(Not shown Guy Fieri riding Paul Prudhomme as a bouncy ball)

Between the Simpsons and Ted Allens recent video mocking “Pretensions Foodie Bullshit” it is becoming clear that foodies may have crossed the line into obnoxiousland.

The very term has been debated and discussed buy such luminaries as Chris Onstad and Mark Bittman. (OK maybe calling Onstad a luminary is stretching it but Achewood is awesome)

For some,  foodie is definitively an amateur status, someone who not only likes to eat food, but desires to know more about the food they are eating and preparing.  As with any hobby, when someone gets to a certain depth of knowledge they can come across as a know-it-all jerk who sounds like they are talking down to you about their topic of choice. Though with more of a niche hobby you may not have as much opportunity to talk about it. I mean seriously how many casual conversations can you shoehorn your in-depth knowledge of insect reproduction into? Everybody eats though, so any time there is food in front of you, it can seem like an invitation to discuss your knowledge of that food. I find myself, (Hi I’m Mark and I’m a Foodie) thinking through my words before I comment on food to be sure I don’t come off like said know-it-all jerk. Sometimes it’s hard, especially when you have some pretty passionate ideas.

For others, foodie is a general term used to describe anyone, who is not a Chef, that has something to say about food. As Mark Bittman says, people with a demonstrated knowledge of food that were not chefs were referred to as gourmands or more simply food critics, but have now been lumped into the big foodie bucket. As a result professional food writers can be easily dismissed as “just another foodie.”

Particularly in today’s climate where food and politics are so closely intertwined it would be a disservice to all involved to disregard the writings of someone like Michael Pollan or Marion Nestle because of their perceived foodie status.

Not to say that Pollan and Nestle are necessarily correct but you can’t have an intelligent debate without both sides being well represented.

On the opposite side of the fence you have writers like B.R Meyers who have begun a Moral Crusade Against Foodies. Articles like this shine a spotlight on the complicated issues than surround food and the  culture of worship that has grown around it.

Food, like any seemingly simple topic that has experts involved, has become a difficult conversation to have in some circumstances. Who would have thought that in addition to religion and politics we might have to exclude food from polite dinner conversation.

Me I’ll take my dinner conversation with some locally raised, slowly braised pork belly with some roasted root vegetable puree.

Update: Thanks to a couple commenters who alerted me to this site: http://tomhaverfoods.com/

I got a tip from a friend of mine who works with the National Geographic Channel about a couple of their upcoming shows that go behind-the-scenes at beverage factories – Jack Daniels and Coca-Cola.  Based on a recent post where I talked about Oprah (partially) pulling back the curtains of a Cargill slaughterhouse, this is right up my alley.  I love to see how efficient these companies are at making the world a fatter and more boozed-up place.

A few eyebrow-raising points found in the above video about Coke:

• 800 million servings per day are consumer around the world
• 99% of the planet could go pick one up if they wanted to
• While the world drinks Coke sweetened by sugar, the U.S. gets HFCS – due to corn subsidies
• 4.5 million servings a day are produced by one factory in Baton Rouge
• Coke is 90% water, and 10% pure evil (the second part is implied)

These shows start coming on the tube in a week – JD on 3/10 and Coke on 3/17.  Details here.

Full disclosure: my friend sent me an airplane bottle of Jack, a 7.5 oz can of coke, and details about the show to fill me in.  Unfortunately, they will suffer the same fate as the ground beef sent from Cargill.

I have never been a watcher of Oprah’s TV show, but I have always been impressed by how much she can push the needle one way or the other.  Therefore, when I heard that her program recently showed the inner workings of a Cargill slaughterhouse, it caught my attention.  I knew her name was big enough that even the meat giant couldn’t push her aside.  The footage, featuring reporter Lisa Ling, shows a cow’s progress from a feedlot to its last stop.  Some of the footage is pretty shocking, especially considering they don’t show the killing process (a four-inch bolt shot into the animal’s head).  Watch the video here.

A few thoughts:

• The heifers gain 3 pounds a day over 200 days in the fattening process – loading up on bio-engineered corn, or “energy,” as the rancher notes. 
• 4,500 head of cattle are “harvested” each day at this one plant.  That’s over 3 per minute for a full 24 hours at this one site.
• How can Cargill really say with a straight face that these cows are being killed with dignity?  Anything involving a conveyor belt kind of makes that point less credible.
• The assembly line culture is pretty astonishing – those cows are sliced and diced in a flash.  No wonder local farmers can’t compete with this machine.

Now I am pretty biased against Cargill due to what I have read as well as seen in movie like Food, Inc.  And of course, this was very much a PR effort by Cargill, so who’s to say what happens when the cameras are not around.  I remain very wary of what they are doing behind the scenes – to the meat and their competition.

What are your thoughts?  Did you know where your ground beef comes from?  Has your opinion of eating beef been affected at all?  Talk to me, readers.

H/t to GOOD for the top picture.

I read on Pop Candy this morning that the Travel Channel will be premiering a show on February 2nd called Deep Fried.  As if this country needed to think about food that will get them even fatter, the show will focus on Chicken Charlie, a man from southern California that has developed quite a following over the last 25 years, mainly on the county fair circuit, due to his fried concoctions.  Per the LA Times:

“They call him Chicken Charlie, and at his eponymous stand he has offered deep-fried pickles, olives, s’mores, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Twinkies, cheesecake, cupcakes, frog legs, White Castle cheeseburgers and more. Name it, and Chicken Charlie has probably battered and fried it.”

