Of all the cooking competitions, our favorite is Chopped. No drama, the contestants actually support each other, and the mystery ingredients are often pretty damn funny. (“You have 20 minutes to make a desert using chocolate, artichoke hearts, anchovies, and bubblewrap. GO!”)
herpus derpus
Not using spoiler tags is kind of a dick move.
The Masterchef is probably worth watching anyway. They made some great looking food. I was surprised by the HK outcome but I can’t really get invested in any of the contestants on that show.
We dig Chopped too. It can be hit or miss though. There are episodes where we wish they would just send everyone home without the money. Others are amazing though. I’ve been impressed with the challenges on The Great Food Truck Race, even if it looks like one team may be completely running away with it.
I saved a man from a collapsed meringue once. He lost a leg but otherwise he’s living a normal life now.
I used to be an adventurer, but then I took a meringue to the knee.
It’s ok, someone on facebook ruined the masterchef finale for me mere minutes after the show aired.
Hell’s Kitchen really blew this season. It was over the top with the drama.
Also, Dana talks like an old person types.
IN ALL CAPS!
Aww I like Dana <3
I finally watched Masterchef and the HK final episodes, mostly while playing Borderlands 2, they were ok, but I seem to lose interest in the show as more and more players leave and around the final 3-4 people I seem to just not care.
I liked her okay here and there, but she did have a habit of TALKING. REALLY. LOUD. while punctuating her words. Nothing is as dramatic that needed that, it got really grating.
I loved this season of the Great British Baking Show on PBS this season. Apparently it was the second season of the show. So maybe I can track down the first season somewhere. Just a delightful show. And oh man, watching all those pastries, cakes, buns, eclairs, and other baked goods just makes me so hungry. I always make sure I have food handy after watching an episode.
There’s 6 seasons of The Great British Bakeoff overall, so you’ve got some catching up to do ;)
(I don’t know if it’s being repackaged to be short/longer seasons, as it’s being shown with a different name. I guess they can realistically only have one winner per season, so it’s probably still 6?)
I stopped watching most of Ramsay’s cooking shows, but I still watch Hotel Hell, just to remind myself to never travel somewhere and stay overnight.
Hey cool. I chose this thread because you mentioned The Great British Bakeoff in this thread, and I felt this was close enough. I didn’t realize it was the same show!
Also, now that I’ve looked it up on Wiki and PBS, even the Baking Show version just ended their 3rd season, not their second. So I was wrong about that. But yeah, the 3 seasons of the show just seem to be The Great British Bakeoff seasons 4 through 6.
Edit: And the PBS version’s Season 1 is available on Netflix for instant watch. Yay!
I finished PBS’ Season 1 of The Great British Baking Show. Excellent! It’s a shame that the person I was pulling for couldn’t win though, unlike the latest season.
I’ve now watched Season 1,2,3 of the Great British Baking Show, which is essentially a repackaging of the Great British Bake Off, but for PBS. Season 1,2,3 were the same as Series 4,5,6 of Bake-off. So hopefully PBS will be getting the other 4 seasons at some point.
The GBBO is good stuff, though I guess Mary Berry is quitting and we are getting a new female host I don’t recognize. Not that I knew who Berry was either beforehand, so here’s hoping.
I vastly prefer the polite, encouraging style of this show to uh, everything else. I still love Top Chef but I can’t watch anything with Gordon Ramsey anymore, with the exception of Master Chef, and then only barely.
Yeah. The tone of GBBO is so wonderful and fun, that I love watching that show. The Ramsayverse is just kind of gross. I do like Masterchef, however, and he is much subdued for that.
This 1,000x. People like Ramsay on tv with their angry reality tv stuff makes me feel like the fall of civilization isn’t far behind.
So yeah, I watched the first episode of the Great American Baking Show today on ABC. Basically it’s the exact same show transported to the U.S. They even have the same music, a similar tent, the same kind of tracking shots outside the tent looking at flowers and trees.
Their version of Paul Hollywood is… Paul Hollywood! He comes over to the U.S. version. And their version of Mary Berry is some rude New Yorker type guy named Vinny.
Overall, the most annoying part for me is that unlike the PBS/British show, this one has TV commercials, and I just didn’t have the patience for that. Next time I’ll be prepared and give the show some time so that I can skip commercials.
Anyway, I did want to mention that just like you guys were saying, even the American version retains that level of civility and politeness that’s a signature of the British version. The only way they change that a bit is Vinny. He’s no Mary Berry.
Man, how did I miss the American version? Will have to check that out.
The new UK replacement for Berry is OK, she grows on you, same with the new hosts. Paul is Paul. Still a lovely show and we greatly enjoyed the new season.
Last night, they showed something else in Great American Baking Show’s slot. I looked it up, apparently that Vinny guy, the judge I was making fun of above, was accused of sexual harassment, and they’re not going to air the rest of the season. Ouch. I feel sorry for Paul Hollywood, the other hosts and crew, and especially the other amateur bakers who were still on the show. We’ll never get to see how they did and who won.
Oh for fucks sake. I was working my way through the last two seasons and looking forward to 3.