October 22nd, 2010

A Sunday morning ritual at Casa Bix involves a cup of coffee, the New York Times and a pug in my lap and Food Network on the TV, where Esteban and I provide a running MST3K commentary on Sandra Lee and Rachael Ray. We love Ina the most, mostly because unlike several TV chefs, her recipes actually taste good whereas recipes from Rachael Ray and Alton Brown are hit or miss. And I freely admit that I have some fat girl bias, but I am pretty sure that my preference for Ina has to do with her recipes turning out well in my own kitchen versus any contention that the only good cook is a fat cook. Check out the fat bias in this editorial from Matt Kass at the Chicago Tribune:

Cooks require heft, to prove they eat their own creations….It’s not just the skinny women chefs. I don’t trust skinny male chefs either, especially if they’re dressed like teenage vampires in “Twilight” with their skinny black jeans and tight T-shirts and ample hair product. When I think of a chef I can trust, I think of cooks with gravitas, some weight on their bones, women who clearly are no strangers to the knife and fork.

Before you start thinking about this being a win for fat acceptance, think again: I don’t care if it’s disregarding Beth Ditto on the runway because she’s over size 12 or disregarding Padma Lakshmi because she’s under size 12, it’s still sizism no matter how you slice it.  Sure, fats are getting the positive assumption that they are more competent when it comes to food, but it’s just as damaging as assuming an athlete is stupid or a gay person is good with fashion. And the assumption that you’re such a good chef that you can’t stop eating your own creations is insulting at best, not to mention the bad reasoning that fat OR thin chefs are only eating their own food. Certainly, we can point to some anecdotal evidence to support the stereotype of a great chef at a higher BMI but we can just as easily point out situations to the opposite. For every Mario Batali, there’s a Grant Achatz who is amazing in the kitchen (trust me, the man’s food is perfection)!

What do you guys think? Do you distrust thin chefs? The comments are dying for some juicy morsels!

Posted by Weetabix

Filed under: Beth Ditto, Fatism, TV, Weetabix | 23 Comments »

October 19th, 2010

1. Kirstie Alley’s new “weight loss program” is probably based on lies, according to the ever-reliable National Enquirer. (Hey, they were right about John Edwards.) (Note: the article uses slightly fat-phobic language.)

[Alley] recently bragged on her Twitter site that she’s lost 50 pounds with exercise and her Organic Liaison weight-loss program. But those close to her say she’s lost barely half that weight and that there’s no way she’s down to 180 pounds!

What’s more, a photo taken on Sept. 29…shows that the plus-size actress hasn’t lost nearly as much as she claims… The struggling star “has been goosing her weight-loss numbers” – insisting she’s dropped 50 pounds, when it’s more like 25…

In September, while in Italy, she tweeted that she had lost 50 pounds, posting a photo of herself surrounded by handsome men. But the picture appeared to be air-brushed to make Kirstie look thin, and she hid her lower body behind one of the hunky men.

As if weight-loss programs aren’t enough of a scam, hers doesn’t even temporarily work! I hunted down that picture so you can see for yourself. She does look pretty airbrushed, no?

2. Ricky Gervais has lost weight recently, and now feels like jokes about fat people are off-limits.