Not everyone loved the Paula Deen show
As you all might remember, I gave away two pairs of tickets on this blog for the Paula Deen Live performance at the Salem Civic Center this past Saturday, Oct. 2. Both winners were extremely excited to go or give the tickets to relatives who desperately wanted to see Paula. I asked both winners to let me know how the show went and send pictures, if possible. They sincerely promised to do so.
Yesterday, I had e-mails waiting from them both, but they didn’t describe the wonderful, priceless experience I thought they would. In fact, it sounds like the show was rather disappointing for several reasons. I’ve talked to a colleague who attended the show with his wife, and while he said they had a good time and thought Paula and her husband, Michael Groover, were funny, he confirmed there was some cursing and bawdiness and said they, too, were surprised that Paula didn’t actually cook. He added that the show lasted about 90 minutes, with Paula saying she was in a rush to leave and catch a plane.
Here are excerpts from the e-mails I exchanged with the winners:
Teresa, who took her 10-year-old girl, Carrigan: “Would like to be able to tell you that we loved the show but I can’t lie. It wasn’t wholesome family entertainment. Wish I had been warned about Paula and her husband Micheal’s sailor mouths. I can deal with cursing and sexual references because I am an adult, but my 10 year old will never view Paula Dean the same. I just wasn’t prepared as a parent to have to answer questions like,”Mom,why are they talking so dirty to each other?”
Sorry I don’t have a better update. Will be interested in finding out what others thought of the show. let me say in Paula’s defense that if I had attended with another adult it probably would not have bothered me. Paula even ask at the very beginning of the show how many kids were there, several children raised their hands and she still proceeded with cursing the entire 90 mins! I take comfort in knowing that I didn’t buy the tickets. There were several elderly folks sitting near us who seemed offended as well by the language.
Please don’t think that I’ m upset with you or not appreciative for the opportunity to go and see her. We were just under the impresion that it would be cleaner and OK to take a child to see!”
Renee, who gave her tickets to her mother-in-law and sister-in-law: “Well, we finally got the low-down on how the show went … My mother-in-law said, overall, it was great getting to see Paula and all but the whole show left alot to be desired. Apparently, there was a meet and greet an hour ahead of time which very few people knew about. She said that she heard alot of people really complaining about not knowing about that … Plus, Paula didn’t even cook herself – it was just her husband and the other person. They were tickled to death to get to go but were disappointed with how the whole thing was handled. Anyway, many thanks again for giving them an experience that neither they nor we could’ve done on our own.”
I did a little Googling to see if I could find any other references to Deen cursing on stage, and came up with this link to a story on Slashfood about a counterlawsuit resulting from a failed touring arrangement. The reference to language is in the fourth paragraph.
I’d like to hear from others who saw Deen’s show at the civic center this past weekend. Were you happy with what you got for the money? Did any of Deen and Groover’s behavior offend you? Would you have taken a 10-year-old child to see the show?
October 5, 2010 - 10:10 AM
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I did ask my mother-in-law after getting your email about the cursing & she did say there was quite a bit. As Theresa stated, it was just the 2 adults attending so it didn’t seem to faze them as much as if they had had our nieces with them.
Hopefully this will clear up some misconception that was mentioned in Renee’s e-mail…Paula did let it slip that she met someone at the meet-and-greet before the show, however the meet-and-greet was a secret of sorts as it was only open to a select group of VIPs (likely with some tie-in with the promoters or some sort of contest) and was not open to the public. So to all those who felt gypped for not being “in the know” about it, don’t feel too bad ’cause you likely wouldn’t have been able to attend anyway.
I didn’t attend the show, but I’ll weigh in with this perspective. I have watched several ‘live’ Paula Deen shows (taped for broadcast). She seems to always have some celebrity or such and lots of interaction with the audience. She also seems to be pretty bawdy in every one of these televised shows. I can remember thinking – ‘For an old gal, she still thinks she’s really a hottie…’ and being pretty bothered by all the innuendo. It’s nice that she’s got self confidence, blah, blah, but I don’t care for sexual innuendo on a cooking show. As for the part about not cooking for herself, well what did people expect? Not trying to slash anyone, but it’s pretty obvious that Paula Deen is more aggressive in marketing her brand than even Rachael Ray. TV shows, tours, magazines, getting her sons TV shows, magazines, cookbooks, etc. Every possible angle is covered in maximizing revenue. At some point the original pleasure is replaced by a desire for revenue enhancement. It might not be pretty, but it’s not uncommon.
