by James Graham

Created on: January 19, 2009   Last Updated: December 04, 2011

The French Chef was born in Pasadena. That's the first indication that the culture of the "celebrity chef" focuses much more on the former than the latter. Which is not to say that TV's beloved Julia Child didn't have a culinary pedigree; it's just that her knowledge of French cuisine was a by-product of a wartime romance and not a childhood roaming a family cafe in Alsace. Julia, memorably lampooned by Dan Ackroyd on Saturday Night Live, was a closer neighbor to Norman Lear than Normandy.

Though she was a pioneer of sorts, Julia Child's pleasant, matronly approach would be drowned out by today's glut of catch phrase spewing, gimmick riding chef as-rock star electronic Escoffiers.

Though Mrs. Child and veteran celeb chef Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet) have been around for decades, it seems that lately, with the suddenness of Emeril's "Bam!" a slew of new darlings of the dining set is making the rounds.

The Godfather of the new breed of celeb chef is the legendary Wolfgang Puck. His rise to fame makes sense. Movie and TV stars flocked to his LA restaurants , Ma Maison and Spago, in the 80's and their fame wafted like a kitchen aroma on to the Austrian born chef/entrepreneur. He parlayed his popularity with the Hollywood set not just into the de rigeur talk show appearances, but into cameos on the Emmy winning Frasier and a recurring gig on NBC's Las Vegas. One wonders if he knew he had opened the pantry door for dozens more to follow.

While some of Puck's minions - Bobby Flay, Anthony Bourdain - have impeccable culinary credentials to go with their bombast, gimmickry and fame, others, most notably Rachael Ray, owe it all to down home dimples and a leg up from Oprah. To Ray's credit, she makes it clear that she's a cook, not a chef, the rough equivalent of having a model rocket or being a NASA engineer.

But America downloads her recipes, buys her books and watches her show. In the end, it's not whether you can teach the home audience to properly filet a Dover sole or what type of risotto to serve with the sweetbreads, which have nothing to do with bread. It's about entertainment value. We watch Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef, because he can tell Letterman a good anecdote, not because we're gonna commit his preparation to memory and serve the dish at our next dinner party. The celebrity chefs, like rock n roll are here to stay; they have their own network for the love of gourd, they aren't going anywhere.Even if all we learn from them is that preparing food can be fun. And lest you be disappointed, The Naked Chef appears fully clothed..

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