What is it like to be on a cooking competition show? Well, I consider myself decently well-versed on this topic. Having been involved withChopped,Iron Chef AmericaandThe Next Iron Chefas either a competitor or judge, I would say it’s not my first cooking rodeo.
But all of this, of course, goes out the window when I step onto the set Alton Brown’sCutthroat Kitchen. (That’s Alton above on the far left along with my fellow competitors Elizabeth Falkner, Melissa d’Arabian, Fabio Vivani and me.)
I have fallen prey to Alton’s Svengali charms before becauseCutthroat Kitchenpartially came about after his brilliant performances on the auction challenges ofThe Next Iron Chef. I felt like I was part of a food carnival as Alton auctioned and sold me things I didn’t even know I wanted (and I still don’t know about that Bison from a few years back).
OnCutthroat, the scene is eerily familiar. Alton stands there politely, watching me cook, and then pounces: “Are yousuuuuurethat’s a good idea to cook that tomato like that considering how little time is left on the clock, chef?” He smiles. He means well. At least I’m pretty sure he does. He seems to ask the questions he would ask himself if he were cooking in your shoes. But he isn’t. Should I stop cooking this tomato the way I have for the past 20 years because Alton thinks there might be a better way? Can I step back, in the heat of the moment, and consider this tomato while someone else might be buying something to ruin my entire plan anyway? Will I make it through the first round with any money left or blow $24,999 in the first round? All of these questions are hard to answer for sure. And the right answer changes from round to round, episode to episode. It takes the “code” of any other cooking competition show and scrambles it anew each and every time.
ButCutthroatis also uniquely hard for a few other more subtle reasons. You shop for food for a grand total of 60 seconds! I don’t know about you, but my typical visit to a supermarket or green market can last more than an hour (and that’s when I’ve only planned on buying a few things). Once those pantry doors close (and you better be on the right side of them when they do, or you lose everything), you cannot shop for anything else. What other show has the entire pantry close down after 60 seconds of shopping? Say what you will aboutChopped, but you can run and get anything until the clock runs out on you. And don’t get me wrong: Sometimes not being able to get more ingredients means you don’t have to worry about editing your dishes. There’s not enough to edit! One cook onChoppedended up with 28 ingredients in his appetizer dish. That won’t be an issue onCutthroat. Just the opposite, actually!
Grab that bowl of popcorn and tune in. It will make you wish you were taking a vacation on the set ofChopped!
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source: people.com
