Alaina Clement

ENC 1102
Professor Franklin
22 September 2014

May the Best Chef Win

Down Home with the Neelys and Paulas Home Cooking are fine representations of the
south. With these shows I want to highlight the southern culture communicated to the viewer and
how these shows shatter stereotypes. Down Home with the Neelys and Paulas Home Cooking
are both on The Food Network; therefore, these shows are under the same network bias. I will
address some common stereotypes of the south and delineate how these shows showcase
southern stereotypes when compared and when contrasted.
While the rest of America faces a staggering 50% divorce rate the Neelys are a fun
loving and energetic African-American couple that have been married since 1994. No one knows
what their marriage is made out of for it to last so long but their marriage is so refreshing to see
especially on television amidst bogus reality relationship drama. The southern affinity for family
bonds is stereotypically persistent within the southern culture. Ironically enough the aspect of
family was never apart of African-American culture as little boys and girls were stripped from
their slave mothers all the way until now where it seems like black fathers abandon their black
women for their own capital gain. In sharp contrast, Paula Deen is an overweight, diabetic, white
senior citizen who has been divorced and since remarried. The marriage observation in these
shows is significant because the Neelys beat the odds of not only black marriages but marriages
in America as well. They have two children who occasionally appear on the show.
These two cooking shows emphasize not only southern cooking at its best but southern
stereotypes at their worst. Paulas Home Cooking season twelve was the last season of her show.
The Food Network announced that they would not renew her show for another season because of
Paulas racial slur controversy. Deens actions made headline news and even warranted a
presidential opinion based on her actions. Recently, Paula Deen found herself in a big mess when

Alaina Clement
ENC 1102
Professor Franklin
22 September 2014

she admitted to using the word, nigger. There was stirring conflict between those who dont
see the harm in a word and those who see the painful history of the word.
The most popular southern stereotype is that southerners are racist because of their strong
attachment to legacy and antebellum traditional values which included the enslavement of a race
of people. Fortunately for progression, Deen's choice of words has put a major dent in her
career and many of her black viewers boycotted her show. Deen lost sponsorships from the very
drug companies that endorsed her and she lost the support of her television network.
Economically, socially, and morally The Food Network nearly had an obligation to cancel Paula
Deens show. Mrs. Paula Deen lost fans, admirers and viewers alike while her niggerly rivals
the Neelys most likely gained more support. The support of her network was lost because Food
Network did not want to be associated with that derogatory word in any way shape or form
especially if Down Home with the Neelys is airing on the same network. Not canceling the
show would have sent a strong message to African-American television chefs all over.
Racism, discrimination, segregation, and rioting are negative connotations of the
1960s south. However, in this modern day and age Down Home with the Neelys is aired on the
same station as Paulas Home Cooking. Just 50 years ago television stations wanted nothing to
do with black people. Even in this advanced society, Paula Deen managed to offend many of her
fans by using a racial slur against black people. Society was forgiving because Paula Deen is a
67 year old woman which means shew grew up in an era where racism was readily accepted and
radically practiced. The Neelys commented on Mrs. Deens behavior saying, We were shocked
and saddened to learn of the comments from Paula Deen. Racism of any kind from anyone is simply
unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. Just to enlighten some people, the derogatory term, and

nigger was taken from the word Negro which means black. Now theres no harm in

Alaina Clement
ENC 1102
Professor Franklin
22 September 2014

calling someone black; however, the word evolved into the filthy, vile word, nigger which
related blackness to death. White people used the word, nigger to verbally demean and shame
black people by literally calling them, black deaths or a dead slave. This word was common
among white speech until segregation ended. Now white people do not utter the word that their
ancestors created because it reflects a, black, dark history that no humane person would ever
dig up. For Paula Deen to utter this word in her southern restaurant was a slap in the face of
progression. On the same television network as Down Home with the Neelys one should beg the
question. How could Paula Deen say something like this in such a progressive society?
Deen's integrity even warranted some positive support from Ex-President Jimmy Carter who
said, I think she has been punished, perhaps overly severely, for her honesty in admitting it and
for the use of the word in the distant past. She's apologized profusely."
Proudly, showcased on the Food Network in all of its grease and fat Paulas Home
Cooking and Down Home with the Neelys not only showcase that race is still an issue but it also
highlights southern obesity. In Season 3 of Down Home with the Neelys Gina made, Chocolate
Oink. Chocolate Oink, is literally strips of bacon covered in a thick layers of milk chocolate
and drizzled with white chocolate topping. I have personally never tried anything like this but I
know enough to stay away from it. Chocolate Oink sounds like diabetes to me.
Southerners statistically tend to be chubbier than their fellow northern counterparts.
For instance, Mississippi has been declared as the fattest state in the whole United States of
America including the districts and territories. The weight of Mississippians is no coincidence.
With this statistic its no wonder why Paula Deen and the Neelys came under strict persecution
for their fattening, sweet cookbooks. Both of these chefs promote unhealthy recipes for southern
traditions sake and use southern charm to endorse deals that hurt her viewers. For example,

Alaina Clement
ENC 1102
Professor Franklin
22 September 2014

Paula Deen, after three years of knowing, announced her Type 2 diabetes to the world only after
being lucratively endorsed by a pharmaceutical drug company that majorly profits off
of insulin production. The significance of her diabetes secrecy is that she is a southern cooking
guru. If a cooking guru has diabetes then there must be something wrong with the food.
Ironically, the Neelys shatter another stereotype; this black couple is not diabetic nor obese.
The reason she hid her diabetes for three years is because her network's bias did not want her
viewers to evade their show because of the stark reality of unhealthy cooking. The reality of
Down Home With the Neelys is concluding that they do not eat what they cook every single
day. Obesity is turning into a significant truth within the south and people are finding out that
theyre diabetics, overweight, or both. It is predicted that by 2015 about 50% of Mississippians
will be obese, thus, from these unbiased stats southern obesity is getting out of hand and
traditional southern cooking like the ones showcased on the Paula Deen Food Network and
Down Home with the Neelys are the reason why diabetes in the south is an epidemic among
both adults and children.

Alaina Clement
ENC 1102
Professor Franklin
22 September 2014
Works Cited
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/20476824/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/poverty-main-cause-obesityproblem-south/#.VA_VmfldWPM

http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1909406,00.html

http://eatocracy.cnn.com/2013/06/26/paula-deen-and-southern-food-critics-say-credit-is-past-due/

http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/paulas-home-cooking.html

http://www.etonline.com/news/135464_The_Neelys_Respond_to_Paula_Deen_N_Word_Controversy/