Today I’ve  got three bits of news that actually have little/nothing to do with the actual shows that they are related to. So if you don’t watch Survivor, Battlestar Galactica or How I Met Your Mother, don’t worry - you may proceed without hesitation.

First, Survivor, because something pretty neat just happened. Via FanCast, there was a live chat with the most recent booted contestant of Survivor: Martini’s (or whatever), Debbie, and guess who got her question put up FIRST?

That didn’t really answer my question - but still kinda neat, right?

Second up, BSG. Oh, not much to say here, except that I’ve been rewatching the entire series with my mother, we’re up to mid-season 3, and am very much enjoying reliving the experience while already having All The Answers. It’s like watching The Usual Suspects for the second time. The the absolute best part, however, is seeing how into it my mom is getting, which is extra exciting since she totally dislikes sci-fi (not counting Stargate, because that’s just a MacGuyver sequel for her).

Not only is it super-fun for me to figure out who her favorite (Adama, Chief, Helo) and most hated (Baltar, Baltar, Baltar) characters are, but also she’s gotten into the habit of talking to the TV which can be hilarious. Examples? Ok. “Don’t go over there, Chief, I think it’s Cylons”, “Baltar, you’re dreaming again!” and the most satisfying is that she repeats “So say we all” whenever it’s uttered. Awesome.

And now I shall provide you with a photograph of a Battlestar Galacticake that I found on Flickr:

Moving on to How I Met Your Mother. A few weeks back there was an episode in which Ted divulged his Murtaugh List. Every item on the list he had declared as now being “too old for this Sh!t”. Such examples given are Beer Bong and Crashing on a Friend’s Futon. To my very delight, the list has already started to penetrate the Public Vernacular.

In fact, my near and dear Angelina herself had recently added “Taking the (K)nigt bus from Takamatsu to Tokyo” on to her list. (I attempted to futilely add ‘Drink Jaigermiester’ to her list, but she would have none of it, apparently being in Japan gives her a 4 year reprieve so it’s on the back burner).  This obviously made me think about my own Murtaugh List, and things that I quite simply cannot, or should not do, at my age.

This is a work in progress, but brief summary of what I have, so far;

- Go camping without Air Mattresses

- Wear my hair in Pig Tails

- Put off seeing the Dentist (I’ve learned from Past Mistakes)

- Not drink Coffee

I don’t think there’s anything else, just yet, but I’m sure the list will grow. I”m super interested in other people’s Murtaugh Lists, so please share!

(PS: I’m still looking for members of Club ChantelleJoy, you can join by subscribing to my RSS feed. Membership is free, and apparently very exclusive!)

There was a three month portion of my life when my TV was permanently stuck on The Food Network, and one of the only decent reasons to get Digital Cable is for this channel (well, also IFC, but that’s a different topic). However, I wouldn’t ever consider myself a gastronomic enthusiast.

In fact, most of the shows that I watch have little to do with creating Haute Cuisine, and focus more on the entertainment and fun factor of preparing and enjoying food. Here is my rundown of the best Food TV Shows for the average Geek (in no particular order).

Good Eats

I thought I’d list this first as it’s the most obvious. It’s been running for nearly a decade so if you’re not familiar with Alton Brown and his Science! meets Food! format you’re definitely missing out.

Why it appeals to Geeks: It’s funny, informative and entertaining. Alton often uses Hacked kitchen gadgets, and despises ‘unitaskers’ (a device that can only be used for one thing). He focuses on simple ingredients and even simpler recipe’s, and often uses scientific equations to explain certain baking or cooking principles (while also using funny characters, skits and superheroes). Also what other food show has guest spots by a nutritional anthropologist?

Hell’s Kitchen

Ok, not strictly a food show, but from my estimates 98% of average geeks love Gordon Ramsay, and in particular, Hell’s Kitchen. This reality show offers a group aspiring cooks/chefs the chance to become the head chef at a Top Restaurant (Season 4’s winner got the privilege of being hired by Ramsay himself), and $250k.

Why it appeals to Geeks: I’m not 100% sure on this one, it just does. It also appeals to non-geeks but the majority of geeks I know love this show. It might be that it’s a Reality Show, it might be that it has a cool video-game spin-off, or it might be some other reason. If you’re a Geek and you love Hell’s Kitchen, definitely leave a comment, because I’d like to get to the bottom of this.

Iron Chef

The great Japanese Chef vs Chef cook-off. Part reality show, part cooking show, with an odd sport-like overtone this show has been popular ever since they started importing it over from Japan in the late 90’s.

Why it appeals to Geeks: Well, firstly, it’s hosted by aforementioned Alton Brown, King of Food Geeks. But even before they imported and adapted as Iron Chef: America, Geeks have been watching Iron Chef. I prefer the Japanese version, and still remember the whole Bobby Flay/Cutting Board controversy. However, Iron Chef: America has much of the same appeal as the original.  And who could forget that the short-lived precursor Iron Chef: USA featured William Shatner at The Chairman. Also, this TV show had it’s own spin-off Reality Series and Video Game.

Ace of Cakes

I’m going to use the quote from the opening credits here to describe this show “After pastry school, I decided to make cakes my way. So I set up shop and hired the most talented people I know, my friends. We do it all, make it bigger, make it better, make it awesome“.

Why it appeals to Geeks: Watching geeks make giant, awesome cakes. What’s more appealing than that? This is my #1 favorite Food TV Geek show - and it has as much to do with the people in the show as it does the cakes. Duff,  Mary-Alice, Geof et al are hip thirty-somethings with a passion for cakes. Some of the best Geek Cakes they’ve made:  Super Mario Bros, Hogwarts, Stargate, and Star Trek.  Oh yeah, and lots of Star Wars. Chef Duff and the team are cake geeks and lucky for us they film it and put it on the TV for our viewing pleasure.

Honourable Mention:
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

A bit of a long-shot for this list, I felt I should include it anyways. Guy Fieri hosts this road-trip style show featuring local American cuisine and fast-food.

Why it appeals to Geeks: Guy himself is not very geekish, but I think this show appeals to geeks who like watching people eat food bigger than their head. At least several times a show you’ll see Guy trying to take a bite out of something that’s either a) Ginormous b) Oozing with Cheese  or c) Deep Fried Questionmark?! Plus the locations he visits are often unique or interesting such as a Hot Dog Restaurant built out of an old Bus. Not quite as on-the-mark as the rest of this list, I though it deserved a spot, near the end.

Geek Food TV Fail

I wanted to mention a couple of food shows that are trying desparately to market to geeks, but I just don’t get it.

Food Detetives
Ted Allen of Queer Eye, and sometimes-judge of Iron Chef seeks to solve life’s Food Questions. Sort of like Mythbusters, for food - with a dash of Good Eats science. I just don’t’ get it. The most obvious of the obvious wanna-be-geek shows falls flat with bad humour and uninteresting topics.

Unwrapped
How it’s Made, for food. This show wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t almost always focus on candy. There’s only so many times you can watch an assembly line of jars getting filled with liquid before you just don’t care anymore. And as much as I love Chocolate Enrobers, I can’t stand Marc Summers and it’s irritating ‘Did you know?’s

So that’s my life of the best (and worst) Food shows for Geeks. If I’m obviously missing your most-favorite Geeky Food show, please let me know. Happy NOMNOMNOMing.