Wednesday, September 05, 2007


Just Cook This Mixes Simple Recipes and Sharp Wit for a Cooking Show with an Edge on Discovery Health

Sam the Cooking Guy Welcomes Viewers into His Kitchen to Learn the Secrets of Food That Is Big on Taste and Small in Effort

Viewers tired of conventional cooking shows now have a reason to turn on their televisions and put on their aprons. A show as authentic as it is entertaining, Just Cook This, premiering Thursday, September 6, 2007, at 8 PM (ET/PT) on Discovery Health, features Sam Zien, a.k.a. Sam the Cooking Guy—a real person in his real San Diego kitchen who’s really funny. Sam has the unique ability to teach even the culinary novice how to prepare delicious, healthy dishes by making things simple—specifically by keeping the number of steps and ingredients to a minimum. Add his offbeat, rapid-fire wit and you have a cooking show that anyone – not just foodies – will enjoy.

Sam’s brand of cooking is big on taste and small in effort; his dishes taste amazing, but are also really easy to make. Viewers will find themselves saying, “Hey, I can make that!” after watching Sam prepare favorites such as mushroom and goat cheese pizza, Sam’s signature shrimp tacos and an incredible Thai curried chicken. As part of the Discovery Health family, Sam is focused on using wholesome, natural ingredients and encouraging healthy eating habits – just because you make a great pizza doesn’t mean you should eat the whole thing!
Just Cook This is irreverent, unscripted and completely unlike any other cooking show on TV. Not a classically trained chef, Sam is a survivor of the 9-to-5 world who now spends his days as a TV cook and possibly America’s hippest work-at-home dad. Whether teasing his cameraman, Steve, chasing his two dogs or going off on one of his trademark tangents, Sam is pure entertainment and an absolute original.

To maintain his signature authenticity, Sam bypassed multiple camera angles and a big studio in favor of a single-camera filming approach shot in the home he shares with his wife and three sons. Instead of having a legion of behind-the-scenes helpers handle the prep work, it’s all Sam all the time. If he drops an egg or can’t find his whisk, you’ll know it, because the viewer is completely engaged and involved in the action at all times. The result of this unique formula is the excitement, spontaneity and humor that sets Just Cook This apart from other cooking shows and is certain to delight viewers of all appetites.
The recipes featured in Just Cook This are available at http://www.discoveryhealth.com/, along with hilarious video blogs and random kitchen musings from Sam.