Yeah, I know we do 98% sports around here, but every once in awhile you are going to see something that has to do with something else.  It's called "having a life."

For those that know me, you know one of my other great passions besides balls, sticks and pucks is cooking. I love to cook and have become fairly decent at at.  Now comes news that my culinary hero is "scaling back" at the Food Network.  Something about it stinks like the fish at Chelsea Street Market.  My opinion is that is akin to Dennis Franchione offering his "resignation" (there's your sports reference for this episode, kids.)  That's right, Emeril Lagasse and the Food Network have broken off contract talks and production on his signature show "Emeril Live" will cease December 11.

I've been watching "Emeril Live" for seven or eight years now.  It's not what the man cooks (most of which is either French or Cajun) but the passion with which he cooks it.  I admit cooking his dishes is definitely advanced intermediate, the ingredient list usually will fill my entire rolling utility cart.  I admit that I watch Emeril not for the food, but for the tips.  How to make a corn starch slurry, how to temper eggs, how to bring out the flavors in onions, peppers and celery, what spices to use, etc, etc, etc. 

Yes, there are other cooking shows, but I like Emeril because he is a guy's guy.  He doesn't come across like your typical food snob, he seems like he's just a guy who loves to cook, like me.  Don't get me wrong, the man is a world class chef, but he's easy and has a great ability to teach and inspire.  I don't get inspired watching Sandra Lee (I  hurl large chunks, actually) I want to bitch slap Rachel Ray to get her to shut up, Ina Garten seems like someone my Mom hangs with and Bobby Flay is too New York.  I admit I'm a big fan of Alton Brown, but even his show is less about technique and more about science.  And, for the record, I'm warming to Tyler Florence.

So, why would the Food Network "scale back" Chef Emeril?  My speculation is that his show (featuring a huge set and a live band) is becoming too expensive to produce.  In addition, Emeril suffers from a lot of over exposure issues and with the development of new, more contemporary food personalities like Rachel Ray (who is probably the biggest star they have right now thanks to her talk show) Emeril's Q rating is probably getting low.  I think after 15 or so years on the network and several years in the format of his show, people just got burnt out on it.  With a stable of young, established stars like Flay, Florence, Brown, Ray, Chef Duff Goldman, Chef Robert Irvine and Nigella Lawson, the Food Network probably was very comfortable in walking away from the table with Emeril.  The network, which he pretty much built, is a huge hit and will continue to be whether he is or not.

My other suspicion is that Emeril appeals to an older demo, the one the Food Network is trying to get away from.  I think they are very 25-44 intensive and Emeril is a magnet for the over 45 crowd.  One of the items brought up when his time was changed was that his ratings at eroded.  I've got to think that while people my age still love him, the younger, more passionate foodie type yuppies don't.  Thus, he's devalued to the point where they will move on without him.

 The first shoe to drop was the network moving his show up an hour to 6pm CST.  The network said that they wanted to run feature programs at night like "Ace of Cakes" and "Dinner Impossible" and Emeril would fit better at the end of the "how to" shows.  Now this.  The end of an era and the end of a legend.

It's not like Emeril is going to live under a bridge real soon.  The man makes gazillions from his nine restaurants and his cookware and his cookbooks.  He's fine.  It's we, the cooking public who will be poorer from his "scaling back."

I'm sure they will run Emeril live in reruns for years to come, but I've seen the majority of them and the real good ones I've saved on DVD.  Thanks for the memories, Chef.  You'll always be my hero.