Cutthroat Kitchen

In many cooking contest shows they do things like have 6 haute- cuisine chefs preparing six haute-cuisine dishes using ingredients I can't even identify, or they pair ridiculously incompatible ingredients (chocolate, sardines and cotton candy). I can't learn anything from such shows.

Despite the fact that some of the sabotages are so silly they detract from the show, the food the contestants cook, on Cutthroat Kitchen is normal everyday food, such a tomato soup made from scratch. THAT, I learn from.

Sometimes when I cook I don't have every last ingredient I want, or don't have proper utensils, or have to used a heat source that is not my first choice. I think that happens to all home chefs. When two chefs have took cook tied together at the waist, well, that's just comic relief and sometimes a lesson in teamwork.

I've watched the first 6 seasons. At first I really liked it. You have an interesting host and some funny moments. I can't pinpoint why it got stale for me. Maybe it was the same challenges being used in multiple episodes. Maybe the cooking sections weren't that interesting. It's a fine show but if you binge watch shows like I do I think you'll get bored after a while.

This is now one of my favorite shows. Alton Brown is both a culinary genius and a masterful entertainer.

All of the hate for this show seems to stem from people missing Good Eats, which was also a great show. Or people complaining that food Network has "too many" competition shows and not enough old fashioned kitchen cooking shows. To be honest, how many traditional cooking shows can one watch? During the daytime that is all that is on food Network, and the cooking channel also.

As for Cutthroat Kitchen, it is highly entertaining and mildly educating. It is always interesting to see chefs improvise and create alternative ways to navigate their sabotaged kitchens. For cooks like me, who often have to improvise to create my own take on a dish, this is interesting and educational.

The only frustrating aspect of this show is that the best chef does not always win. Some times the best strategist wins. But that is typically the case with any competition.

If you're tuning in expecting a cooking competition show, forget it. But if you accept the premise that this is a game show, it is quite entertaining.

Yes, the obstacles are ridiculous - but that's the fun of the game. Unlike "Chopped", where the mystery baskets feature obscure and often incompatible items - and which takes itself far too seriously, with pretension reaching new heights - "Cutthroat" manages to serve up a delicious blend of tongue-in-cheek malice with on-the-fly inventiveness that is fun and satisfying.

Forgive me, but if you take this show with a grain of salt, you could end up finding a new guilty pleasure.

If you like Chopped then you should love this show. This takes it to a whole new level by adding in another factor entirely. Everyone starts with the same money and everyone gets to bid on the same items. They all start perfectly even, their plays are what determine if they win or lose. To all those people saying "But the best chef didn't win so I hate it..." that is why bidding is a part of the game. If a chef is good but becomes over confident and allowing themselves to be burdened past their superior ability, then they have failed at the game which is the entire point. That isn't to say that some people don't get targeted but from watching the show, you can usually tell where the punishment is going based on who is winning the bid. It is amazing to see people get debilitating handicaps and triumph through finesse and then to see people crumble who overestimated their ability to handle change. Some players spend to fast and ensure their defeat later while others refuse to spend and pay for it from the get go. It is a show with balance hand in hand with skill and if you can't handle the heat you should stay out of the kitchen. But if you have a love for a show that can actually change at any time, where the balance can be flipped at a moments notice, this is the show for you.