There are a number of shows that any bachelor cook should be tracking down. These shows offer an interesting glimpse in how to solve some interesting problems that can make life difficult for any bachelor, and how to overcome them. Although they feature some problems that you are unlikely to ever see in your lifetime, those solutions can be generalized to other problems. These five shows make for some interesting watching, especially for those bored with shows where the biggest problem is some surprise ingredient or a time limit.
Cutthroat Kitchen (Food Network): The concept is simple: In three rounds, the four cooks have to create a simple recipe in the time given, and one person is eliminated each round. Oh, and they have $25,000 to bid on sabotages that can really spoil another cook's day, such as having to make a prep table out of butcher block paper, wear gloves, or use decidedly non-standard equipment to cook with. Some are even forced to cook in La-Z-boy chairs or use tiki torches as a heat source. An excellent show for those who think that they have too many problems in order to do any effective cooking.
Snack Off (MTV): Although the show may have been cancelled, the idea is a winner: Three cooks have to use whatever is in the fridge to create a meal (although there are two rounds, the second allows full access to a pantry even as a particular snack has to be used and is thus not as educational as the first). Although there is a theme to the ingredients, they are essentially random and thus make it a little more realistic, including the horrible cooking skills of the contestants. If you think that there is nothing in your kitchen to cook with, this is the show for you.
Late Night Chef Fight (FYI): Three rounds, two cooks, one tacky trophy, and nothing but bragging rights: Two cooks compete over three rounds (warm-up, appetizer, main course) with the winner of the first two rounds gaining an advantage. The two cooks are given access to two working food trucks (the trucks actually see use during the day), even through it is before they have been re-stocked. This means that the cook must quickly figure out what is going on in his truck, and then use it to cook with. This means that the cook is limited to whatever cuisine the food truck specializes in, as well as whatever instruments are working. Again, this is a great show for anyone looking to see what you can do with limited resources, and how you can have fun with what you have.
Guy's Grocery Games (Food Network): Four cooks compete over different rounds in different games for the chance to win up to $20,000. The games should actually be familiar to most bachelor chefs: Limitations on accessible ingredients, must pick items with a particular theme, or the budget is smaller than expected. In that regard, this is a great instruction show for bachelors, especially as they can relate far too easily with the limitations that the customers must suffer through while creating some really great yet basic food.
Worst Cooks of America (Food Network): Two cooks take two teams of the worst cooks that they can find and try to teach them everything that they can. It's basically a Survivor-style cooking show where the worst cook from each team is eliminated each week until the last two chefs engage in a final cook off. For those that are looking for a great show to teach them basic techniques and that you aren't completely worthless as a cook, this is an incredible show and I recommend that high schoolers be forced to watch this show, preferably while in a kitchen. Yeah, it's that great!
While other shows are great at highlighting cooks at their best, these shows look at cooks at their worst. That is what makes them so great for beginning cooks: You see the limitations they have to deal with and can sympathize with them. As such, they make some great shows to watch for beginning chefs, and are worth tracking down.
Cutthroat Kitchen (Food Network): The concept is simple: In three rounds, the four cooks have to create a simple recipe in the time given, and one person is eliminated each round. Oh, and they have $25,000 to bid on sabotages that can really spoil another cook's day, such as having to make a prep table out of butcher block paper, wear gloves, or use decidedly non-standard equipment to cook with. Some are even forced to cook in La-Z-boy chairs or use tiki torches as a heat source. An excellent show for those who think that they have too many problems in order to do any effective cooking.
Snack Off (MTV): Although the show may have been cancelled, the idea is a winner: Three cooks have to use whatever is in the fridge to create a meal (although there are two rounds, the second allows full access to a pantry even as a particular snack has to be used and is thus not as educational as the first). Although there is a theme to the ingredients, they are essentially random and thus make it a little more realistic, including the horrible cooking skills of the contestants. If you think that there is nothing in your kitchen to cook with, this is the show for you.
Late Night Chef Fight (FYI): Three rounds, two cooks, one tacky trophy, and nothing but bragging rights: Two cooks compete over three rounds (warm-up, appetizer, main course) with the winner of the first two rounds gaining an advantage. The two cooks are given access to two working food trucks (the trucks actually see use during the day), even through it is before they have been re-stocked. This means that the cook must quickly figure out what is going on in his truck, and then use it to cook with. This means that the cook is limited to whatever cuisine the food truck specializes in, as well as whatever instruments are working. Again, this is a great show for anyone looking to see what you can do with limited resources, and how you can have fun with what you have.
Guy's Grocery Games (Food Network): Four cooks compete over different rounds in different games for the chance to win up to $20,000. The games should actually be familiar to most bachelor chefs: Limitations on accessible ingredients, must pick items with a particular theme, or the budget is smaller than expected. In that regard, this is a great instruction show for bachelors, especially as they can relate far too easily with the limitations that the customers must suffer through while creating some really great yet basic food.
Worst Cooks of America (Food Network): Two cooks take two teams of the worst cooks that they can find and try to teach them everything that they can. It's basically a Survivor-style cooking show where the worst cook from each team is eliminated each week until the last two chefs engage in a final cook off. For those that are looking for a great show to teach them basic techniques and that you aren't completely worthless as a cook, this is an incredible show and I recommend that high schoolers be forced to watch this show, preferably while in a kitchen. Yeah, it's that great!
While other shows are great at highlighting cooks at their best, these shows look at cooks at their worst. That is what makes them so great for beginning cooks: You see the limitations they have to deal with and can sympathize with them. As such, they make some great shows to watch for beginning chefs, and are worth tracking down.
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