Iron Chef America lost so much appeal for me when I found out how completely rigged the show is; the chefs know who they're cooking against, as well as 3 potential secret ingredients prior to even setting foot in the studio. They're also allowed to make shopping lists for each ingredient, so they can pretty much guess which of the ingredients has been chosen, as well as plan out a complete menu and cooking plan for each potential ingredient. They also get 1-2 of their very favorite sous chefs, and only have to make and plate the "beauty plate" within the hour, getting an additional 45 minutes to cook the "tasting plates". Still frickin' incredible, but not quite as good as the show makes it look. Top Chef, in contrast, gives exceptionally broad challenges to the competitors, often with incredibly difficult twists. Also bear in mind that the contestants aren't allowed to use the phone, the internet, or even read notes or cookbooks they brought from home, and what they do there becomes even more impressive. When you think about the fact that they don't even have the luxury of premium ingredients (since everything is out of season, and from Whole Foods), that's damn impressive. Even the "Top Chef Masters" series was better than Iron Chef America in my opinion, if you wanted to see a variety of dishes prepared by the best celebrity chefs. Sadly, was a bit too young to really enjoy the food p*rn of the Japanese Iron Chef. I've always loved this clip , though. Sometimes you forget how good SNL was back in the day.
Hate to burst your bubble but you thought that the chefs had no idea what the secret ingredient was? Ive seen some ridiculous food items used in that show. No way in HELL that kitchen stadium would have some of this stuff on tap. Id be actually surprised if they only knew 3 potential secret ingredients. I thought they knew exactly what it was.
Top Chef is probably the best reality cooking show out there, and the most credible. I also enjoyed the Top Chef Masters series; it was especially fun seeing Michael Chiarello being a dick, especially after seeing his persona on Easy Entertaining. The best instructional cooking shows tend to be on PBS, IMO.
No "Good Eats" on poll - no vote. PS - the poll sucks unless you change the title to something like "Competitive Chef Shows" instead of "Best Cooking Show." In any case, "Good Eats" is the winner, case closed.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11Oliver-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&hp Great read on Jamie, loved his show too. And I think his recipes are awesome, especially given how simple they are
I used to love boy meets grill but now I have to go with everyday italian and reruns of 30 minute meals. I feel like these chef shows are all gimmick. They're like the reality shows of reality shows, then again I do like ace of cakes.
Top Chef by a mile and it even trumps all the other write-inns in this thread.. I really loved the Masters challenge they aired this summer.. IMO TC is the gold standard by which all other cooking shows are measured by.. TC has it all, they have the eye candy in Padma, who is surprisingly very knowledgeable on her food compared to the season one host of Billy Joel's wife (I cant remember her name).. They have one of the best American chefs in Tom Colicchio who IMO comes across as a total food badass and they bring in some of the best chefs from around the world as guest judges.. IMO it's right next to Amazing Race as one of the best reality shows on TV.
Top Chef is totally superior to all these other shows. I also loved the Top Chef Masters show they did this summer. They brought in some world-class chefs, some of whom judged the ‘amateurs’ and they were all surprised at how tough the competitions were. That should tell you something. And yes, Padme is hot…but so is that Gail chick. Not the old bird with the hat, the short cute one that just got married. I would totally hit. Not sure if Man v. Food qualifies as a cooking show, but that one is great as well. I never miss an episode.
Another vote for Good Eats. Otherwise, Iron Chef is a decent show. Most of their other shows are boring.
