Eco-fficially Mainstream: Emeril Goes Green

TMZ Doug also happens to be Discovery Channel Doug...he works there. (As an aside, I think it might be the best, nicest, most family-friendly company ever. But I digress.) So in addition to sending me regular gossip updates, he also keeps me up to speed on what's happening in the TV world.

This week, TV and food and Discovery all happen to coincide. Emeril just announced a show on Discovery's new network, Planet Green. The show, "Emeril Green", will be filmed at a Whole Foods in DC and will focus on fresh, seasonal foods.

My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. I'm not a gigantic Emeril fan - I'm not very "BAM"-y and I didn't watch his shows on the Food Network. But by all accounts, he's a decent guy, an extremely hard worker and an excellent cook. I'm happy to see him land on his feet after FN treated him so shabbily - not that I doubted for a minute that he would. I also kind of hope this show's a success, purely so FN feels a little pain.

2. Whole Foods in DC, huh? That's awfully close to where I live (within an hour, at least). And at least one of the DC locations is very close to where my sister lives. Again, not a huge fan of the Emeril character, but I still may try to see him live sometime, if that's an option.

3. Planet Green. OK, so I'm on record as being totally over the trendy "green" movement. That hasn't changed. But I guess maybe a dedicated cable channel is a sign that green has moved past trend? I suppose we'll see. Regardless, I'm sorry to see Discovery Home go away, if only because I've been holding out hope that Garage Takeover would shoot some new episodes and Cooper and I could have our garage turned into a kickass guest house or something. Guess I'll have to give up that dream.

Overall verdict? We'll see. The author of one of the articles Doug sent me, I think he was from Television Week, expressed some concern that Emeril would have to change up his cooking style to keep the show "green". That wouldn't have occurred to me, since I don't equate fresh, seasonal cooking with tasteless, boring, vegetables-only fare. But I'm sure that perception exists in some pockets of the country. If nothing else, Emeril's a great way to reach everybody and their sister to dispel the myth that seasonal=bland.

So...go Emeril. BAM!