Kenji Lopez-Alt says he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't like American cheese!
Also, when making quick mac and cheese or a quick cheese sauce American cheese or Velveeta or Cheez Whiz or something else (I use something called Pub Cheese) that has some starch in it helps emulsify the sauce.
Julia Child was great and from a different time. Her shows with Jacque Pepin were fantastic.
I do watch the kids competitions because my daughter loves them. It's interesting to go back and watch the earlier ones. Duff was much more involved and making sure things like mis-measuring butter didn't happen. Now he and Valerie stand off and the show is much colder. Last week a kid's pot of caramel caught on fire and they just stood there commenting on the big fire. The people with the camera kept filming and finally someone ran in and dropped a sheet pan on the pot but it took way too long for the adults to react.