US vs UK: Cooking Competions

I am an avid watcher of the Food Network. I have Chopped, or Cutthroat Kitchen, or Guy’s Grocery Games on whenever there is nothing specific I want to watch. I love watching the meals come together in the span of thirty minutes. When people don’t make the cut for the next round, it’s usually because they had to use cotton candy as their starch. You get to watch the competitors’ faces as each plot twist and limitation is announced. When the Great British Baking Show was put onto Netflix, I decided to give it a try. I realized quickly, this was not going to be like an American cooking competition. First, competitors received time limits anywhere from and hour and a half to five entire hours for baking. In America, there’s just a standard half hour. An entire hour maybe for the more elaborate stuff. But that’s pushing it. The contestants also get to prepare and know what they are supposed to bake in advance. You’ll see them reading off of recipes and showing off the molds they made and brag about how much they practiced. It only makes the failures even more sad. There are technical challenges every episode that can’t be prepared for, but those aren’t make or break. Meanwhile there are American shows where the only time you are given the recipe is when you are on Worst Cooks in America. The Great British Baking Show is a lot more relaxed as well. Every competitor is so supportive and nice, and the atmosphere is so calming. Everyone just really loves cooking, and it’s quite lovely. In the finale, all the ex-competitors have a picnic to cheer on the final three, and the judges, while strict, are still so friendly. The foods created are also much more traditional with small variations and are quite... quaint. I am not sure if that is exactly the right word, but they are definitely not making steaks and soufflés like on other shows. Everything is just simple, pretty, and refined (or at least it’s supposed to be). Everyone has a great sense of humor and camaraderie. I enjoy it as much as I enjoy all the rivalry and shade of American cooking competitions. I don’t know if I can say one is better than the other, though. I do so love the ridiculousness of Cutthroat Kitchen. I don’t think anything can truly rival it.