I really think teaching your children how to cook is a fundamental life lesson that will make them a well rounded adult and if a silly TV show can help,more power to it.

Should clarify that i don't mean that they exploit the kid as an individual.

They exploit the fact that they are kids, and kids are cute. Awwwwww..

I have my son in the kitchen with me pretty frequently. I have actually had him help me prep stuff for cooking. Aside from the media frenzy, and the exploitation aspect of it, i think we should encourage children to cook, maybe they will learn some real world skills...after all, there is only so many positions available for video game testers...

Candlejack said:

Should clarify that i don't mean that they exploit the kid as an individual.

They exploit the fact that they are kids, and kids are cute. Awwwwww..

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Ah. So you didn't mean "exploiting" as in exploiting the child for cheap labor, but exploiting the viewers' innate "oh so cute" reaction to children? If this show were aimed at grownups, sure, maybe the use of a child actor simply to illicit some positive reaction could be considered manipulative, I suppose, but I think this show is targeted at kids.