In regard to all that above, I do sympathize with those attendees who did not see the show that matched their expectations. It is certainly not the fault of anyone here or of the attendees. Sometimes, often, reality doesn’t match the perception created by TV/movies/etc. At least those attendees can say they did get to see her, and take it for what it’s worth.
In a way, I’m glad I did not go. A friend’s daughter (teenage) won a contest to go to her restaurant in Savannah and she loved that experience and getting to meet her. She really wanted to go to the event here but the ticket cost prevented that. I’d say that was a blessing in disguise. I use salty language sparingly (usually on the golf course), but I try hard to avoid it. I generally don’t enjoy listening to others use it either. There’s a few times it may fit the situation, but normal conversation or back-and-forth is not the time…to me anyway.
Yes, I think the reason the meet-and-greet wasn’t advertised was because it wasn’t open to the general public. I never heard a thing about it.
Sorry, y’all.
Had to get my two cents in: My mom (the Paula fan) and I didn’t mind the language … it was refreshing, actually. But the whole show did seem disorganized — and a big commercial for food and furniture sponsors. Too many fans allowed to scream for attention and approach the stage … too little cooking. We were promised recipe sheets for the pork tenderloins and chocolate cobbler that were fixed on stage, but they were gone by the time we exited. And my mom did think it was in poor taste that Paula kept reminding us that she had a 9 p.m. date with a plane out of town. Hardly worth the $50+ per ticket (but maybe it was worth it for true Paula fans). Thanks for providing a place to corral these reviews … we were curious what everyone else at the show thought, too.
This makes me kind of glad I didn’t go. I was going to take my mom, but when she found out the price of the tickets, she told me not to buy them. She’s not really a prude, but I think she would have been disappointed with the salty language.
I also attended the show Saturday night. I admit that the show would not be classified as “child entertainment”, but I do not remember any cussing. There were some references which were more appropriate for adults. I was glad to see a side of Paula Deen that you don’t normally see on the FoodNetwork. The show was called, Paul Deen Live, not Paula Deen Cooks so some may have assumed that she would be cooking. There were two dishes prepared from her recipies by Chef Jeff Bland. Most of the show consisted of Ms Deen relating stories about her family, her younger days and how she got where she is today!
I attended the show and was not impressed. It was not worth the $54.75 per ticket we paid. The language didn’t bother me and her and her husband are hilarious together, but I was surprised that she wasn’t cooking and that the show only lasted 90 minutes. We didn’t get the copy of recipes either and was told they “ran out”. Do they not have a copy machine in the building?
I went to the show with my mother, sister-in-law and husband and we all had a great time. I don’t recall any cussing, just a few words that I wouldn’t use regularly (I’m a teacher). We got to try a little of the food too and that was nice. The biggest issue I had was the event staff did not prevent people from hanging out in the aisle taking pictures. Many times I had to crane my neck to see Paula (I was in the 7th row) because people kept running up and standing up front for pictures. FINALLY, event staff started telling people they couldn’t come up there about half way through. I also disliked how people in attendance were acting like farm animals, yelling out stuff constantly to try to get her to bring them to the stage. I felt that was in bad taste. For those of you that want the recipes, they are probably online on the food network. All of her stuff ends up there!
I was so excited to see Paula Deen, I went ahead and paid the $129.00 for 2 tickets to take my daughter and myself. Boy was I surprised. More like a rickie and lucy show than a Paula Deen show. She never even touched the stove and as far as what she talked about I read the book NOTHING new from Ms Paula. Then we had to go buy some dinner. Yea next time I think about something like that I will do more research about the show. What a bummer no wonder she was in a hurry to leave. More like a commercial for all the products around her and she had never heard of Grand Piano.
