What happens when “Survivor” meets “The French Chef”?
Bingo! Cooking reality shows.
Three of the television competition shows now airing appear on the TV Food Network: “Iron Chef,” the first cooking reality show, originally from Japan; “Iron Chef America” and “The Next Food Network Star.”
Fox debuted “Hell’s Kitchen” in early June.
PBS launched “Cooking Under Fire” in late April.
And “Go Ahead, Make My Dinner!” debuts on the Discovery Channel at 11 a.m. Monday.
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Critics grumble that the shows have less to do with cooking than they do with entertaining. That’s exactly why food reality shows draw a balanced mix of male and female viewers, some television executives say.
“At the end of the day, food is pretty to look at and it makes us feel good,” said Kathleen Finch, senior vice president of prime time programming at the Food Network. “A lot of viewers may not even cook, but it’s fair to assume they have an inherent interest in food, even if it’s not in food preparation.”
Her network’s three shows are “doing exceptionally well, and tremendously well with 18- to 34-year-olds,” Finch said. ” ‘The Next Food Network Star’ is probably the most broadly appealing, but all three are watched about 50-50 male-female,” she said. “Most people don’t realize that.”
The shows are doing so well, Finch said, that you can count on seeing more in the near future.
A guide to the reality cooking shows
Three members of the Good Eating staff–reporter Robin Mather Jenkins and assistant editors Renee Enna and Joe Gray–caught some couch time to catch up with the food reality shows. We watched the same episodes, but viewed them solo. Then we compiled opinions and observations. (“Go Ahead, Make My Dinner” was too new to review by press time. It will air Monday through Friday on the Discovery Channel. In each episode, two chefs compete to create as many dishes as possible in 20 minutes using just a few ingredients, including one that’s a mystery.)
– The show
Cooking Under Fire
Airs: WTTW-Ch. 11, 8 p.m. Wednesdays; 3:30 p.m. Saturdays
Hosts/judges: Todd English, Michael Ruhlman, Ming Tsai
Premise: 12 contestants vie for a chance at a job in one of Todd English’s restaurants. Each week, one is eliminated by getting “86’ed” — restaurant shorthand for running out of an offering.
Episode viewed: “Taste of the West Coast.”
– Entertainment factor
Renee: Very high. Home cooks will mentally execute the tasks while watching to see what the chef-y contestants are going to do.
Robin: High. Such earnestness! Such eagerness to succeed! Such greed to get a high-profile restaurant job!
Joe: Good. But the serious chef judges, though they lend the show cred, also come off quite stiff.
– Glitz factor
Renee: Low, and I’m not complaining. This is a seriously fun program.
Robin: Medium. The contests and the judges are really working.
Joe: Not too high, but this aims to be a classy show.
– Can this show be saved?
Renee: Wish it was an hour long.
Robin: Takes the highest road of all these shows. Nobody is unduly humiliated. Thanks to the hosts, producers and network for that.
Joe: B+ show; lose some of the numerous, repetitive lineup shots, in which contestants file in “dramatically,” and it would be much better.
– Dish to hate/love
Renee: Katsuji’s mango mousse ice cream–I can make it in less than an hour? Bring it on!
Robin: Definite loser: that weird beet-top garnish.
Joe: Lose the mountain of all ingredients piled atop each other! But the apple/celery/radish salad was nice.
– Take away tip
Renee: For anyone having a dinner party: Keep things simple in terms of time, budget and skills.
Robin: Make your budget, then spend up to it –you don’t win prizes by shaving pennies.
Joe: Don’t put inedible garnishes on the plate!
– Who will like this show
Renee: Adventurous home cooks who challenge themselves in the kitchen.
Robin: Viewers who really want to learn (vicariously) from some pros–Tsai, English and Ruhlman.
Joe: Real foodie geeks who love chef-y recipes.
– The show
Iron Chef
Airs: Food Network, 2 a.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; 10 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Host: Kaga Takeshi, “The Chairman”
Judges: Usually a trio of well-known Japanese people
Premise: Chefs compete against each other with a different secret ingredient in each episode.
