As much as I like Food Network, this seems to be a rather weighted poll. I started watching cooking shows way before it existed, and I still watch a fair bit of PBS for 'em, as some of Food TV's shows are more 'look at me cook' rather than being educational.
So, in chronological order:
- family (parents, paternal grandfather, mother's paternal grandmother)
- Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet, watching w/ my great grandmother ... luckily she died before the 'incident')
- Justin Wilson (Louisiana Cookin)
- Martin Yan (Yan Can Cook; now Martin Yan's Chinatown)
- Nick Stellino (Cucina Amore; now on Nick Stellino's Famly Cooking)
- Ming Tsai (East Meets West; Ming's Quest; now Simply Ming)
- Sara Moulton (Cooking Live ... I don't tend to watch Sara's Secrets)
- Alton Brown (Good Eats)
- Tyler Florance (Food 911 ... I don't tend to watch Tyler's Ultimate)
- Rachael Ray (30 Minute Meals)
- Tako the Octopus (Deep Fried Live!; now writes for Good Eats)
- Alan Harding (Cookin in Brooklyn)
- Bridget Lancaster / Julia Davison (America's Test Kitchen)
I've also watched plenty of other shows, just for interesting ideas (Melting Pot, Bobby Flay's various shows, Kitchens of Biro, Kylie Kwong, Jamie Oliver, Jacques Pépin, Paul Prudhome, Gordon Ramsey (okay, not really for the cooking), Ainsley Harriott, Ready Set Cook, Everyday Food, (New)? Scandinavian Cooking, Great Chefs of..., Curtis Aikens, Mark Bittman (How to Cook Everything), Daisy Martinez (Daisy Cooks), Rob Rainford (License to Grill))
For those new to cooking, I recommend all of the ones I've actually linked to:
- Deep Fried Live!
- Cooking show done in Flash. Very funny, yet informative
- Nick Stellino's Family Cooking
- Simple Italian food at an easy pace. Very good at explaining everything he's doing (can get repetitive if you watch too much of it, but not on the level of Emeril annoying)
- Good Eats
- Funny but educational. Focuses on some of the science aspects of cooking
- America's Test Kitchen
- Simple cooking, but also review equipment and brands of ingredients
- Simply Ming
- Focuses on one base concept (sauce or style), and how you can make many varied dishes from it