Cutthroat Kitchen is a famous cooking show that was aired between 2013 and 2017. The cooking show that was hosted by Alton Brown was a competition involving four chefs.
The chefs had to participate in an elimination cooking competition from season one to the 15th season which came to an end in July 2017. Cutthroat Kitchen was initially aired on Food Network Television in August 2013.
How did the show start and end
The Cutthroat kitchen show started with four chefs who were each given an initial sum of $25,000 at the beginning of the show.
Generally, the four contestants go through a series of auctions with each having the chance to purchase opportunities that they can use to sabotage other chefs.
This is was the main idea of arriving at the final last chef standing who will walk away with the prize.
The last chef standing did not have to part ways with the remaining money that was not used during the show’s auctions.
The competition did not involve the use of direct currency but involved prop money for insurance.
All four participants were given their working station so that they have an easy time when preparing and cooking the dishes.
To make their work simpler, the kitchen area was equipped with a wide range of different tools and equipment.
The storeroom was also available with all types of cooking ingredients so that the preparation of the dishes takes place within the shortest time possible.
A Comprehensive review of Cutthroat Kitchen
Dishes involved
Even though Alton Brown issues common dishes for preparation, each of the participating chefs is given a spare dish to prepare.
Apart from common dishes such as macaroni and cheese, fish, French toast, or chips, Alton Brown also makes things slightly different for the chefs.
There is a tougher challenge with the inclusion of difficult dishes such as the skillet breakfast and the British pub food.
The inclusion of these savory dishes is mainly in the first and second rounds of the competition. The third round of the competition is more advanced with desserts being the main dishes that the chefs will prepare.
The Cutthroat kitchen features a three-round elimination system that is similar to other shows on Food Network television such as Guy’s Grocery Games and the Chopped series.
In each of these rounds, there is a target dish that each of the four participants is supposed to create.
Assuming the chefs had years of experience, they had to prepare the dishes within 30 minutes. From an onstage storeroom, the chefs are given a maximum of one minute to be able to get all the necessary ingredients for the dishes.
The competition featured a series of auctions that were meant to make the exercise more competitive and interesting.
The auction usually takes place in the first two rounds of this cooking competition. Alton Brown auctions most of the items that the participants can use for sabotaging the efforts of others.
Apart from the change of ingredients and equipment, other sabotage types in this game include loss of cooking time and restricting the movement of chefs.
The Alton Brown auctions part of the items randomly to disadvantage other participants. This consequently gave an advantage to the bidding winner of the competition.
Moreover, more surprise auctions took place when the competition was ongoing.
Evaluation of contestants
At the end of each round, the evaluation of the chefs’ performance was done by a guest judge.
This evaluation of their skills was based on the representation of the given dish, the general presentation, and the taste of the dish.
For the guest judge to give a fair evaluation, all the advantages and sabotages that were used by the competition’s participants were not revealed.
Using the findings of the guest judge, the chef with the worst dish had to be eliminated and forfeit all the money that was not used.
The guest judge is placed in an isolation room when each of the rounds is taking place.
Alton Brown enforces this to facilitate an unbiased evaluation of the participants cooking skills.
The judge also uses his knowledge of the assigned dish when making a final evaluation.
The participants equally have the chance to elaborate more on their choices and explain their food.
The show presents a good chance for these chefs to truthfully explain the cooking choices they opted for.
When the final round starts, the cooking is fast and starts immediately when the two remaining participants have completed the shopping of ingredients. The auctions also take place when the cooking is in progress.
When the cooking rounds are progressing, the host gives comments about the cooking methods of the chefs.
Various strategies that will help to reward for the interferences that occurred are also given. The two participants have only 60 seconds to gather all the necessary ingredients for cooking.
When the third round comes to an end, the chef with the most impressive dish will keep the money left.
There is Alton’s after-show that takes place when the remaining participants have finished the cooking.
Here, Alton Brown brings forth all the sabotages that the chefs performed on each other. The judges upon witnessing this sabotage begin to understand why some of the dishes had peculiar tastes.
In return, they give their opinions on how the chefs can make the most of these interferences especially when it involves swapping of ingredients.
The judges
This is how the typical setting of the Cutthroat kitchen competition was set from season one to season 15.
In all the seasons of the show, Antonia Lofaso, Jet Tila, and Simon Majumdar were the constant judges throughout the show.
Richard Blaise later joined the team of judges from season 12 to become a regular feature on the shows.
There were also times when these judges took part in the competition. For instance, in season 3 of the competition saw Judge Lofasa, Tila and Simon face each other.
Judge Lofasa emerged as the winner with a cash prize of $22,000. He later channeled all the proceeds to charity.
This cooking competition came to an end in 2018 having produced over 200 episodes in 15 seasons.
The Participants and Actors
The staff of the Cutthroat kitchen sabotage tournament consists of the contenders, the judges, participants, and the ones involved in general preparation.
Alton Brown himself is the leading actor in this competition because of the vital role he plays. As a chef and food show presenter, Brown hosts the main commentator on this show.
With Jet Tila, Simon Majumdar, Antonia Lofaso, and Richard Blaise being the main judges, the tournament had a good number of other guest judges.
Giada De Laurentiis and Geoffrey Zakarian appeared in seasons 2 and 3 respectively.
Season three also had Ramiro Arvizu, Daniel Holzman, Sherry Yard, and Martin Del Campo as guest judges.