Episode viewed: Battle short-necked clams, Iron Chef Kenichi (left) vs. Yoshiko Takemasa
– Entertainment factor
Renee: Way high. What a hoot. This show is an ingratiating mix of hambone and culinary derring-do, and it sets up the competition beautifully.
Robin: High. The grand-daddy of the cooking reality shows, with its campy and hilarious faux-host, is half real, half staged and all amusing.
Joe: Pretty good, but needs to cut back on hokum; the American imitation is actually easier to watch.
– Glitz factor
Renee: Over the top, with a nutty approach to drama that never sacrifices attention to cooking.
Robin: High. Who are those serried ranks of white toqued understudies in the opening shots of Kitchen Stadium? We never see them again.
Joe: Glitzy, yes, very high, but with no sophistication.
– Can this show be saved?
Renee: What’s not to like?
Robin: It deserves to be appreciated for itself, with all its eccentricities intact: the inexpert dubbing, the breathless translation, the irritating giggles.
Joe: Yes, if you cut out the sexist comments against the female challenger and trim the tasting segment, which goes on and on.
– Dish to hate/love
Renee: I would be happy eating all 10 dishes–and I don’t like clams that much.
Robin: The clam and leek soup was the only thing that looked good to me.
Joe: Toss out the clam and leek soup: gelatinous looking, yuck!
– Take away tip
Renee: Clam shells that stay closed during cooking means the clams are dead; you want them to open during cooking.
Robin: Don’t try this at home.
Joe: It’s hard to cook with small clams.
– Who will like this show
Renee: Anybody who likes to cook and/or laugh.
Robin: Ultimate Fighting fans, the terminally snarky (like me).
Joe: Macho guys.
– The show
Iron Chef America
Airs: Food Network, 10 a.m. Wednesdays; 2 a.m. Thursdays; 6 p.m. Saturdays
Host: Alton Brown
Judges: Varies with the episode, usually a trio of respected New York foodies
Premise: A different challenger each week meets one of the three American Iron Chefs: Bobby Flay (far left), Mario Batali or Masaharu Morimoto
Episode viewed: Bobby Flay vs. Govind Armstrong (left)
– Entertainment factor
Renee: Low. The frenzied pace was more stressing than exhilarating.
Robin: Medium to high, although I don’t find Bobby Flay very entertaining.
Joe: Very high, a dramatic show! Watching the panicked look on Flay’s face built the intensity.
– Glitz factor
Renee: High. Well-known chefs keep the celeb level on a high flame.
Robin: Medium, although I think Bobby Flay (left) was trying to up the glitz factor.
Joe: Very high, but all very tongue in cheek.
– Can this show be saved?
Renee: Given that it’s an hour long, more cooking information and fewer shots of chefs interacting with sous chefs would be nice.
Robin: Unclear. Somehow, the challenges don’t seem very challenging to me. Govind Armstrong should have won.
Joe: A great show! The constant camera cuts quicken the pace.
– Dish to hate/love
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Renee: When you need a hand drill to create a garnish, you’re spending too much time at Home Depot.
Robin: Say, have I mentioned how I feel about Bobby Flay? I loved the idea of Armstrong’s squash panna cotta.
Joe: Dump the giant pumpkin sundae fantasy from Bobby Flay. What a mess!
– Take away tip
Renee: Brown’s trivia: Who knew Pilgrims used empty gourds for baby carriages?
Robin: Squash: It’s delicious in every course!
Joe: Neat technique for skinning butternut squash quickly.
– Who will like this show
Renee: Voyeurs/fans of “Survivor” and “WWE Smackdown” will like this testosterone-friendly show.
Robin: Chef groupies; food nerds
Joe: Sports fans, for the cameras hop back and forth like a tennis match.
– The show
Hell’s Kitchen
Airs: Fox, 8 p.m. Mondays
Host: None
Judge: Gordon Ramsay
Premise: 14 ambitious young chef wannabes contend for a chance to head a Gordon Ramsay restaurant in Los Angeles. Problem is, they have to convince England’s leading chef Ramsay, who’s famously ill-tempered and abusive.
