The term "celebrity chef" used to mean a chef who became a celebrity. Now it is taking on a new meaning as more and more already famous people - actors, singers, reality show stars - create their own cooking shows. From Paris Hilton to Selena Gomez and now to Florence Pugh, these programs are proliferating on networks and streaming services. Is this a good thing? Eater's Amy McCarthy says "no" and tells us why there are too many celebrity cooking shows.

McCarthy first takes us back to the heyday of televised food programming, reminiscing fondly about shows like The French Chef and culinary TV legends like Jacques Pépin, Rachael Ray and Ina Garten. She's less sanguine about the new crop of programs and their stars. "This new world of celebrity cooking shows makes me worry that we’ll lose a lot of what we gained during the heyday of Food Network. Food Network was never perfect, but it did give many of us our first experiences with cooking better and more interesting meals at home," she says.

While I agree in part with McCarthy's views, I won't knock these shows altogether. First, I am a bit (okay, a fair amount) older than the target audience for the programs, so my opinion may not be that relevant. Second, I believe anything that encourages people to get in the kitchen and experiment is at least moderately good. And I must admit I was mildly entertained by Cooking with Paris.

Maybe these shows are "dumbed down" or maybe that is just my perception as an experienced cook and a person who grew up without Instagram or TikTok. Goodness knows that in my 20s I was not exactly cooking gourmet meals, and I might have found it fun to make "beany fart" salad back then. Just because these shows aren't as serious as the early Food Network shows doesn't make them inherently bad. It will be interesting to hear if Gen Z waxes poetic about the current crop of culinary programs in 2043 as I do about Jacques Pépin's classic public TV programs now.