- Culinary competition shows like “Iron Chef” and “Top Chef Jr” have had a lasting impact on the food industry, with potential for reboots.
- Shows like “Ramsay’s Best Restaurant” and “Chef in Your Ear” had short-lived runs but showcased unique concepts that could be successful with a modern audience.
- “My Restaurant Rules” and “Around the World in 80 Plates” were innovative food competition shows that only lasted for one season, but could benefit from a revival with updated formats.
Television has left an indelible mark on the food industry, especially in the form of competitive reality shows. Well-known shows like “Top Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” have elevated the culinary careers of many chefs and inspired viewers to join the restaurant industry (or just improve their home cooking). But why not bring back some older shows, too?
The impact of culinary competition shows like “Great British Bake Off,” “MasterChef,” and others suggests that some long-cancelled peers could use reboots. Some of these shows are already icons in their own right, enduring formulas that viewers still watch.
Other shows, however, only existed as a flash in the pan, a quick one or two seasons that displayed great potential but faded away before finding their footing. Competitions like these could especially use a second chance to work the genius behind their premises. And one more potential revival is a forgotten work from an otherwise well-known celebrity chef, with a lot more now to bring to the reboot.
Iron Chef
This is the show that started it all, in regard to modern food competition shows. The original “Iron Chef” debuted on Japan’s Fuji TV in 1993, with a fantastical backstory of the aristocratic President Kaga hosting a battle to find the absolute best chef across several cuisines.
Its impact on food television is undeniable, and it’s spawned numerous global spinoffs despite being off the air for almost 25 years. “Iron Chef” presented a timeless formula that successive food competition shows all followed in some way. It’s time for the original to make a comeback.
Top Chef Jr
“Top Chef Jr” was first ordered in 2008, but never aired — and may not have even been filmed — until a second attempt came to TV in 2017. It only aired for 2 seasons, likely in large part due to low ratings on Universal Kids, a then-new and now defunct cable channel.
If “Top Chef Jr” aired on a bigger channel or streaming platform, it may have had a more successful run, like the 9 seasons of Fox’s “MasterChef Junior”. A network that picks it up might have a Comeback Kid lying in wait.
Ramsay’s Best Restaurant
“Ramsay’s Best Restaurant” aired in 2010 on the UK’s Channel 4. Restaurants from across England, of all cuisines and sophistication levels, competed to impress the Michelin-starred chef and be declared the UK’s best restaurant.
In 2015, the concept was exported to the US as “Best New Restaurant” with Tom Colicchio, which also only had 1 season. But few celebrity chefs can match Ramsay’s star power, which is much greater now than in 2010. New contestants should be sure not to serve him chocolate-covered bacon, pineapple pizza, or any other foods Gordon Ramsay refuses to eat.
Chef in Your Ear
“Chef in Your Ear” was a short-lived 2015 show on Food Network Canada that asked skilled chefs to remotely guide unskilled amateurs through cooking restaurant-quality dishes. The inherent gaps in communication and skill are ripe for entertainment value. Just look at Netflix.
The baking show “Nailed It!” is known for contestants’ spectacular failures, like season 1’s hot tub cakes. It proved that there is an audience for cooking competitions that don’t take themselves too seriously and feature passionate yet unskilled cooks humorously working through challenges they’re not actually expected to nail.
My Restaurant Rules
“My Restaurant Rules” was a 2004 Australian show that pitted five couples against each other in a contest to open and run successful restaurants from scratch, with losing restaurants forced to close. It was no documentary, but among food competition shows, it was an unusually holistic look at the restaurant industry.
“My Restaurant Rules” only lasted for 1 season, but the spinoff, “My Kitchen Rules,” has remained on Australian TV since 2010. With a few modernizations to the formula, maybe the original series still has a little gas left in the tank.
Around the World in 80 Plates
Taking inspiration from the classic Jules Verne novel, “Around the World in 80 Plates” was a 2012 Bravo show that essentially combined “Top Chef” with “The Amazing Race.” Contestants completed culinary challenges across 10 countries in a span of just 44 days.
At this blistering pace, the cooking was just as much of a challenge as travel fatigue and jet lag. With the enduring cultural appreciation for non-competitive shows that combine food and travel, like “Parts Unknown” and “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy”, it could be time to give this unique format another shot.
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