I absolutely enjoyed the show. I didn’t expect her to spend the entire time cooking. This was never advertised as a cooking demonstration or cooking show. If I had wanted to just see her cook I would tune into her show free of charge. I loved hearing her stories about growing up and raising her family and I think the interaction with the fans is great! You don’t find very many that take the time to do that. As a single mom, I find it inspiring listening to how she struggled and then finally made it. The language didn’t bother me either. I hear worse language from the school kids in the mall and other stores when I am shopping than I did from her. I wouldn’t have considered this as something to bring children to anyway. As for the meet and greet it was only for some of the sponsers’ employees and not for the general public. I would gladly go see her again in a heartbeat.
Something that bothered me from the first details of the event – Paula Deen constantly reminding people that she needed to leave to make a plane ride to another event. I just wonder if she told those people at the next event the same thing so she could make yet another event? Or was that just an excuse to short shrift her dedicated fan base while she relaxed in a hotel somewhere? You really have to wonder. All of these things give me the impression that now that Paula has ‘made the big time’ she is ‘big timing’ her fan base. Maybe a woman who wears her two carat diamond ring while mixing biscuit dough isn’t really all that ‘down home’ after all. This is not to in any way discredit her rise to fame and fortune. She earned that, for sure. It just seems a shame that she lives on reputation while forgetting those people with which she once had so much in common. The ones who deserve the apology are her fans…
Great comments from everyone, and Pamela, thank you for offering a different perspective.
Christy is probably right about the recipes being online somewhere, but my co-worker did get a copy and said he will make a copy for me to share with you all on the blog.
Poo Poo on all the prudes. The show was fantastic! My only wish is that it would have lasted longer, but it’s out of Paula’s control when her plane leaves. Sure there was some mild cussing, but nothing that offended me. You hear as much on prime time TV. She didn’t cook, but if I wanted to see her cook I’d turn on Food Network. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her stories and the flirty banter between Paula and Michael.
I thought the audience was a bit rude screaming out to her and being overly aggressive, but to each his (or her) own.
I thought Paula was a delight and will pay to see her again any chance I get.
Thank you Lindsey for providing a place to express reviews of this show. I really wanted to know what the majority thought. I am glad that were at least a few who did enjoy the show. I did not know what to expect, the language did not offend me and I really don’t remember any, just subtle inuendo but the show itself was so disappointing, particularly for the money. A 90 minute stand up comedy act plugging sponsors the whole time. I didn’t know she made her living as a comedian.
I found the recipe for the Chocolate Pecan Cobbler and the pork loin with cherry sauce online. Here are the links – http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/chocolate-pecan-cobbler-recipe/recipe/index.html; http://www.smithfield.com/recipes/recipe/pan-fried-pork-tenderloin-medallions-with-a-fresh-cherry-sauce.
I thought Paula was a hoot. But then, I was in school in Albany, Ga., at the same time and understand Southern gal raunchy humor.
Hmm… the pork link works, but not the cobbler link. Thank you, Meg. Jeff Bland just e-mailed the recipes, so I will go ahead and post them for people to print from here.
I was surprised at the lack of substance. Little effort was made to create a cohesive show. It was more of a stream of consciousness. Ticket price was very high in proportion to the substance. Bad form to keep mentioning that she had to fly home.
I attended the show and was very disappointed. For the ticket price I expected her to cook or at least give cooking tips. Her husband looked at what appeared to be a script prompting him to respond to what she said. Most of her life stories I had already read as most other Paula fans. I was also surprised at the language since she had asked at the beginning how many kids were present. Too much time was given to comments from the audience and people shouting out comments. I dragged my husband along and he was not a big Paula fan before the show-now even less.
I’m so happy to see that there is a place to comment!
Had my tickets not been a bday present, I would have been disappointed. What bothered me was that the Salem Civic Center staff — namely the camera operators were horrid. Seems things (questions or comments from the crowd) could have been better controlled. In addition, that yahoo from US Food Service was an embarrassment. He was rude and didn’t even know he was in Salem! Couldn’t they have at least found a local “chef” with a sense of humor? I still love Paula even though she “plugged” everything she possibly could have.
Lindsey, Loved her show. Laughted almost the entire time we were there. I have read Paul’s book and Michael’s book too. So I kind of knew their since of humor. It was kind of like sitting down and talking to her. Not scripted at all. Enjoyed the evening very much and I took 5 others with me and they all said the same.
