Guest Column: Chatting About Chow

Guest columnist Stephanie Domina shares her passion for Reality TV Cooking Shows.

Enjoy!

Whether you are a foodie, a chef to be, or just a reality TV junkie at some point or another we all find ourselves in front of the TV wishing we could reach in and take a bite. Cooking shows are no new fad and they range from how-to’s to competitions, competitions happen to be my favorite.

Top Five Competitions:

Five:    Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook Off

The two hosts may have some of the most addicting (or to some people annoying) personalities in the cooking world. The term celebrity is quite loosely used since most of the “stars” are past their prime and many young viewers won’t recognize them. This show makes the list purely on entertainment value and watching food that anyone can make win a competition.

Four:    Worst Cooks In America

Bobby Flay vs. Anne Burrell? Well not exactly, they each have a handpicked team that will battle it out in the end. Anne is currently undefeated with wins in the past two seasons (I’m routing for Bobby). For those of us that need some helpful hints, every episode offers a tutorial on how to make a complete dish and a good laugh while we watching the contestants almost burn the kitchen down.

Three:  Hell’s Kitchen

Season 11 is in full swing on Fox this year and is everything you expect for the notorious show. If you can get past the yelling and aggressive behavior of the notorious Chef Ramsey the show can offer a great insight to the workings of a restaurant kitchen, so the next time you are waiting a little too long for you food, you will know the chef is sweating it much more than you are.

Two:    Chopped

Want a show that has a winner every episode? This one hour food network winner makes you think of food in a whole new way. This show is new every Sunday and combines time limits and crazy ingredients. You may just be surprised when almond cookie coated cod looks delicious.

One:    Top Chef

Season 10 of one of the most popular cooking competitions shows recently wrapped with the naming of the second female winner. The show first aired in 2006 and since then has only upped the ante in the caliber of chefs that compete. While most of us don’t know what a mirepoix (its diced vegetables) or even a gastrique (it’s a sauce made of caramelized sugar deglazed with vinegar) is, it’s the chef’s passion for what they do that makes the show compelling paired with the chefs and judges candid remarks that makes this show a must watch.