Food shows on television

I have been hooked to watching food shows on television for a long time. I think on Indian TV we used to have "Cooking with Jacques Pepin" on some channel in the late 90s and when I spent time in the US in the 90s I found nirvana in the Food Network channel. Back home, Sanjeev Kapoor pioneered local cooking shows with his "Khana Khazana" which fast became a sunday morning staple. Of late, we now have multiple choices with the launch of TLC and NDTV Goodtimes as well as programs on regular channels (unfortunately my cable operator does not yet carry Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana Khazana channel, so can't comment on it). I am listing some of the shows I watch and my opinion on them.

Gourmet Central - Vicky Ratnani - NDTV Goodtimes - 1930 IS

Vicky is a star chef (or Gourmet Guru!) and he won't let you forget it :) Having said this, he manages to put together great food from reasonably simple recipes. My only grouse is that though he keeps saying that all ingredients are locally available, what he really means is that all ingredients are locally available in select neighbourhoods (e.g. South Bombay or Bandra). If you don't live in those neighbourhoods or if you are like me and do not stay in Bombay, then you are out of luck. Gourmet Central is by far my favourite show.

The rest in no particular order .. 

Highway On My Plate - hosts Rocky and Mayur - NDTV Goodtimes

Highway on my Plate is a fairly original show that captures the experiences of the hosts as they travel through all corners of India and sample the local cuisine. Neither of them cook on the show and the show is not about cooking per se, but more about food and their own brand of wacky humour. Worth watching.

Man vs. Food - TLC

I think everyone should watch this show at least once. If this does not put you off overeating, nothing will. Apart from the (frankly stupid) challenges that the host undertakes, the show is quite informative about food in various parts of the United States.

Nigella - TLC
I have my doubts about whether Nigella actually cooks, however her show is very popular, primarily because she is very camera-friendly and usually makes reasonably simple recipes.

Kylie Kwong - TLC

Very good show about Chinese cooking. Kylie does a great job, again issue is access to ingredients locally in India.

Chakh Le India - NDTV Goodtimes - Aditya Bal
I used to enjoy this show a few months ago, however of late am put off a little by the repetitiveness. The less said about the abomination that is Chakh Le Academy the better.

One of my all time favourite shows has been Masterchef Australia (I caught Season 2 which aired in India late last year and which concluded in the beginning of this year). This is what a good cooking reality show looks like, the less said about the Indian equivalent the better (I watched exactly 1 minute of the inaugural Masterchef India show before giving up on it permanently).