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Entertainment August 12, 2016
If you could only watch one cooking show for the rest of your life, what would it be? Would you watch celeb Gordon Ramsay yelling at young chefs? Baking masters vying for the title on “Cupcake Wars?” What about chefs making dishes with snake, pomegranate juice and ginger cookies on “Chopped”?
Whether you’re a cooking master or like to leave it to the pros, there are tons of diverse cooking shows to capture your interest – and appetite. So which shows should you watch to get your heart racing, mouth drooling and hands itching to get busy in the kitchen?
Here are nine of our favorite kitchen shows in the culinary entertainment world:
Hosted by none other than Gordon Ramsay himself, “Hell’s Kitchen” recently finished its 15th season. The basics? At the start, the batch of 12 to 20 chefs are split – usually by gender – into two teams and battle it out until only one woman or man is left at the end. Each episode offers plenty of good cuisine, great drama and entertaining twists. One particular challenge is the taste-test, in which chefs hilariously identify ingredients while blindfolded.
Do you ever look in the fridge, find only a few random ingredients and wish you could make a good meal out of them? If you answered yes – or just like adventurous cuisine – “Chopped” is your new best friend. The show’s host, Ted Allen, challenges four chefs to use provided boxes of surprise ingredients to make an appetizer, entrée and dessert. One chef is ‘chopped’ at each course and the winner can receive up to $10,000. The mystery ingredients used to make the dishes sometimes include items like gummy bears or yucca, which makes for some interesting dishes.
Watching this show can really make you feel bad about your cooking skills – but in a good way. The kids that compete on this “MasterChef” spinoff are between eight and 13 years old but have more kitchen swagger than some professionals. Plus, they’re adorable and Gordon Ramsay is actually nice to them. (If you’ve ever watched “Hell’s Kitchen,” you must watch this show just to see Ramsey when he’s not yelling!) This show’s best episodes are the restaurant episodes in which the kids work as teams to cook meals that will impress Ramsay’s friends.
Want to see an inspirational woman hosting a show – and rocking it? This series, which is a mix of a talk show and a cooking show, is hosted by Rachael Ray and just finished its 10th season. The entertaining show often features celebrity guests, who Ray sometimes invites into her kitchen. “The Rachael Ray Show” has won three Daytime Emmy Awards and Ray has established herself as a top female talk show host among the many men in her field.
While about as much – or even more – eating may happen than cooking on this show, it’s still a series that a foodie would love to drool over! “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” features many different small, independent eateries that cook unique recipes, often with fresh, local ingredients. Culinary celebrity Guy Fieri asks patrons about the food and helps himself to one or two of the establishment’s most popular dishes. This is a great show to watch before going on a road trip because you may run into one of the eateries on your way!
Even if you didn’t grow up in a loud, boisterous Italian family, you’ll feel right at home with Buddy Valastro on his show, “Cake Boss.” Although plenty of unnecessary drama is usually involved, the cakes that Carlo’s Bakery produces will make your mouth water. Whether making an elegant wedding cake or an enormous hamburger-shaped cake that weighs hundreds of pounds, Buddy’s elaborate creations are unlike any any you’ve ever seen before.
Another amazing dessert-based show is the “Chopped”-esque “Cupcake Wars.” Four chef and sous-chef teams are tasked with making three rounds of cupcakes for a particular event or party (ranging from a movie release to a celebrity birthday party). With each round, one team goes home until only two teams are left. They then have to make 1,000 improved cupcakes from the first two rounds, with the help of a few baking assistants, in just two hours. The tastiest cupcakes – and most amazing display – wins!
Ever wondered about the benefits of blogging? For Ree Drummond, her blog turned her into a TV star! She started a blog called “The Pioneer Woman,” and it led to several awards, a place on The New York Times best seller list and her own TV show. The show focuses on Drummond’s husband and kids on the ranch and the southern, home-cooked meals she prepares. Drummond’s sassy personality, her love for cooking, the ranch and her family make for a low-key show full of easy, do-it-yourself recipes.
Are you more of a bungee jumper than a spa day kind of gal? Then gear up for a major adrenaline rush thanks to “Cutthroat Kitchen,” one of the most ruthless kitchen competitions. The contestants have the opportunity to sabotage the other chefs with auctioned items such as ‘Swap,’ which forces a chef to switch out an ingredient with another or switch an appliance out with a less desirable one. Though silly at times, the tasks and challenges that chefs have to endure make this show unique, entertaining and, in the end, still very tasty!
