Door Knock Dinners

Door Knock Dinners is a program that aired on Food Network in the late 1990s.^{[ clarification needed ]} The program featured Gordon Elliott taking a guest chef (or himself) into the home of a busy person/household and cooking the family a dinner using only the items they had in their home.

The Door Knock Dinners guest chef list includes the following:

• Paula Deen – her appearance on the show led to her debuting her own show, Paula's Home Cooking, in November 2002.
• Tyler Florence
• Rokusaburo Michiba and Masaharu Morimoto – appeared on the show and prepared dinner for a family in Rye, New York ahead of Morimoto's first Iron Chef battle against Bobby Flay in New York City, which Elliott was the English-speaking MC for. The show adapted many Iron Chef mechanics in honor of them, including graphics and announcers as if the challenge were a Kitchen Stadium battle, and footage from the show was used in the Iron Chef New York Special, including the original Japanese version that aired on Fuji TV. ^[1]

Reception

In a negative review, Michael Farkash of The Hollywood Reporter called the show "a disappointing, disjointed presentation", writing, "Better jokes or even more sarcastic gibes are needed to spice up the show." ^[2] Rolling Stone reviewer Chris Napolitano thought the show was "the best dinner theater on the tube". ^[3] The Associated Press's Lynn Elber found Elliott's performance to be "refreshingly quirky" and praised the program's "homespun sweetness". ^[4]

References

1. "Iron Chef episode of Doorknock Dinners (Video)". YouTube . April 30, 2007. Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2013.
2. Farkash, Michael (November 1, 1999). "Gordon Elliott's Door Knock Dinners". The Hollywood Reporter . Vol. 360, no. 13. p. 14. ProQuest   2467946432.
3. Napolitano, Chris (November 11, 1999). "Door Knock Dinners". Rolling Stone . No. 825. EBSCOhost   2429911. ProQuest   2629592737.
4. Elber, Lynn (December 10, 1999). "When a gourmet dinner comes to you". Chicago Tribune . Associated Press. ProQuest   418936800. Archived from the original on June 14, 2025. Retrieved June 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.