Shows to Watch on The Cooking Channel

I don’t think the Cooking Channel (occupying the space in your cable linep where Fine Living used to be) is going to be a wild success like The Food Network—most of the shows are not new enough or “personality-driven” enough to catch a big audience, I bet. Still, I prefer it to most of the Fieri/Giada/Paula/Bobby clown-show nonsense on TFN. If you do happen to watch the Cooking Channel (or want to check it out), here are my recommendations:

Any shows with Julia Child—sometimes they show The French Chef, sometimes Julia & Company. It doesn’t matter, since you’re watching for the retro food and awesome presence of Child. I prefer The French Chef, actually—she seems more at ease there, and it’s comforting to see her make so many mistakes (seriously, at least one gaffe per show).
Bill’s Food—an Australian import. The food is clean and simple, the look of the show is gorgeous, and you’ll giggle when Bill talks about his wife and kids. Oh, Bill…really?
Chinese Food Made Easy—the host, Ching-He Huang, is beyond charming, and the food always looks really good and relatively simple to make. If there is a running gag to this show, it’s that she puts the same brand of rice wine into every recipe, and her pronunciation of the brand name is so fast (and authentic, I guess), that I have no idea what it’s really called.
French Food at Home—probably the best show on the network, in my opinion. There is something so soothing and velvety about host Laura Calder’s voice, and what might sound like smug condescension coming from others sounds like confident wisdom coming from her (truthfully, her delivery makes you wonder if she’s just a wee bit stoned when they tape the episodes). I want to be her friend. I want to live in her house. I want her cookware in all of its beige-and-cream glory.
There are other shows in repeats on the network that I watch anyway, since they’re just good entertainment: lots of Nigella Lawson stuff, Jamie Oliver, and Two Fat Ladies (consistently hilarious) come to mind. As for other “new” shows, I also like Unique Eats and Drink Up—they can be hit-or-miss, though.
Shows to avoid (so I won’t even link to them): Chuck’s Day Off (smug, boring, and bro-tastic…this means he’ll probably get his own annoying show on TFN soon); David Rocco’s Dolce Vita (a male Giada—that’s all you need to know); Everyday Exotic (obnoxious host, boring recipes).