Too Many Celebrity Chefs in the Kitchen

Does a culture obsessed with food celebrities help or hurt the goals of healthy and sustainable food advocates? On one hand, there are those like Jamie Oliver and First Lady Michelle Obama (admittedly not a food celebrity per se) who have brought a tremendous amount of attention to growing food and the importance of healthy, nutritious eating.

On the other hand, there is Katie Lee, who was profiled in the New York Times Magazine this weekend in a piece titled "How to Cook Up a Food Celebrity." Lee, the recent ex-wife of piano-man Billy Joel, has made a name for herself with a handful of cookbooks, a regular slot on The Early Show, and top prize at New York's Burger Bash.

Admittedly, I don't watch much food TV, but as I saw a video of Lee preparing her famous cheeseburger-meets-grilled-cheese-sandwich-with-extra-butter, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.

Michael Pollan has a rule — he has many rules — that you can eat as much junk food as you wish, as long as you prepare it yourself. In that case, cooking one of Katie Lee's heart attack-ack-ack specials would be better than getting an Arby's combo meal.

But it would be a much better thing if more of those celebrity chefs who command a near-religious following went out on a limb and said "Look, folks, we've got a problem in this country, and as a chef, I'm going to show you how you can help fix it, deliciously." As entertaining as Guy Fieri may be when he's devouring a bacon explosion, is that the message to send to millions of viewers? I'm not suggesting the Food Network re-brand itself as a puritanical just-eat-your-broccoli network, but how about if there was one (just one!) mainstream show about vegetarian cooking? Or why does it sound so absurd for a show to feature a celebri-chef traveling the country in search of delicious fruits and vegetables?

I think Jamie Oliver is doing a good job, and the attention he's getting is great. But as long as people are willing to wait for hours and pay hundreds of dollars just to watch an attractive woman slap together ground beef and a stick of butter, I fear that our obsession with food celebrities may actually be hurting efforts to fix the health of our bodies and planet. Jamie Oliver is evidence that things may be moving in the other direction. Let's hope so, because there's a real opportunity, and we sure need it.

Photo: karen horton