Big Truck Food Tip (Food Network)

Big Truck Food Tip (Food Network) – Premieres 19th September

A food travel show that also plays out as an unsuspecting competition, as Andrew Zimmern heads off to a US city to check out three popular food trucks. where after checking them out, Zimmern gives the one he considers the best a $10k tip, and the remaining two a $1k tip.

In the show as Zimmern arrives at a food truck the programme has the owners explain how they started and has them show how they make their signature dish. After that Zimmern has a chat with them and then samples food, going through what makes it stand out from the crowd.

After the three trucks have been visited, the programme gives a brief recap, along with Zimmern pondering over which truck to give the money to. Before showing the winning owners as they see the money get put in their tip jar.

The programme is very similar to the usual food travel shows like Food Truck Nation, Seaside Snacks and Shacks & Comfort Food Tour, making the prize aspect seems to be an afterthought to add something different. That said it’s an easy enough watch and one of the better of these types of shows.

3.0/10

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Bite Club (Food Network)

Bite Club (Food Network) – Premieres 6th September

A cooking competition where host Tyler Florence heads off to a US city, gets five of the tops chefs in the area, and has a competition to finds out who’s best.

In the show only three of the five chefs get to battle it out, and after drawing lots, the chefs find out if they are going to be cooking or judging the dishes. After the contestants are picked, they then go through two 30 minutes rounds.

In the first round the competing chefs have to incorporate a dish that uses all three secret ingredients that the cooking chefs have brought with them. Then after everything is cooked and served the worst performer is eliminated.

In the final round the remaining two chefs have to incorporate the two ingredients the now judges have brought with them. And at the end of the round the best dish gets the chef the victory and a shiny trophy.

As a cooking competition, it’s a nice change to see professionals going against each other. And the programme itself is an easy watch, so if you like these types of shows it’s one to check out.

3.9/10

Baked (Food Network)

Baked (Food Network) – Premieres 3rd September

Hosted by comedian and amateur baker Tom Papa, this follows him as he heads off to a US city, visits bakeries and restaurants, and finds out about and samples their baked goods.

In the episode Tom heads off to four places famed for their baked goods, where he chats with the owner about how and why they got into baking, what they do, and then learns how to make the items. Then after going through the process Tom gets to sample the finished product where he gives the usual food show descriptions.

While the set up is like Comfort Food Tour, Seaside Snacks and Shacks & Food Truck Nation, Papas enthusiasm about the food makes it an enjoyable watch compared to the aforementioned. So while it is similar to the usual Food Network programme it is one of the better ones to watch.

3.0/10

Let’s Eat (Food Network)

Let’s Eat (Food Network) – Premieres 12th August

A Sunday morning cooking show, where hosts Brandi Milloy, Jamika Pessoa & Stuart O’Keeffe knock some food up in front of a studio audience.

With each of the chefs creating something within the theme of the episode, they go through some exceptionally basic stuff at a breakneck pace. All of which is greeted with oooh’s and ahhh’s from the audience. Then to round off the show, a guest chef is brought in to to give a briefest of run throughs on how to make one of their signature dishes.

With the show only being 20 minutes long, and with the amount of content it has, it all feels very rushed. Like a condensed take on Saturday Kitchen, but with awkward interactions and any real lack showing what to do. Altogether it’s an unenjoyable bit of viewing.

1.2/10

Reality Cupcakes (Food Network)

Reality Cupcakes (Food Network) – Premieres 6th August

A show that follows Ashley Foxen, who runs the Reality Bites bakery which specialise in making cupcakes look realistically like other things.

In the episode, Ashley and her team made up of family members, receive orders from three different clients. Where after receiving the brief, begin to create the order.

During the making of the cupcakes Ashley highlights various parts of the bake that are either unique to it, or are more difficult than usual. All the while the rest of the family help out or jape around. Then when the cake is finished, it’s delivered to the client where they watch the guests get their mind blown at what they’re really eating.

While the show is similar to programmes like Texas Cake House, Dallas Cakes & Ridiculous Cakes!. This doesn’t offer anything new to make it stand out, and with the episode going through three orders, gives the show a very rushed feel to it all that makes it all very forgettable.

1.9/10

Ultimate Summer Cook-Off (Food Network)

Ultimate Summer Cook-Off (Food Network) – Premieres 5th August

A cooking competition where six chefs go head-to-head over 4 weeks in a barbecue based competition to win the grand prize of $25k.

The show is split into two rounds. In the first, the chefs have 30 minutes to make  6 portions of the item required. Before they begin cooking the chefs also have to select a cooler at random which contains an ingredient they have to incorporate into the final dish. The when the food is prepared, tasted and judged, the winner gains an advantage for the next round.

In round two the chefs have 60 minutes to create two versions of the same dish. One set to a certain set of parameters and the other to their own creation. During this round the winner from the last is given access to a selection of ingredients only available to them. And at the end of the round the worst performer is eliminated from the competition.

For a Food Network competition, this one does seem to have more of a focus on how and why the competitors are cooking their variations of the dishes. Which makes it one of the more of the interesting cooking competitions that they’ve released. That said it’s doesn’t have any unique twists like Sugar Rush to make it stand out from the rest, though if you like this type of programme it does the job.

3.6/10

Comfort Food Tour (Food Network)

Comfort Food Tour (Food Network) – Premieres 21st July

A travel food show hosted by Mark Anderson and Ryan Fey of The Grill Dads fame. Where they head off to various US cities to sample the best comfort foods they can find.

In the programme Mark and Ryan visit three restaurants which specialise in various cuisine. And while there, the pair meet with the owner and are shown how a couple of their most over indulgent items are made. After seeing the cooking process and with them occasionally messing about. The pair sample the food, and give the standard food show descriptions of what it tastes like. Then after all the dishes are gone through, move on to the next place.

It’s the standard Food Network type of show, though the pair are more entertaining than most. And if you liked The Grill Dads, this is more of the same.

2.9/10