We watched the debut show of Jeff Mauro's The Sandwich King yesterday. Jeff Mauro was just named the winner of Food Network Star. I had become hooked on that show, seeing it as a competition where you had to have great cooking skills, but what seemed most important was that the person have comfort within their own skin, that they went through with life with a sense of grace and ease, even in their most embarrassing moments. Jeff Mauro seemed to have that capability, and so I thought that he would make the transition from Food Network competitor to Food Network star seamlessly.
It didn't happen that way. The show was muddled.It started off funny, as if was right in the middle of something, and Mauro was in one of his neighborhood sandwich shops that would provide the inspiration for the sandwich he would highlight in this episode, the Chicago beef sandwich. It was a sandwich I'd never encountered before, a sandwich that looked great, and while talking with the owner of the shop, I was reminded of Mauro's natural charm with people. I think for the show to work, it needs to be more deliberately set up with a definite structure, where Jeff could take these field trips and chat with cooks that inspired him and then go cook on his own. Right now, it seems like happenstance when he's in the kitchen and when he's out talking to others. To make matters worse, when he was in the kitchen, in the middle of making his Chicago Beef sandwich, Jeff launched into another recipe of another sandwich, one that also seemed delicious, but very different, a light, sweet creation with mortadella and fig. It seemed to be such a different tone to me and so out of the blue. I felt yanked out of my Chicago beef reverie. But I have faith in the Sandwich King. I think Mauro is naturally charming and assured. I would say, just keep it simple, tell us stories, we will listen. Just make it easier for us to sit back and be entertained.
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