Japanese TV programmes tend to fall into two broad categories: 1. celebrities eating food and 2. everything else. Usually you can find, at any time of day, at least one celeb-food show on the air. The perplexing thing is that most of these programmes are not cookery shows in the Jamie Olliver sense of the word (ie, they don’t teach you anything about how to cook), rather they involve people standing around in an insanely-coloured studio stuffing their faces. Invariably, the food is declared to be “oishii” (delicious), and the celebrities spend the next ten minutes prattling on about the time their mum made the same thing, or when they went to Osaka and saw locals putting mayonnaise (shock horror!) on the food in question.
Admittedly, now and then some TV shows do actually have celebrities eating in proper restaurants, but I really don’t care to watch them noisily slurp an enormous bowl of greasy ramen in a random Yokohaman restaurant. “What am I getting out of this experience?” I say to myself. Apart from the knowledge that that particular celebrity likes eating katsudon, or whatever, and what the food looks like, it offers me nothing. I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a restaurant because I’ve seen so-and-so eating there on TV, in fact it works more as deterrent: the place would be so busy that I’d have to queue up for an hour just to get through the front door. If I’m going to eat out, I’ll either wander around and explore a few places by myself, or search online for a reasoned opinion that stretches to more than just “umai!”
Perhaps the one decent food programme I’ve seen while in Japan is, unsurprisingly, not Japanese. It’s called Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and you can watch it on the Discovery Channel. Bourdain is not only a trained chef; he is also a witty, down-to-earth host who travels the world in search of new experiences. The idea is that yes, food can be nice, but it can also be bloody awful. Food is used more as a means to exploring the people, places and culture of wildly different places, rather than an end in itself. And that’s the way food programmes on TV should be.
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Oishi desu ne. Sou desu ne, Oishiiiii!
Sometimes it’s enough to turn your stomach.
Then one time I went to a ramen ya one of those show was raving about and Yappari OISHIIIII.
Nice post!
Loco
Hahaha this is so true. The number of celeb-eating-food shows is kind of astounding. There’s also the 大食い brand of shows though which eventually turn whatever tiny chick who can eat 9 kg of ramen into an insta-celeb.
It sounds like I’m more entertained by this brand of show than you though — I think it’s because for me, the show has little to do with the food (other than reiterating that yeah, takoyaki IS delicious), and more to do with seeing these celebs I like hang out and talk and do silly things.
Also, our blogs have the same theme!!! Weird.
Mo:
Oh I forgot about those. There’s that gal-zone woman who can eat anything, isn’t there? I’m sure I once saw her eat an entire cow in one sitting. I hope she’s got an industrial-strength toilet to cope with the aftermath.
Andy:
Well, would you Adam ‘n’ Eve it, another Andy in the house? Cheers for the comment! I think I’ll pick up a copy of Kitchen Confidential: sounds like a cracking read.
Hey Andy,
I came here cos I found someone had clicked through to my site from yours and found some weird coincidences.
1. We’re both Andys in Japan. Dees.
2. I too think TV often a waste of time and haven’t had one for years.
3. I read Bourdain’s Hell’s Kitchen and liked it so I started watching No Reservations and I think it’s pretty awesome too. Food, it turns out, is a great way to experience cultures, relationships and mindsets.
I’m surprised the sardonic, laconic, cynical ex-junkie Bourdain got his own show to be honest, but I’m enjoying it, so no complaints (or reservations, phnar).
Anyway, thank you for the link and the nice blog. When I find the time I’ll knock up a “links” page and return the favour.
A