Foodies

Salon has an article on TV chefs that don't bite, namely, Food Network's Alton Brown and Christopher Kimball (who I've never seen).

Along the way, the writer makes a point that I thought was excellent: most cooking shows are fantasies. They aren't about teaching us how to make a veal liver souffle, they're about making us think we can. They make it look so easy (by skipping steps, using ingredients we'll never find, glossing over subtle techniques, etc), that you convince yourself, "Sure, I could do that, if I wanted to." It's the same as those carpentry shows or The Joy of Painting; sure, I could make that bookcase, and I could paint that picture! I saw how easy that was, no problem at all. Get me, I'm smart!

Well, I really can't build that bookcase, paint that picture or cook that souffle - even if I had the equipment. And it's not because I'm retarded, but rather that I don't have the techniques down to know what to do to correct things that don't go exactly the way the instructions say, and I don't have enough experience to even know when things need correction; and I'll never put in the time to learn. But I watch these shows and see that it looks so easy (it only took 10 minutes!), and then I pat myself on the back for being so clever.