Clement 1

Alaina Clement
Professor Franklin
ENC 1102
13 December 2014
Paper #1
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 part 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,
Caucasian 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.

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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
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 black
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 viewers 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 like The Food
Network 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.

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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 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 carbs 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.

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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,
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 is the
general logic that would surface in a persons mind. Ironically, the Neelys shatter another
stereotype; this black couple is not diabetic nor obese. The reason Deen 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 because the food that
these ladies are cooking is renowned for being unhealthy. The South is renown for their food but
the general health as delineated by the statistics is something to balk at. Once again, some of the
fattest states in America are in the south which means that the general health and overall diet is

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grossly neglected. These two cooking shows showcase the differences in African-American vs.
Caucasian cooking but they both show that being overweight is no respector of persons. Black
men and women are statistically more likely to have diabetes, they are more likely to become
overweight, and they are at higher risk of other chronic diseases. The food is what is driving the
health of the south in a downward spiral. Perhaps if the south brought some of that stereotypical
old time hard working farming labor that they proudly represent back then perhaps they
wouldnt be some of the unhealthiest states in the whole of America. The problem lies in the
southern traditional food that southerners are so used to but the tradition of the south is also
physical labor and farming which is not a common part of the modern, industrious society. Paula
Deen and The Neely family are fine representations of the differing sub-cultures within the
southern part of America; however, they are similar in their disregard for the health of their
viewers.

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Works Cited
"Poverty Main Cause of Obesity Problem in South." Msnbc.com. N.p., 28 Aug. 2007. Web. 13 Dec.
2014.
Suddath, Claire. "Why Are Southerners So Fat?" Time. Time Inc., 09 July 2009. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
"Paula Deen and Southern Food: Critics Say Credit Is past Due." Eatocracy RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 13
Dec. 2014.
"The Neelys Weigh in on Paula Deen Controversy." Www.etonline.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec.
2014.