As a cooking, restaurant and travel fan, I think the overall premise is neat. However, growing up a Buddhist myself, I fail to find the connection between the religion and philosophies of Buddhism to this television program. The idea of taking part in such wasteful gluttony is not very Buddhist (it sounds appealing, I won't lie, but not Buddhist).
The following is his website: http://www.thefoodbuddha.com/
Unfortunately, the in appropriate use of the Buddha expands well beyond the name of a teleivsion show. There is also the incessant use of the Buddha's name, image, or "philosophy" in popular culture. Some of the uses are downright disrespectful and contradictory to Buddhist culture and practice. Actually, the use of the Buddha as a marketing tool to sell anything is a contradiction in itself. Even more, it's upsetting to see the sale of Buddha heads for gardens, when I was raised that it is amazingly disrespectful to touch the Buddha's head (or, to have Buddha touching the ground, or to point your feet towards the Buddha). The idea of having carrying and placing Buddha's heads in a garden, on the ground, because people think it's attractive is pretty insensitive and hurtful.
It's not even really Buddhist of me to complain, but, as a Buddhist in a Christian society, I take every measure I can to pay respect to the Christian religion. I also feel like using the image of Christ to sell alcoholic drinks (Buddha cocktail drinks), or, as a non-Christian, having a giant Jesus Christ water fountain in my garden because it looks cool, is disrespectful. I know there are some tongue-in-cheek Jesus Christ toys, fashions, decor, bandaids, coffee mugs, but the general American public knows it's a joke and is in on the joke. When people use an image of a fat, possibly drunk, Buddha in their products, restaurants, TV shows, etc., there usually aren't Buddhists that are in on it.
When this trend seemed to appear more in the late 90's and early 2000's, I was hoping it would go the way of the perms and flannel shirts. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Aglibot's friends may call him "Food Buddha" because he appears to be of Asian descent and has a shaved head, but I think it detracts from what the show is actually about and gives a false sense of familiarity with my heritage and religion.
Other examples of the Buddha in consumer products:
- http://search.urbanoutfitters.com/?q=buddha
- http://www.bluefly.com/Monarchy-ash-cotton-'Buddha'-crewneck-t-shirt/cat20336/302253001/detail.fly?referer=ca_google_productads&cm_mmc=ca_google_productads-_-na-_-mens_casual_shirts-_-302253001&PROMO=promo850024&mr:trackingCode=5625D182-9FD4-DE11-974B-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA&GANTrackingID=bluefly_381348542
- http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_11?url=search-alias%3Dgarden&field-keywords=buddha+head&sprefix=buddha+head
