My wife and I were just watching a newish show, on Cooking Channel, called “How to Live to 100.” It was rather entertaining, and reminiscent in attitude and character of “Good Eats” with Alton Brown on Food Network. The camera angles, quirky supporting guest characters, and a hint of scientific explanation are the similarities to which I speak.
“Never trust a skinny chef…”? Well, this is one tone chef I would trust. The first and only item, we watched him make, looked absolutely amazing! Tattoos, fit physique, and touch fabulous; Jason Wrobel captivates you from the first moment on screen.
The episode opened with an entertaining venture where Jason searches for information on an ingredient that will help strengthen bones. He arrives to a trusted wise man, who turns out to be a white dude with a stereotypical chinese oracle demeanor, but with an oddity to him. Following the presentation of his key ingredient, the cooking portion starts. Throughout the show, there were segway skits to further explain the values of the key ingredient, and entertain the audience. From the in-oven camera shot, the skits, the characters, the science, the action, to the camera angles, this had a very close parity to a more modern variation of Alton’s performance.
While I really liked the show, I still much prefer Alton’s heavier science aspect and natural madness. Jason’s outlandish flair teeters on forced and natural, but is entertaining all the same! To be fair, I suppose it will take a few more episodes to determine a true opinion on the comparison. Still my first impression was a very close network alternative to the Alton Brown productions.
Time will tell.