Episode viewed: Two
– Entertainment factor
Renee: High (eventually). Hated it at first then did an about-face. Ramsay, the “bad boy of cooking,” began to soften, a little, and actually created some empathy.
Robin: I hated seeing Ramsay, that horrible man, abusing his inferiors. He’s a bully.
Joe: Very high; this is a dramatic show that makes you care about the chefs and feel their pain when they fail.
– Glitz factor
Renee: High. It’s got all the polish you would expect from a major network. As Fox tells us: “72 cameras!”
Robin: Can’t beat the production values, for sure. It all looks pro.
Joe: Medium high; the graphics at commercial breaks are clever; the little pitchforks emphasize the hellish motif, but with humor.
– Can this show be saved?
Renee: Just don’t make me watch people clean squid anymore.
Robin: Sigh. I don’t know.
Joe: If it stops the tedious retelling of previous plot points after each commercial break, yes.
– Dish to hate/love
Renee: Did I mention the squid?
Robin: Didn’t see anything that made me lick my lips. And did anyone even order the squid?
Joe: Ralph’s rescued risotto looked good with plenty of shaved Parmigiana on top.
– Take away tip
Renee: It is far better to dine in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant than to cook in a Gordon Ramsay restaurant.
Robin: The farther I remain from Gordon Ramsay (right), the happier I will be.
Joe: Don’t quit on your teammates, no matter how tough it gets.
– Who will like this show
Renee: Totally a voyeur/escapist show. Also for anyone who wants to get talked out of a career in cooking.
Robin: Sadists.
Joe: Armchair chefs with a tough skin.
– The show
The Next Food Network Star
Airs: Food Network, 8 p.m. Sundays
Host: Marc Summers
Judges: Bob Tuschman, Food Network executive; TV and radio personality Gordon Elliott; Susie Fogelson, Food Network executive
Premise: Nine competitors (including Chicagoans Steve McDonagh, left, and Dan Smith, far left) try to win a television show of their own on the Food Network. Viewers will help choose the winner in the finale, airing in Chicago at 8 p.m. Sunday
Episode viewed: Two
– Entertainment factor
Renee: Medium. Engaging, though it’s more about “cooking-for-TV” than cooking itself.
Robin: Pretty high
Joe: Very high–the contestants mostly seem like good people, so watching them mess up is like seeing a friend fail.
– Glitz factor
Renee: Medium-high, if you count Food Network’s non-stop parade of its other stars.
Robin: In the sense of klieg lights, low. In the sense of self-promotion by the Food Network, out of the ballpark.
Joe: Medium low
– Can this show be saved?
Renee: There’s not enough tension. The contestants all rate too high on the Nice-o-Meter.
Robin: Dramatic tension levels are not very high. But the show is intriguing. I found the chummy good-naturedness refreshing.
Joe: Yes! Despite the goofy host, this is a good show that draws viewers in.
– Dish to hate/love
Renee: I didn’t see any.
Robin: Didn’t see anything really hateable or lovable. What struck me, though, was how rudimentary and sort of uninspired the dishes were.
Joe: Hans Rueffert’s frittata soup with romaine looked intriguing.
– Take away tip
Renee: With a backup cooking crew and state-of-the-art production facility, you, too, can have your own cooking show!
Robin: You don’t really need a foodie background to host a food show.
Joe: Reading a teleprompter is harder than we thought.
– Who will like this show
Renee: Anybody with an hour to kill and clothes to iron.
Robin: Aspiring show hosts; people who think TV cooking shows are really about cooking.
Joe: Everyone
Tempura raspberries with pomegranate juice
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooling time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
-Chef Katsuji Tanabe from “Cooking Under Fire” serves these berries with his mango ice cream (see recipe on this page). For a simpler version, serve plain raspberries drizzled with the pomegranate syrup.
