Chef Mike Roy – KNX, Los Angeles – August 24, 1967.
Not quite sure if Cooking Shows are still anywhere near Radio these days – I suspect they are not – most likely podcasts. But if they are, they might not bear any resemblance to shows like this – which were some of the lifeblood of a city (Los Angeles, for example) going back to the 1930s, if not to the beginning days of radio in the 1920s.
Chef Mike Roy was one of a number of radio Chefs who dotted the L.A. airwaves in the 1950s and 60s. His show was a two-way communication; taking phone calls from people who were just getting acquainted with the average kitchen to those who made cooking and all things gastronomic something of a calling in life.
Along with sage advice (no pun intended), he would share recipes with the audience from some of the legendary eateries in L.A. – prying loose secret methods and disclosing the ingredients along with borderline mythic preparation that could only be accomplished by a master chef. But you could make the exact same thing for guests at your next get-together if you just followed the recipe.
Needless to say, just about everything regarding food has changed over the years – our concepts of it – our way of eating it and definitely our way of preparing it. Some of the recipes Mike Roy routinely read on the air would harden. and clog just about any artery within the sound of his voice.
But we were a society of eaters back then – we also smoked – drank copious amounts of alcohol and made dining out something of a religious experience that came with Evening gowns, shined shoes and gallons of Old Spice.
One could say it’s a ritual that’s been missed – eagerly listening, with pencil on hand, for the latest concoction that required oceans of butter, hours of patience and an encyclopedic knowledge of spices and condiments. Slavishly writing down every nuance and instruction and marching off to the kitchen to try a hand at it.
But we’ve changed – we’re different people now – kitchens are stopping off places – no longer nerve centers – stoves occasionally boil water but no doubt ovens have gone their entire lives never embracing a mitt. Eating is random and more often than not delivered and consumed, hardly ever savored.
But there was a time the majority of a city paused and took notes and neighborhoods were awash with aromas.
Shame, really.
But as a reminder, here’s an episode from August 24, 1967 exactly as it was heard over KNX in Los Angeles and the recipe for Scandia’s Legendary pancakes.
