11 Most Disastrous Morning Show Cooking Segments Of 2012

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11 Most Disastrous Morning Show Cooking Segments Of 2012

by Mariella Mosthof 5:21 pm, December 17th

We watch a lot of morning news here. How else would we learn that Guy Fieri swapped Dr. Phil hair-styling tips for therapy, or that Eric Ripert counts himself among the toaster oven gourmets? But at the end of the day, some cooking segments go well, others are boring, and others still are deliciously disastrous. It’s live TV, people. Anything can (and invariably will) happen when fire, blenders, and awkward anchors are involved. Check out the 11 most disastrous dump-and-stir moments of 2012 below.

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1.Aretha Franklin Goes Rogue On The Today Show

Aretha Franklin Goes Rogue On <em>The Today Show</em>

We're pretty sure resurrecting this one will make any Today Show production assistant who was on set that day to reach swiftly for the closest bottle of bourbon. Somebody, once upon a time, decided to give Aretha Franklin a cooking segment to demo her completely foul-sounding "peanut butter shrimp." Little did they know Aretha would refuse to comply with any sort of time restriction, and insist on flipping every, single piece of shrimp in the pan as she demoed her dish start-to-finish. Anchors tried to move her along, and she helpfully suggested NBC give her more time if they were running out. Why didn't they think of that?

2.Josh Elliott Spills Scalding Hot Milk On Audience

Then, there was Buddy Valastro's ill-fated patriotic desserts demo, in which Josh Elliott was given tempering duties and proceeded to knock a pan of hot milk off the stove, splashing it over the live outdoor audience. Sam Champion and Buddy sprang into action offering towels to the affected audience members, and, miraculously, no one sued.

3.Hoda Mistakes Gail Simmons For Rachael Ray

Undoubtedly the most painful Morning Show Train Wreck was the time Hoda Kotb referred to Gail Simmons as "Rachael" (as in Ray) an unfathomable four times in a single segment. Rough.

4.John DeLucie Mistakes Tomalley For Roe...Then Misspells Roe

Remember the time John DeLucie of The Lion mistook tomalley for roe during a lobster demo on The Today Show, and no one bothered correcting him on it for the entire segment? You know what Natalie Morales mercifully did correct him on? The spelling of "roe," which he also got wrong! Will Jon DeLucie ever work in a seafood restaurant again? Unclear.

5.Natalie Morales' Dog Ambushes Mark Bittman's Bacon Segment

Then there was the time a genius in booking slotted a bacon segment with Mark Bittman on the same day as a Bring Your Halloween-Costumed Dog To Work segment for the anchors. Natalie Morales' pup Zara demo-bombed Mark by following her nose and bounding right through the bacon-centric shot. Oops!

6.McDonalds Executive Chef Reveals Secret To Egg McMuffin's 'Gel Center'

In the Truly Stomach-Turning Dishes with No Business Being Taught To Middle America cateory, McDonald's executive chef taught viewers at home how to make a healthier version of Egg McMuffins at home on Good Morning America, complete with a demo on how to achieve that "gel center" on your egg. PS. That "healthy" version still included a buttered English muffin. Both sides.

7.Paul Corsentino Breaks A Wine Glass With Kathie Lee & Hoda

We can't say this one surprises us. Iin fact, we have to say that we're surprised more stuff doesn't break during The Today Show's Fourth Hour, affectionately known as drunk o'clock. While describing the white burgundy he gifted Kathie Lee and Hoda during his segment, Paul Corsentino of The National accidentally knocks a wine glass over and shatters it into a plate of scallops he's about to cook. Oof. We feel your pain. And so does Anderson Cooper.

8.Paula Deen Violates Matt Lauer

Who could forget the time Paula Deen brought no less than four holiday hams to The Today Show, assigning each one to an anchor for a different preparation, which lead to Matt Lauer being groped against his will. He was unamused by Paula's flirtations, and asked her several times to "seriously" stop. She just cackled her Paula Deen cackle and went on about her bid-ness, but Matt was visibly shaken and clearly traumatized. Behold the awkwardness.

9.Stanley Tucci Almost Gets Jumped By The Secret Service After Exploding Butter Threatens Ann Romney

This one time, on Good Morning America, Stanley Tucci shared a cooking demo with Ann Romney, and his exploding butter almost led to a Secret Service fiasco. He left his butter on the burner for too long, and it began popping with Ann nearby. There's a visible startle that ripples through everyone on set, which is later revealed to be a response to The Secret Service jumping into position to save Ann from immediate danger (of which there was none). But the needlessly tense moment sure made for chuckle-worthy morning news.

10.Savannah Guthrie Snubs Fergus Henderson's Blood Pudding

By far, the most grossly offensive morning show segment of the year was Savannah Guthrie's snub of Fergus Henderson's Michelin-starred blood pudding during NBC's Summer Olympics London 2012 coverage. Not only did she pull a face, wrinkle her nose, whine, and complain when Giada de Laurentiis encouraged her to try some, she actively discouraged the US Women's Field Hockey Team from eating it, in spite of the fact that they were clearly enjoying it. Fergus Henderson is not out to poison you, ladies. Keep calm and carry on.

11.Martha Stewart Joins Savannah Guthrie's Snub Club

A close second to Savannah's disrespectful blood pudding disaster is the time she told Martha Stewart that she hates mussels and figs during a mussels and figs cooking segment. We get it Savannah; you have a limited palate. Can't you just pretend for the sake of polite and professional journalism?