The question, Is there too much food television? has elicited some controversy

Over at EATER, they asked five chefs, “Is There Too Much Television?” In general, the answer was yes, even from those on television. Per Andrew Zimmern, “I will say that a lot of producers are making shows where people who have no understanding of food culture are talking about food in terms that misguide the public.” Christina Tosi at Momofuku Milk Bar also had an interesting answer, “If I had to answer, I’d say food TV portrays more of who we are as TV watchers and less of who we are as people in the food industry.”

And Graham Elliot brought up the Michael Symon tweet about Sandra Lee that has gone viral, to wit that, “just heard someone refer to Sandra Lee as ‘chef’…made me a little queasy…” We should note that Symon later clarified his point on Facebook saying, “dont take my comment about ppl being labeled chefs the wrong way..its not snobby..its 30 years of burns, cuts, 100 hr weeks, missed family gatherings..etc…one of my biggest pet peeves..& imho a tremendous insult to those who have come before & after me that have busted their asses in kitchens to earn the title…i put in & take out my own stitches but nobody calls me a doctor..i wasn’t attacking sandra..i was attacking the throwing around of the title ‘chef’.”

Should you agree that there’s room for alternative entertainment, we thought we might point you in the direction of the TED videos. For those of you not familiar with TED,  (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design), it’s a non-profit organization that holds conferences, talks, and produces videos of some very interesting people talking about some very interesting things. The presenters do have to be invited, and the talks have to be under 18 minutes. These talks are presented on TED’s website and on an iPad app as well. Here’s an interesting collection on food that includes Jamie Oliver, Nathan Myhrvold, Peter Reinhart, Malcolm Gladwell, and Michael Pollan. Check them out — these videos define the concept, “food for thought.”