I tried to like this - really I did, because I'm a foodie - but Christopher Kimball's Milk Street doesn't give off any of the vibes that I normally get from other cooking shows. Most of them are homey and laid back. You feel like you're in the kitchen with the person who's cooking. But this one is pretentious. Chris Kimball (or Christopher. I'm guessing he doesn't prefer to be called the shorthand version of his name, which could be an indication he really is a tightwad like some people have said) travels to various countries sampling their food, and then returns to a kitchen that looks more like a laboratory, where different cooks instruct how to make the dishes. Mr. Kimball seems like an okay guy. He's never came across as demeaning whenever I watched him, but I can see why viewers think he's sarcastic. I never cared for him, to be honest. And I'm talking ten or fifteen years ago. I thought he was dry. Looking at him now, my opinion has changed. He has an easygoing nature, but at the same time, he does have a slight smugness about him. I think he makes a genuine attempt to be personable... He just has an odd way of showing it. I've come to realize that's how some folks are. They're not trying to hurt anyone's feelings - their speaking style happens to be more blunt and straightforward compared to someone else, which, even if they mean well, can be misconstrued as lacking social awareness. If you have an acquaintance or friend who's like that, all you can do is either deal with them how they are, or leave them alone. And I know you shouldn't diagnose or label people without having sufficient information, but he might be on the autism spectrum. While he is a nice person, his range of expression seems kind of limited. As for the show, I'm sure the producers and everyone else in charge of making it come to life have the best of intentions, but it's out of touch with the average home cook. He goes to some really exotic places, to eat food in upscale venues. I mean, I would love to go to Rome (well, if there wasn't an overtourism issue) and eat a plate of fettuccine alfredo, but who actually has the money to do that?? Oh, and speaking of overtourism - he goes to Rome, and Paris, both majorly crowded because of tourists - but yet, the streets are virtually empty. Perhaps he goes during the off season? I don't know, it doesn't look realistic. Also as another reviewer mentioned, some of the ingredients are hard to find. Unless you're a super experienced cook, you might find this show intimidating. I don't feel all that encouraged to get in the kitchen and try any of the recipes like I do with other cooking programs. Like I said above, the kitchen on here looks like some kind of science lab. It's impersonal. I guess fans of Mr. Kimball will enjoy this. If you're turned off by his attitude, there's lots of other cooks to explore on PBS.
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wht1knight21 November 2021Christopher Kimball's Milk Street is my go to favorite culinary show. Great camera angles, clean crisp presentation of the full spectrum of cultural recipes and drinks pack a 30 minute episode. Like any good dish, the show employs a successful format in its recipe presentation. Kimball shares the screen well with his other presenters. They explain everything thoroughly. They also do segments in other countries to give them text and source of the recipe.
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kelani29 August 2022I'm going to disagree with the other reviewer who said that Kimball kowtows and panders to the younger chefs. Personally, I find him more condescending and disdainful than ever. If anything, the younger chefs try to appease him. Sometimes, they even seem intimidated by him. Probably because he signs the checks, is notoriously unpleasant to work with, and capable of destroying careers.
He is also now completely devoid of emotion and humor. In ATK, he could frequently be funny and clever, Even though his personality was at times grating, and he often came off sounding like a jerk.
Now, he is so humorless and joyless that you can't tell whether he likes or hates anything he sticks in his face, especially since there are many foods that he admittedly hates. So, it's now like he doesn't enjoy food, he analyzes it.
I do love that the show features all kinds of little-known ethnic cuisine, the fascinating people making it, and unusual pairing of ingredients, but I don't like that most recipes use ingredients which are impossible to get --some even require international shipping. That wouldn't be an issue if they mentioned substitutions, but they don't. Similarly, they also don't tell you ingredient quantities, so you're forced to either guess or pay. At least ATK/CC gives you that much.
Another problem is the show is exceedingly sterile. These may be great chefs, but their on-screen personalities are about as interesting as a sack of flour. There's no excitement, humor, joy, and love of food. It's like a cooking lab where the instructor would rather be somewhere else. And since some of these chefs show lots of personality in other media, "someone" has clearly told them to be understated.
Without Kimball and those annoyances, the show would be much better. And since I realize this review may come off as Kimball-bashing, One nice thing I'll say about him: he sure can play a mean banjo. Although I highly doubt we'll see that on this show. -
dtdenver-987-9255462 September 2019Following the parting of ways with Cook's Country, this is Kimball's next project. Either he or his advisors evidently decided they need to capture that precious youth market. So we have hip and "experiential" ad nauseum. The smirky hipster kid (seriously, he smugly asserted he's hip) is especially irritating. It seems the whole point of the millennials being on the show is to demonstrate how wrong the old people were about cooking. And that's the most disappointing in this outing - watching Kimball kowtow to these self-congratulatory young-uns. He has more experience cooking than all of them put together - yet he's tentative and ingratiating and somehow apologetic when he interacts with them.
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thehighlandhomestead29 November 2023I am assuming Kimball got this show because he sued PBS and this was his settlement? The premise behind the show isn't terrible(he maybe should try producing only and not having to be in the limelight?) Kimball seems to be more a creepy late night host than a chef that I should be learning from. He was bad in ATK and Cook's Country(which btw got better after he left) but in those shows he was not really the star at all so he was drowned out by the great personalities. In Milk Street everyone is extremely passive, so it only makes his personality look worse because he simply has no one to balance him out.
There is one good thing about this show though! HE NO LONGER RUINS COOK'S COUNTRY AND ATK! -
vesp1124 March 2023I really like Christopher and wanted to like it. Just does not have the recipes I'm interested in. Also the cooks seem to be trying to teach instead of cooking along with us. Many ingredients are hard to find.
I like the background they give you on each recipe, but I look for more recipes I want to make.
Christopher's relationship with the cooks seem fake.
Most instructions on cook are now only with the cook. I like the interaction of the host and the cook.
Also no product reviews or the science behind why something works. I have to admit I miss him on his other shows. I will still watch it.