Having explored Ree Drummond’s blog, The Pioneer Woman, and found a certain charm in her writing and some appealing recipes, I approached her Food Network show with anticipation. I expected to see that same light humor and some genuine insight into simple, comforting cooking. Unfortunately, what I encountered was a significant disappointment. The spark that may exist in her written work is completely absent in her on-screen persona. Her presenting style, whether scripted or ad-libbed, is repetitive, patronizing, and utterly devoid of inspiration for anyone genuinely interested in learning to cook or expanding their culinary skills through a cooking show.
However, presentation is not everything, and cooking show formats are inherently stylized. The most concerning aspect of The Pioneer Woman is that the Food Network has given a platform to someone who appears to have minimal appreciation for food or skill in its preparation. While I appreciate the occasional shortcut in cooking – store-bought puff pastry and hummus are staples in my kitchen – this show seems to glorify the kind of rudimentary concoctions a child might assemble when left unsupervised, or that a student might throw together in their first, clueless weeks away from home before resorting to canned beans.
Take, for example, the infamous “dump cake” featured on the show. This recipe involves mixing cherry pie filling (an ingredient even shortcut-loving Nigella Lawson advises against using) with canned pineapple, topping it with dry cake mix, and then layering sliced butter on top. If Drummond aims to connect with viewers by showcasing “easy” recipes, her time would be far better spent demystifying cake mixes, explaining the basic components of flour and baking powder, and demonstrating how simple it is to make a cake mix from scratch. That would at least touch upon a genuine cooking-related topic.
Another memorable recipe featured on the show involves opening cans of “pork n beans,” placing them in a dish, and baking them with bacon on top. This is the kind of dish hastily assembled at 2 AM after a night out – student fare at its most uninspired and, frankly, unappetizing, even without considering the questionable quality of the ingredients. The prevailing cooking method throughout the show seems to be “dump, stir, and bake,” barely more complex whether preparing cakes or casseroles.
“Great!” some might exclaim, “We don’t have time for complicated cooking!” But here’s the critical point: consistently eating food prepared in this manner is likely to drastically reduce the amount of time you have in the long run. You might find yourself prematurely confined to a coffin, wondering why the culinary journey was so bland and unsatisfying.
Even Ina Garten, known for her approachable style, occasionally features episodes where she prepares one dish and provides guidance on purchasing high-quality ingredients for others. However, these instances are anomalies and serve as valuable lessons in flavor combination and ingredient selection. Ina experiments, emphasizes freshness and flavor, and advocates for buying the best ingredients within your budget. Her recipes are both comforting and refined. And while Ina also appreciates butter, she doesn’t saturate every dish in it, understanding that excessive butter can actually mask flavors. In contrast, The Pioneer Woman often presents a carousel of recipes heavily reliant on cheese, bacon, beans, and butter, frequently combined in unimaginative ways.
Undoubtedly, cheese, bacon, beans, and butter are delicious ingredients and can be used to create wonderful dishes in the hands of a skilled home cook or professional chef. However, a truly competent cook is defined by their willingness to venture beyond a limited repertoire of four core ingredients, especially those hosting shows on the Food Network.
I genuinely enjoy cooking shows and can watch almost any of them for inspiration and comfort. However, The Pioneer Woman marks the first time on the Food Network that I feel compelled to switch channels.
So, for toddlers and utterly inexperienced teenagers, this show might be for you. But for anyone with even a nascent interest in real cooking and flavor, it’s best to keep walking.
