I Love to Eat
Encyclopedia
I Love to Eat is a live television
series on NBC which aired from 30 August 1946 to 1947, and was a cooking show hosted by chef and cookbook author James Beard
. When the show started, each episode was 15 minutes long and presented at 8:30pm EST on Fridays, immediately before The World in Your Home
at 8:45pm. However, this was later changed to 30 minutes (April-May 1947) as more complicated recipes were demonstrated and prepared. Little else is known about this series.
archives, the audio recordings of episodes from I Love to Eat (as recorded from live TV broadcasts over WNBT-TV in NY in 1946-47) include a 1947 episode featuring a ski report and ski luncheon discussions by Beard. This is followed by prolonged live commercials from Borden
including Elsie the Cow
as show sponsor, while Beard recounts his dream about Elsie as part of the show.
This early television show is believed to be the first network cooking show. It was the successor to the Radio City Matinee (May 1946) program, which featured fashion, culture, art and cooking segments (including chefs George Rector and James Beard) and For You and Yours (successor show starting in June 1946, also featuring Beard in the kitchen), all on WNBT-TV in New York. Some cooking demonstration programs had preceded it on local TV pre-war broadcasts of 1939-1941.
Live television
Live television refers to a television production broadcast in real-time, as events happen, in the present. From the early days of television until about 1958, live television was used heavily, except for filmed shows such as I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke. Video tape did not exist until 1957...
series on NBC which aired from 30 August 1946 to 1947, and was a cooking show hosted by chef and cookbook author James Beard
James Beard
James Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
. When the show started, each episode was 15 minutes long and presented at 8:30pm EST on Fridays, immediately before The World in Your Home
The World in Your Home
The World in Your Home is a NBC Television TV series which aired from December 22, 1944 to 1948, originally broadcast on one NBC station, then broadcast on other NBC stations. The program consisted of educational short films. Each episode was 15 minutes long, and is believed to be one of the first...
at 8:45pm. However, this was later changed to 30 minutes (April-May 1947) as more complicated recipes were demonstrated and prepared. Little else is known about this series.
Episode status
No footage from the show remains, since methods to record live television such as kinescopes were not invented until 1947. However, an audio recording of one episode survives. As documented in the Library of CongressLibrary of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
archives, the audio recordings of episodes from I Love to Eat (as recorded from live TV broadcasts over WNBT-TV in NY in 1946-47) include a 1947 episode featuring a ski report and ski luncheon discussions by Beard. This is followed by prolonged live commercials from Borden
Borden (company)
Borden, Inc., was an American producer of food and beverage products, consumer products, and industrial products. At one time, the company was the largest U.S. producer of dairy and pasta products. Its food division, Borden Foods, was based in Columbus, Ohio, and focused primarily on pasta and...
including Elsie the Cow
Elsie the Cow
Elsie the Cow has been the spokescow for the Borden Dairy Company since her introduction in 1936.Elsie was created in the 1930s to symbolize the “Perfect Dairy Product,” and made an appearance at the New York World's Fair in 1939. She also starred in a movie, RKO's Little Men, in 1940...
as show sponsor, while Beard recounts his dream about Elsie as part of the show.
This early television show is believed to be the first network cooking show. It was the successor to the Radio City Matinee (May 1946) program, which featured fashion, culture, art and cooking segments (including chefs George Rector and James Beard) and For You and Yours (successor show starting in June 1946, also featuring Beard in the kitchen), all on WNBT-TV in New York. Some cooking demonstration programs had preceded it on local TV pre-war broadcasts of 1939-1941.