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Chef Mon Nov 19 2007
Paula Deen + Art Smith = Minimal Cooking
This past Saturday I went to see Paula Deen at the Chicago Theatre for what I thought would be a 2-hour cooking demonstration. I was wrong.
Despite an appearance from Art Smith—Oprah’s former personal chef and owner of Table Fifty-Two—Paula Deen Live felt more like a poorly executed comedy routine than a cooking demonstration. The cooking portion of the show lasted approximately 30 minutes, with all the cooking being done by an assistant. Paula’s contribution? Tasting a few recipes and insisting that they all needed more salt…and butter (of course).
However, the night was not drama-free. While Paula spent a few minutes thanking sponsor Smithfield Foods, a group of rowdy protesters sitting in the upper level shouted comments about unfair treatment of employees and unsafe working conditions. Paula shrugged off the comments and said that "she'd rather spend time chatting with her friends" than discuss the Smithfield Foods controversy.
And chat she certainly did.