1 bottle (1 pint) pomegranate juice
Peanut or canola oil for deep-fat frying
1/4 cup each: rice flour, all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch, plus more for dusting
3/4 cup seltzer or ice water
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1. Heat the pomegranate juice in a small saucepan over medium heat; cook until it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes. Set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat about 1 inch of the oil in a large, heavy saucepan to 375 degrees on a deep-fry thermometer. Stir the flours and 2 tablespoons of the cornstarch together in a medium bowl; whisk in the seltzer until smooth and consistency of a pancake batter. Spread more cornstarch on a shallow plate.
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3. Roll the berries in the cornstarch, shaking off any excess. Dip the individual fruit into the batter to completely coat, letting the excess batter drip back into the bowl. Gently place the berries, in small batches, into the hot oil. Fry until light golden and crisp, about 5 seconds; remove with a slotted spoon. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Use berries to garnish ice cream; drizzle with pomegranate syrup.
Nutrition information per serving:
236 calories, 0% of calories from fat, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 64 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g protein, 0.5 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
Shrimp and grits with spicy tomato sauce
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Adapted from a recipe by “Cooking Under Fire” contestant Katie Hagan-Welchel.
6 slices smoked bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1 each, chopped: yellow onion, carrot, celery rib
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1-2 teaspoons ground red pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
1/2 stick (1/4cup) unsalted butter
1 cup yellow polenta or stone-ground cornmeal
1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, cut into pieces, optional
1 1/2 pounds large shrimp
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1. Cook the bacon, stirring often, in a large skillet over medium heat until brown and crispy, about 6 minutes. Remove bacon with slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. Strain the bacon fat into an empty can.
2. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat into a large ovenproof skillet; add the olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Add the garlic, thyme, tomatoes, onion, carrot and celery. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, black pepper to taste and 1/2 teaspoon of the ground red pepper. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in lemon juice and wine, scraping up bits from bottom of skillet. Stir in 1/2 can of the broth. Cook over medium-low heat 25 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, heat the butter and the remaining chicken broth to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cornmeal slowly; cook, stirring constantly, until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring, 10 minutes. Season with1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cream cheese a few pieces at a time, until incorporated; cook until grits are smooth and thick, about 10 minutes. Cover; set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in a large skillet over medium high heat; add shrimp, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, and black pepper and ground red pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp turn pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in the chives. Divide the grits among 6 plates; top each with shrimp. Spoon sauce around the shrimp and grits. Garnish with reserved bacon.
Nutrition information per serving: 439 calories, 45% of calories from fat, 22 g fat, 10 g saturated fat, 213 mg cholesterol, 29 g carbohydrates, 30 g protein, 1,688 mg sodium, 3 g fiber
Mango mousse ice cream
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Freezing/chilling time: 35 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
– Chef Katsuji Tanabe from “Cooking Under Fire” came up with this ice cream that can be made in less than an hour for one of the show’s episodes. He served it with tempura raspberries (see recipe on this page)
2 ripe mangoes
1/4 cup sugar
1 container (1/2 pint) whipping cream
1/2 cup coarse salt
1. Cut the mango, holding it upright, down around the pit into 2 halves; scoop out the flesh into a blender container. Add sugar to blender; puree. Set aside. Beat the cream with a mixer on medium-high speed until the soft peaks form, about 7 minutes. Fold in the mango puree a little at a time with a spatula. Transfer the mixture to a small metal bowl or pot; set aside.
2. Fill a large bowl with ice; add the salt. Place the bowl of mango mixture in the ice. Whisk vigorously to incorporate air, about 5 minutes. Transfer the bowls and ice to the freezer; freeze 5 minutes. Whisk to aerate the mixture, breaking up any frozen portions. Return ice cream to the freezer; freeze 5 minutes. Repeat this process 5 more times until the ice cream is fluffy and begins to harden. Freeze longer, if you like, until ready to serve.
Nutrition information per serving: 214 calories, 60% of calories from fat, 15 g fat, 9 g saturated fat, 54 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 1 g protein, 16 mg sodium, 1 g fiber