I am a bit surprised with all the comments criticizing her for the lewd comments. Have you not heard her before? It’s like not expecting Dolly Parton or Betty White to have some innuendo or comments that are questionable.
My partner and I enjoyed the show, but we were somewhat disappointed with the format. To us, it became a sort of “dog and pony show,” especially when Paula decided to pass the food among the audience with no utensils. She said that she gets in trouble for feeding people, but if you’re going to go all rogue and serve people anyway, plastic utensils should be available. We too, as someone else mentioned, were unable to get the recipes because they were all distributed. I figure I can get them online, though.
I also agree with an earlier comment that the audience was a bit aggressive. It became very annoying for everyone to keep shouting, “it’s my birthday,” “Paula, over here,” etc.
I do think Paula could do a better job connecting with her audience in terms of geography. I know she’s not a geography buff, evidenced by the comment she made about thinking the Atlantic Ocean was in Chicago, but come on, how hard is it to remember Salem, Virginia, when you’re in route to a gig? We saw Lady Gaga in Charlotte the other weekend, and while I will not attempt to juxtapose the two ladies, I will add that Gaga continually knew where she was , to the point of being annoying with her constant mention of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Still, with all the criticism, we were happy to finally get to see one of our idols. We would likely not pay the hefty price again, but for a one-shot deal, it was worth it.
Paula Deen is a delight to watch anytime. To those people who were offended by “sexual inuendo” I am wondering if these people live in a cave somewhere?
I feel the need to defend Jeff Bland, the U.S. Foodservice chef who was there. Jeff is very much a local chef. He lives here, works here and spends a lot of time volunteering in the community. I’ve known him for 4 years and I can’t imagine him being rude. He even took the time to send me those recipes everyone missed out on so folks could have them. Check my next post.
I to as well was disappointed in the show. I also expected more of Paula Deen. The language and such didn’t bother me as much as just being disappointed with the show. I did not like her reminding us of her having to be gone by 9:00 pm to catch a flight. I figured that she would give out some type of little goodie bags or something at the show. I was also surprised that she did not have a section set up to sell cook books, aprons, etc. I was very disappointed with the entire show. Not worth the $60.00 plus that I paid for my ticket. If you have read her book you already knew everything that she told you during the show or if you have watched her on TV. I was hoping that it would be on cooking tips, receipes, table decorating ideals, and things such as that. Was just really an advertisement for Grand Piano and her furniture line. Sorry Grand!!!!
I agree that it was very disorganized. People were yelling out to Paula and her husband and running to the stage for a hug or a signature. I was shocked that she did not acutally cook and that her receipe was not presented. It was made while she talked and then some got to taste and others did not. I could care less about where she went to school and what grandma told her. I wanted to see food cooked and prepared. I cannot believe that I paid that much money to not even see her cook.
this show was so bad,i am glad i got free tickets,i will never pay to see her,.i fell bad for people that did pay they should get a refund.I can watch tv to hear cussing,and watch my sons cook.
First let me say that the recipe for “Chocolate Pecan Cobbler” is on Foodnetwork.com, and “Pan Fried Pork Tenderloin Medallions with a Fresh Cherry Sauce” is at Smithfield.com. My daughter treated me to Paula’s Show as an early Birthday present, and we both enjoyed ourselves tremendously. I didn’t notice any cursing, and we thought the interaction between Paula and Michael was cute. I liked that there was someone in the audience that went to school with Paula, and someone else had a “Journal”, and Paula was able to show the pictures of herself and the other 2 women in the Journal. We didn’t expect the show to be a cooking event, so we weren’t disappointed. We went with no definite expectations, so really enjoyed it. It’s too bad that her time was so limited with a plane waiting to take off at a certain time. You’d think Paula would at least be able to take a breath and spend the night before going on to another city. That needs to be better arranged. But aren’t there alot of you out there who went to Concerts “back in the day” and were disappointed that the group or entertainer didn’t do another encore because he/she was being rushed to the airport, or their tour buses were leaving the area just as you were?
