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Table Talk: TV dreams and kitchen realities

By , Daily Memphian Published: July 16, 2025 3:21 PM CT
Ellen Chamberlain
Daily Memphian

Ellen Chamberlain

Ellen Chamberlain is a global citizen who is happy to call Memphis her forever home. The Michigan native has worked in media for nearly 25 years as a radio broadcaster, journalist and ghostwriter. As The Daily Memphian’s food and restaurant writer, she gives readers inside perspectives of their favorite restaurants and the people behind them, suggestions for the best bites around town and the latest food news from in and around Shelby County.

Welcome to Table Talk, The Daily Memphian’s weekly food and dining newsletter for subscribers only. 

Am I the only person who grew up with dreams of being on a big screen?

Some of you were fortunate to witness the golden era of television — in real time, not replayed — when everything was romanticized and perfectly presented on screen. Others came up watching the excessively dramatic films, TV and game shows of the 1970s and ’80s. And some of us have been influenced by the reality TV era, for better or worse.

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