Anne Burell, Valerie Bertinelli, Susan Feniger, Cat Cora, and Tedd Allen were also part of guest judges appearing in a different season of the competition.
In addition to the list, Marc Summers, Eric Greenspan, Chad Johnson, Duff Goldman, and Clay Walker were featured in the last episodes of the tournament as guest judges.
Notable contestants in the competition include Robert Burmeister, Tom Lin, Morgan Bonazzola, Mathew Grunwald, Jemad Wells, Sammy Monsour, Jason Febres, Jess Roy, Mathew Jordan, and Tommy Stevens.
Johny LUzzini, Damaris Philips, Fabio Viviani, Elizabeth Falkner, Brian Malarkey, Nadia Giosia, Jeff Mauro, and Justin Warner were also the competition’s main participants.
The Ratings
Even though the tournament has been a successful show, there are several complaints from viewers that deny it a chance of achieving a 10/10 star rating.
Several viewers have disliked how this show brings out the worst in the chefs who are competing.
However, because the competitors enter the competition to win money, the show still entertains its viewers.
As one of the most famous American cooking shows, it has received a rating of 7.2/10.
Is the show scripted?
Cutthroat Kitchen is not scripted or staged because it is a real competition with real-time competitive challenges. It is a real show that does not involve any planned actions that will take place when the cooking is ongoing. Also, the participants and prize awards are real.
Cutthroat is a competition that is based on a reality theme involving day-to-day happenings in the kitchen.
However, some instances make producers judge the contestants in a direction that they prefer.
With the presence of a lawyer, the producers ensured nothing became too casual so that the show does not appear scripted.
The producers ensured that it had a real-world experience polished by a little Hollywood involvement.
The Fans
Cooking shows are not common and when the Cutthroat Kitchen competition kicked off, it had its fair share of fans, especially from America
. Food enthusiasts and lovers of cooking had never thought the idea of cooking shows will be captivating until this show started airing.
Intriguing and captivating scenes of contestants stealing ingredients and destroying utensils are some of the reasons why this show had many fans.
The chefs simply had to go to any level to emerge with the winning dish.
The Production
Even though the original networking of this cooking reality show was done by Food Network, most of the production work was left for Embassy Row Company.
The tournament that features cooking contestants sabotaging each other’s efforts while competing was produced to run for 60 minutes.
Shauna Minoprio, Melissa Stokes, Julia Cassidy, Alton Brown, and Michael Davies are among the top producers of this cooking competition show.
Cutthroat Kitchen Profitability
The show offers $100, 000 to the participants with each getting $25,000. This money is used for bidding on different auction situations from fellow contestants.
However, most of the cash remained with the reality show owner because participants ended up losing it back when the auctions take place.
Since this sabotage and auctions make the tournament to be exciting, television broadcasts went up giving Alton Brown a good fortune.
For instance, Chef Sherry spent close to $32,000 to avoid sabotage and forfeiting the ramen ingredients during the competition. However, she was sabotaged and ended up losing the amount.
This was the highest amount to be lost in the tournament’s history in a single sabotage occasion.
However, the highest bid of sabotage that Alton Brown has managed to sell in the competition was $18,100.
Is the Cutthroat kitchen show real or fake?
Cutthroat Kitchen cooking show is real with real competition. Even though it involves the use of prop money instead of actual currency, the show is real. The prop money is used for insurance purposes. The kitchen set, the preparation of real-time dishes, the ingredients and the equipment is real.
Most of the selected judges and those that appear as guests give a real evaluation of the cooking skills without being biased.
To prove that the show is real and one can walk away with all the money won, Chef Huda made history by winning $23,900.
This was the biggest prize earning a contestant has won in this competition. This goes to show that the Cutthroat Kitchen show is a real tournament and not fake.
Is Cutthroat Kitchen racist
As a public show and an open reality TV show, Cutthroat Kitchen is not racist and does not involve any preferences in its production. Having watched almost all the episodes, I can tell that the show is open and not preferred to any audience or race.
the competition is open where any participant has an equal chance to participate and eventually win if he or she beats the rest.
Final verdict
The Cutthroat Kitchen cooking competition is not a tournament for chefs who are afraid of cameras and challenges.
As a popular American TV cooking competition, the show can perfect a chef’s cooking skills because of preparing dishes within tough challenges and a strict deadline.
In reality, the contestants who come to the show want to walk away with the $25,000 or simply enjoy the bragging rights at the end of the competition.
No chef will enjoy the abuse, crazy sabotages, and auctions that can be a constant cause of demoralization when the competition is taking place.
Unlike other cooking tournaments or shows that do not only pay the winner but also all the contestants, Cutthroat kitchen is different.
This is a competition where only the ultimate winner can take the spoils. Unfortunately, it is a cooking competition where the likelihood of walking away with money is low.
All in all, Cutthroat kitchen is a show that gave the American cooking competition industry a boost. It mirrors other shows. Check out the Hell’s Kitchen show review which we did to see this.
It showed that cooking competitions no longer have to involve the preparation of dishes using ordinary ingredients.
By including elements of comedy through the sabotage stages, Cutthroat kitchen has made the competition fun and enjoyable.
Michael is a freelance writer with a keen focus on sports, media trends, technology, and the general entertainment industry. When not blogging and writing trendy articles, Michael is watching soccer or out there playing football in the hood.