Thursday Morn-I envy TV Chefs

I LOVE to cook (as if THAT'S not obvious!) and I really like the cooking shows on TV. But just ONCE I'd like to see an entire episode dealing with all of the off-camera people that HAVE TO CLEAN UP ALL THOSE PANS, BOWLS AND CUTTING BOARDS between 'takes'. It must be nice to be a chef in a restaurant setting - being a guy who can just COOK and never has to scrub pots or broiler pans - who never has to empty and then reload the dishwasher just to find the chinois - to be the guy that HAS more than one of each size of whisk (the one you need is ALWAYS dirty, ya know).

I mean, let's take "Boy Meets Grill" with Bobby Flay..... I really like that show! BUT..... does he, like, get a new grill for each episode??? The last time my grill racks looked like that it was still sitting in the showroom! Or pick ANY show (Ina's "Contessa", Guy's "Big Bite", Tyler's "Ultimate"... ANY of 'em) and take a look at their ovens. Granted, they are probably self-cleaning models but even THOSE need some elbow grease. "Put the chicken in at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes to crisp the skin..." CRISP THE SKIN???? That'd leave a layer of grease spatters that would take a whole CAN of EASY-OFF to remove in MY oven!

And can we talk about their 'Magic Sinks"? "Scoop the mixture out of the bowl and into the pan and we'll put the bowl in the sink" - next thing you see is that that bowl has DISAPPEARED!!! I WANT ONE O'THOSE SINKS!!!

I do my best to clean up after myself while I'm working in the kitchen - washing pots, loading the dishwasher etc. but it often piles up while I need to stay and keep stirring the polenta or sauteing the onions. I don't MIND cleaning up, I guess, I just wish it didn't take more time than cooking the meal in the FIRST place!

OK..... rant over.