Further, Charlie is the founder of the deep fried Oreo and has now really hit the big time with a cable show.  As we all know, America has an unlimited appetite for gluttonous dishes, and this show sounds like a super-sized version. 

Will this show appeal to you?  What would you like to see Chicken Charlie deep fry? 

Check out the show trailer here and let me know what you think.

H/t to USC’s Neon Tommy for the photo.

Sounds pretty yummy huh? Well this guy thought so too. Which is why he put together a YouTube video of the dish. Ignore the terrible jokes about women’s sized clothes, T2 and Kid ‘n Play.

Despite a number of recommendations, I have never watched a single episode of Sons of Anarchy on FX. That said, according to Brand Channel, the cable show has found a clever way to highlight products in their shows, particularly in the case of Jameson Irish Whiskey. As you can see in the photo above, taken from the final episode of season 3, the spirit is contained in a juice box. This is interesting, especially when this product does not exist, nor are there plans for its creation. My question is… Why not???

First of all, the juice box is essentially a perfect flask-size disposable container, to take with you wherever you might need a little hit of the brown water. Football games? Dry weddings? Going home for the holidays? Please pass the juice box.  And naturally this could work for any booze – Jameson just seems to be out in front on this one. Take that Bacardi!

Also think of the nostalgic love that everyone has for the juice box.  Are you telling me that you wouldn’t get a kick out of tearing off the back straw, stabbing the tiny foil-covered hole on the top and taking it down? (Just don’t break the straw for the love of all that is holy!) And what about the awesomeness of the post-juice box inflation and stomp?  Radical.

This idea has no downside, except for the minor part about looking like a product for kids. Well, that has never stopped marketers before, so get ready for the booze box revolution!

*Also known as the “mixer” juice box

H/t to Deadspin for the initial word on this story.

Ah, to pee on Marcel.

Anyways, according to sources, Marcel will be hosting a cooking show on Syfy Network (formally the Sci Fi network) as part of their new slate of reality TV-themed shows. For enthusiasts of freeze-drying jello in the shape of a steak and potatoes main course, this show is for you.

Utilizing the science of cooking, Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen stars one of America’s most notorious chefs, molecular gastronomist Marcel Vigneron (Top Chef). In each episode, Marcel and his new catering and event company will be hired by a demanding client to produce an extraordinary celebration or event.

Sounds scientifically scintillating!

In terms of science foods, I’m pretty sure they landed a decent host. Marcel had a firm grasp of gastro-frying and being a Top Chef alum brings along name and brand value. He is, however, notorious for being a giant child and having a face that screams, “Pistol whip me!”

Nothing says Syfy cooking like a Cris Angel pose on the red carpet.  Good luck Marcel and good luck Syfy Network.

Youngish Upstart Paul with his Iron Boot Smoker

What’s interesting is how I found it. I opened up my fantasy sports page and was met with with these GIANT banner adds on the left and right side of my screen. On the left is Lee Ann, and on the right we meet Myron, who is covered in BBQ sauce and apparently wiping more sauce all over his silken snow white beard. It is truly a graphic shot. Lee Ann is carrying an axe and wearing a bowling shirt. I would be terrified to meet either of them in a darkened alley, which is apparently TLC’s aim with this show.

If you watch the video, you’ll meet the contestants. I call them contestants because they’re playing for money and prestige, baby. Competitor Tuffy tells us why he’s not afraid of his fellow Pitmasters.

I’ve been cussed out by French chefs. Think I’m afraid of a bunch of yokels standing around the hibachi?

This is classic on two levels. He makes fun of hicks (a seemingly decent portion of his audience) and champions (sort of) the French (alienating another key portion of his audience).  Is Tuffy trying too hard to be the reality TV villain here?

I’m not against good barbeque being highlighted by a television show, I’m just sick of television’s “Tough Guy Reality Show” presentations.  The tattoo shows are enough, thanks.  Now you have to name a show “Pawn Stars” and advertise it like they’re a biker gang?  Wasn’t there already a reality show about bike workshops?  What?!   There have already been three of those?!

I look forward to one year later, when Food Network has a show called “Smoked” hosted by Guy Fieri, and Bravo has a show called “Sauce Kingdom” hosted by George Foreman and some model lady, both featuring BBQ competitions.  Watching this stuff would be murder.  I enjoy eating barbeque.  I respect the process as well.  Do I need to watch an aggro-fest reality show where people cook for money to get my fill of barbeque?  No.

I have a short message for reality television: Nobody likes you.  Go eat worms.

Big kudos go out to Capital Spice, who correctly guessed in January that Folkman was slated to be a competitor in the upcoming Next Food Network Star season.

Folkman has already achieved a small degree of fame on The Food Network, after he was challenged to a Mussels competition last summer for Throwdown with Bobby Flay.   Washingtonian interviewed Folkman about the competition and how he used his moules fromage bleu to defeat Flay. (Also check out video of Folkman walking you through his winning recipe).

The other 9  finalists include: Brett August (Washington Heights, N.Y.), Katie Cavuto (Philadelphia, Pa.), Melissa d’Arabian (Keller, Texas),  Eddie Gilbert (Manhattan Beach, Calif.), Jen Isham (Orlando, Fla.), Debbie Lee (West Hollywood, Calif.), Jamika Pessoa (Atlanta, Ga.), Michael Proietti (New York, N.Y.) and Jeffrey Saad (Los Angeles, Calif.).