Geek Alabama’s Top Cooking Competition Shows

By Nathan Young on July 3, 2013

So, there are many cooking shows on TV to enjoy. It seems like cooking shows have gotten more popular in the past few years. Many networks have gotten into the cooking spirit by doing a cooking show. So this post will talk about some of the top cooking competition shows that I enjoy watching!

Chopped

This along with Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, is my favorite show on Food Network. In each episode, four chefs begins a competition where they open a basket featuring four unique items and those items must be used in the dish. There are three rounds, appetizer, dinner, and dessert, and after each round, the worst dish and that chef is chopped.

I find this show very interesting because I am always thinking of ways to use those mystery ingredients. Watching the chefs create the dishes from those mystery ingredients in under 30 minutes is special to watch. Each episode features three judges critiquing the chef’s dishes and the winner gets $10,000! New episodes air on Tuesday night at 10/9 central. Learn more about Chopped at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/chopped/index.html?vty=/chopped/

MasterChef

This show on FOX stars Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliot as they judge home cooks. Each episode features something very interesting! One type of episode features the contestants cooking for lots of people from kids, firefighters, cowboys, and even people at a wedding. The losing team has to compete in a pressure test where someone goes home.

The other type of episode features the contestants competing in a mystery box challenge then an elimination test where someone goes home. Each episode features some twists and turns and it’s very interesting to watch! MasterChef is my favorite cooking show on TV right now and a Junior MasterChef featuring kids is coming this Fall. I can’t wait for that! MasterChef airs on Wednesday night at 8/7 central on Fox. Learn more about MasterChef at: http://www.fox.com/masterchef/

Hell’s Kitchen

I consider Hell’s Kitchen as more of a reality show. But the contestants or chefs do really cook! Each season of Hell’s Kitchen features a group of chefs who wants to become a head chef at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. The contestants are put through a number of challenges and obstacles until only one is left.

The best part of this show is when Gordon Ramsay gets angry at the chefs for doing something wrong. All of the anger and cussing somehow does not phase the diners in the restaurant. Maybe it’s because the diners worked really hard to get in and they want to see anger from the kitchen along with good food! New episodes of Hell’s Kitchen airs on Thursday night at 8/7 central. Learn more about Hell’s Kitchen at: http://www.fox.com/hellskitchen/

American Baking Competition

I was surprised to see CBS start doing a cooking show. But I have grown to like the American Baking Competition. The show is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy and judged by Marcela Valladolid and Paul Hollywood. The only bad thing about this show is it airs at the same time as MasterChef, thankfully I have a DVR!

The show features the bakers doing three rounds called the signature bake, technical bake, and the show-stopper bake. The signature bake has the bakers using their own recipes. The technical bake has the bakers following a recipe with some steps missing and the judges taste blind. And the show-stopper bake is a bake designed to impress the judges. The winner gets $250,000 and a publishing contract! The finale will air next Wednesday at 9/8 central on CBS. Learn more about the American Baking Competition at: http://www.cbs.com/shows/american-baking-competition/