Whether watching over the stove or on the couch, a true foodie loves a good food show. Here are a few to check out.
1. Top Chef, Channel: Bravo
For 11 seasons, the Emmy Award-winning series has challenged over 200 chefs to use their creativity and innovation to complete weekly tasks. They cook for top entertainers, culinary stars and celebrity guest judges. Padma Lakshmi hosts the show, partnered with fellow judges Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Gail Simmons and Hugh Acheson. The fiery competition and mouth-watering plates will get any food-lover hooked.
2. Chopped, Channel: Food Network
Hosted by Ted Allen, Chopped tests even the best of chefs. On each episode, four promising chefs are expected to turn five unrelated ingredients into one of three delicious courses: appetizer, entrée, and dessert. Contestants get new ingredients each round. Competitors are given 20 minutes for the appetizer round and 30 minutes for the entrée and dessert rounds. Chefs must use all required ingredients, cook and plate in the allotted time. Following each round, rotating culinary experts judge the dishes and eliminate one chef. The winner walks away with a $10,000 prize.
3. America’s Test Kitchen, Channel: PBS
Host Christopher Kimball and “test cooks” use common sense, practicality and innovation to solve everyday problems in the kitchen. They test kitchen appliances and equipment to find the best of the best. The team also taste tests different foods and ingredients for consumers. Each episode also features carefully developed recipes that are ensured to work every time they are made. Seems impossible, but somehow it works.
4. Iron Chef America, Channel: Food Network
Chefs across the country come to Iron Chef America’s Kitchen Stadium to battle one of the five Iron Chefs: Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, Masaharu Morimoto, Cat Cora and Michael Symon. The challenger and the Iron Chef are given a secret ingredient that needs to be included in at least five dishes. All five dishes must be made in 60 minutes. The fast pace of the show’s battles, the skilled chefs in each episode and the witty jokes from floor commentator Alton Brown make for 60 minutes of sheer entertainment.
5. The Chew, Channel: ABC
The Chew is a take on ABC’s talk show, The View, and is targeted at the food lover, chef and recipe curator. The cooking-themed talk show focuses on food-related and lifestyle topics. Stars Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly and Daphne Oz host the mid-day show. Each episode is fun and informative, and the hosts even put together The Chew cookbooks!