All these posts just reinforce my suspicion that Paula is very concerned about maximizing revenue and hardly concerned about connecting with her fan base. I can’t think of anything more rude than to constantly tell people you’ll be shorting your appearance in front of them because you have to get to some other bigger better deal. It’s not like Paula was flying on Allegiant Airlines. You know she had a private charter, which only leaves when she gets on the plane. If Paula didn’t get there until 10:00 p.m., you know the plane isn’t leaving without her. Sure, they’d have to refile a flight schedule, but that happens on a daily basis. I just wonder what percentage of her appearances Paula uses the – ‘I don’t have time for you folks here in, where am I again? Anyway, I’ve got a plane to catch, thanks for spending your money on me, and be sure to buy my next cookbook, y’all…’
I am glad I had free tickets. The show was amusing in parts, it’s too bad the civic center couldn’t turn on the lights so she could see the crowd. I, too figured she would be doing some cooking, or have cookbooks for sale. I’m assuming that it was an agreement with the civic center. I found the recipes online, but some people don’t have computer access, so for them to run out of copies was very unprepared. It was an amusing evening and I got a couple of good recipes, but I wouldn’t pay to see her if that’s all she was going to do.. HOWEVER, it was refreshing to see her interact with “regular” people and not having security keep them from her. All in all it was ok(but again it was free for me)
The show was good. I was disappointed somewhat that little cooking was done. I was more disappointed that the crowd keep yelling out wanting autographs, their children to come up, etc. The tickets were a little expensive but I really wanted to see Paula. I knew from her book that maybe children should NOT attend the show. I know that Paula live show is meant more for adults.
On another note about not getting recipes, it seems like people took more than one copy. What a shame. I was able to get copies from the Civic Center.
I enjoyed the show, and the time with my mom, I had purchased the tickets for her and I to go for a birthday present for her birthday in September… however I was NOT one of the tacky people screaming out that it was their birthday. I find it VERY hard to believe that there were THAT many people with October 2nd birthdays in the audience. Frankly the audience was what ticked me off about the show. I really hope Paula didn’t go away thinking there were a bunch of morons that lived in our town. I mean do you honestly think just because you made a homemade shirt with Paula on it that 2500 people in the civic center should have to listen to you squeal? When she said she was opening up the audience for questions.. that was NOT for you to show off your tshirt or your child? It was for QUESTIONS!!!! Only one girl actually asked a question…well 2 actually because one woman asked where Chef Jeff worked. That was more time spent with random people from the audience wanting to say it was their birthday or something like that, so they could be recognized in front of the audience.
As far as the cursing, i mean really? come on?? She said damn and ass a few times. I’m sure your children hear worse all day long at school. I mean its not like she was up there dropping the “f” bomb.
As far as comments about her marketing. Please tell me a public appearance by a celebrity where they do NOT have a plug for their sponsors. If not for the sponsors, the show wouldn’t exist. You are upset she plugged her sponsors but mad there was no stand set up to buy her aprons or cookbooks? Thats an oxymoron.
There are plenty of reviews online about her show. I personally read several before I went, so I knew not to expect everyone to get handouts. Read the reviews, do your research before you go. Don’t complain that you spent money and didn’t get what you thought.
Im quite sure some of those who didn’t get the attention others got are probably the ones insulting Paula and the show. I personally laughed the entire show, when I wasn’t irritated at some of the idiots in the audience.
I’m not a fan of Deen’s nor do I watch a lot of cooking shows on TV but I have caught Hell’s Kitchen a few times and cursing seems to be the norm on these types of entertainment. Every other word out of their mouth’s is bleeped. Maybe Paula feels that she needs to keep up with the trends.
I’m not a big Paula Deen fan so my kids’ sports schedules and ticket prices preventing me from going. I’m glad I didn’t fork over the 50+ bucks to see Paula talk. I’m a fan of cooking and would’ve enjoyed seeing her cook.
I have heard her salty language on her “live” shows before. So, I’m not surprised to read that she was somewhat inappropriate in her conversations with her husband.
And Chef Jeff IS a wonderful local chef. I think his heart has been and always will be in the right place. I’m surprised he left a bad impression with anyone at all.
Overall I think its too bad Deen couldn’t shine this act up a little to match the ticket prices.
My wife and I really enjoyed the show. Yes,we wish it had been longer,but it was the same length as the recent Liza Minnelli concert. I did think we would get a “goodie bag” for the price but was happy to get to see Paula Deed in the flesh after visiting her Restaurant in Savannah.