From 'Is It Cake?' to 'Crime Scene Kitchen': Five most unique cooking shows of all time
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Gone are the days when cooking shows were about how to make this or that. Today, it has to be exciting, creative, and all about challenges that can keep them interesting enough. Sometimes, it is guessing whether something is a cake or not, sometimes solving mysteries, but there is something for every type of viewership. Below are five of the most offbeat cookery shows; these stand out for their novelty value and the reasons for their popularity among their audiences.
'Is It Cake?'
'Is It Cake?' is one of those baking competitions where pro-cake artists make cakes just like real ones that one uses- for example, shoes, bags, or even fast food. The contestants put in their creative abilities and baking skills to make such ultra-realistic desserts.
Contestants on the show create hyper-realistic cakes from everyday objects, anything from sneakers to handbags to even fast food. The challenge is trying to make the judges believe that indeed, the cake is a real item. This competition is fun, visually captivating, and one that mingles the lines between art and baking. It's such a unique show, by its mere creativeness with the cakes.
'Crime Scene Kitchen'
In 'Crime Scene Kitchen', teams of bakers walk into a kitchen where a dessert was recently made but all that's left are the clues: dirty bowls, ingredient spills, or used utensils. And they have to make an educated guess about what dessert was baked based on those clues and then recreate that dessert. Each round is a different mystery dessert challenge, and the teams will be judged on how close their dessert is to the original.
The show blends baking mastery with detective work. The idea of solving some mystery in the kitchen gives an exciting twist to the already blended uniqueness-merging logic with baking.
'Iron Chef America'
'Iron Chef America' is a cooking competition wherein the finest chefs compete against the show's "Iron Chefs" in a cooking race under time pressure. At the very beginning of each show, there is the revelation of a 'secret ingredient' that the two competing people must use in every single dish they come up with. Judges score the dishes on creativity, taste, and presentation.
Based on a Japanese show, this fast-moving competition places master chefs against the "Iron Chefs" in a countdown to making dishes. High cooking meshed with dramatic time pressure and surprise elements have elevated it to a viewing pleasure.
'Chopped'
'Chopped' is a cooking competition wherein four chefs go head-to-head through three rounds: appetizer, entrée, and dessert. In each of those rounds, they are given a basket with mystery ingredients-often odd combinations, such as candy and seafood that they must use to make something in a very short period of time. Each round, one chef goes home until only the winner remains.
The special nature of this show is its inherent improbability in such ingredient combinations: candy with meat, or some kind of exotic vegetable. It is so captivating to watch because of the high-pressure environment, the very limited time, and because creative improvisation is called for.
'Guy's Grocery Games'
'Guy's Grocery Games' is hosted by Guy Fieri and blends cooking with shopping challenges. Contestants must buy their ingredients in a grocery store while facing unusual restrictions, such as being limited to spending only $10 or only using items from specific aisles. Once they have completed their shopping, they must prepare their dishes under the stress of a time limit.
This show combines shopping strategies with cooking skills, resulting in a unique and entertaining experience compared to traditional cooking competitions.
