The Struggle Is Real..."The Great Food Truck Race"

The Great Food Truck Race (2010)

TV-PG

Hosted by Tyler Florence

The Story:

From the Food Network, here comes another reality series where this time, Food Trucks race around America trying to sell their dishes in different communities. Whoever makes the least amount of money goes home.

Naturally, as it is a game show/reality show hybrid, nothing is that simple, so challenges and obstacles will be issued and needed to be overcome by each of the teams.

So yes, here I come, late to another party that started 5 years ago, but I don't care.

:)

That, is the beauty of Netflix.

And apparently, the offered up the 3rd season first (and looks like they worked backwards from there) when I watched.

What's the big deal about that you ask?

Apparently, the 3rd season took a bunch of people who wanted to own a Food Truck, and gave them a truck and let them create.

To the winners, $50,000 AND the keys to their truck! 

Pretty sweet gig, and the right team actually won.

It's a great way to take the plunge into the show though.  These teams and people are learning their trade on the fly as they are all stepping out of a real kitchen and into a food truck together, so there is a lot of growth and failure (and drama) that may not exist for owners/operators of trucks already.

Or maybe I'm wrong, I'll have to check out the other 2 seasons to find out.

Final Grade: B

"Chopped" Puts The Food Network Back On Top

Chopped (2007)

Hosted by Ted Allen

The Story:

The Food Network offers yet another reality tv contest wherein 4 chefs are each given mystery baskets of ingredients. Over the course of 3 rounds they will create an appetizer, a main course and a dessert with those ingredients plus whatever else in the pantry suits their fancy.

At the end of each round, their dishes will be tasted and judged by a celebrity panel, and one of the contestants will be...

Chopped!

So simple, and yet so utterly watchable. 

Unlike Cutthroat Kitchen, the ingredients of the basket are really the only sabotage in this game.

Forget to use an ingredient and you're likely going home.

While they say it's not an automatic disqualification, it's pretty darn close to automatic.

If you enjoy these cooking shows, odds are you've been watching them for years already.

For me, I've only just begun to dive in, so my Top 10 Television of 2015 is going to look like The Food Network took over programming.

:)

The judges all do a great job of evaluation on what they see and taste. The benefit of them being there is the banter at their table as they watch, and their impression of how well, or how poorly each chef really did in the time they are given.

Ted Allen gets to host and lift the silver lid off the platter in dramatic fashion, but his  no-nonsense approach works well in a show like this were a more charismatic host could ruin the flow of the show or put the spotlight on their antics instead.

Very well done to all involved.

A few seasons are now streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B+

Are You Ready To Watch The Next "Food Network Star" ?

Food Network Star (2005)

Reality TV

Starring Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown

The Story:

It's the Food Network's version of American Idol. A reality show where 3 of their finest judge and groom a dozen hopefuls all dreaming of becoming the next star of their own Food Network show.

The show is challenging because it isn't just based on cooking.

A Food Network host must be entertaining, quick on their feet, able to cook, a master on nearly any food subject and able to juggle about a dozen other things that might get thrown their way at any time.

Each episode, another hopeful gets eliminated from the competition.

When all is said and done, usually the Final Three are all deserving of being there, and so far, with just the 2 seasons that are currently streamable on Netflix, I have had no argument with who has won, or why.

I actually picked the 2nd runner up, and the winner of the 2 seasons, so I guess I have an eye for talent.

I still can't cook a meal in under 20 minutes though!

:)

Final Grade: B+

It's The First Letdown From The Network..."Iron Chef America"

Iron Chef America (2005)

Hosted by Alton Brown

The Story:

Iron Chef America attempts to recreate the Iron Chef Japanese series where chefs compete for the honor of becoming an Iron Chef.

They bring over the crazy sound effects for the announcer, but in the end, it's just 2 chefs cooking a bunch of stuff in an hour to see who's stuff tastes better.

However, that series, like most Japanese game shows, attempts a rather silly premise and they make it fun.

Somehow when it came to America, it became a serious competition to actually become an Iron Chef.

The fun was kind of sucked out of the original premise. 

Alton Brown and his team on the ground attempt to inject some liveliness into the proceedings, but all in all...

It's rather boring.

The first dud from the Food Network that I've found on Netflix.

They've got a season or two available for streaming, but I'm in no hurry to revisit the competition anytime soon.

Final Grade: C

All Fluff...No Filling. "Cupcake Wars"

Cupcake Wars (2009)

Combing through the archives of stuff I've watched but have never reviewed, I stumbled across Cupcake Wars, now streaming on Netflix.

Now, before I get hostile hate mail about the reality shows that I stream, do remember that I liked quite a few of t hem.

But this offering from the Food Network is...

lame.

Bakers square off to make the best batch of cupcakes and a chance at 10,000 bucks.

The viewer watches and quickly grows bored.

We've seen all these challenges before.

Beat the clock.
Impress the judges.
Move on to the finals.

Except the other shows had other things for the bakers to do besides bake cupcakes.

Anyone with an oven can make cupcakes.

:D

The first, and only, episode I watched showed a bakery from Oregon (I believe) whose claim to fame was that they bake cupcakes using beer in their batter.

Fair enough.

The challenge?

Make something to celebrate the Girl Scouts of America 100th aniversary.

Want to bet what special secret ingredient they used?

Uh-huh, beer.

And those that say beer bakes out must have missed the episode of a much better Food Network show, Good Eats, where Alton Brown debunked that myth, and alcohol does NOT bake out of food, especially within 30 minutes.

Naturally, the bakers were shocked and dismayed that they were sent packing for trying to get little girls all liquored up!

Save your time, there's much better shows to watch or stream.

Final Grade: D+