I am rewatching season three, Bobby Flay and Anne. There are no sound effects, gimmicks, games, or weirdness. This is the reason I became obsessed with the show. Sad how they have ruined it.

I find it amusing, but every single episode, Brooke is offended no matter what round she is picked for 😂 She finds any way she can to turn it into an insult. First round? “They think I can’t compete, they think it’s an easy win”. Last round? “They think they can trip me up with that ingredient?!” It’s fascinating and hilarious

Just found out Maneet has a new show! Been out a month or more now Saturday afternoons!

Maneet’s Eats.

All the food network I watch and zero advertising for it!!

Edit: very much enjoying it BTW

Did Family Recipe Showdown air episode 6 this week (which would’ve been August 14, 2025 at 9/8c)? I ask because I saw on my cable guide that Beat Bobby Flay had been on since 4pm and continued to air through midnight. Instead the cable guide showed the new Family Recipe Showdown episode would air Saturday Aug. 16, 2025 at 2pm. But again only reruns (DDD this time). The episode is available on demand and I’ll check HBO Max, but I didn’t see anything about the episode on the subreddit nor any news that would indicate why the episode didn’t air. Was this only in the EDT time zone or did anyone else notice the new episode didn’t come on this week? (This is purely for civil discussion purposes about Family Recipe Showdown. Thanks for indulging me!)

There have been a lot of comments about Charlie Palmer as a judge in last night's TOC and it got me thinking about who has been the best NON-FOOD NETWORK judge on TOC.

I feel like when you judge on the food network, you learn how to speak about the food in a snappy way that can be edited easily. Last night's episode definitely highlighted people who are used to judging food tv (and those who aren't).

So who is your favorite TOC judge(s) that aren't Food Network regular judges? (By Food Network regulars, I mean regular Chopped or Guys Grocery Games judges, previous TOC champions, etc. (I know there have been a ton of Chopped judges who sometimes just come in once or twice. So for this question, I'd consider Michelle Berstein would be a valid answer to this question, but Scott Conant or Geoffrey Zakarian would not because they've both been very regular judges on Chopped.)

I actually really like listening to Susan Feniger judge, because I feel like she and I have similar palates. But Wolfgang Puck has got jokes, and he is often very funny (like when he said he was grateful that he didn't have to eat more schnitzel. Side note, the funniest that Wolfgang has ever been when he's been a judge was Season 10, Episode 12 of Top Chef "entitled Wolfgang Clucks." If you have never watched this episode, please check it out, especially what he says about Brooke Williamson's fried chicken 🤣)

So who is your favorite TOC judge (who is not a regular Food Network judge).

It looks like Max purged alot and all volumes of Chopped are gone. Still have some spin offs, like Next Gen and After Hours, but OG is gone. I'm so sad.

Hey everybody. Where's Brian Malarkey and why is he not playing this year in TOC? I love the crazy guy! 😱🤔🕵️🤯📺

Did you see the woman at the last second, scoop mashed potatoes into her hand, squeeze and form them into a small egg shape, then put it on the plate???

I know the chefs have their hands and fingers all over everything. But that just really made me want to gag! There was a thread a few days ago about women cooking with really long nails, which this particular chef had, and long hair hanging and being handled while cooking. I’m sure I’d be disgusted if I knew everything that goes on in restaurants, but seeing this is not appetizing at all!!!!

First, I love this show and Eric is (bar-none) my favorite FN host. His voice is so soothing and he’s got such a mellow vibe and tons of charisma.

Second, I’ve been watching FN for fifteen years and every time Alex Guarnaschelli competes (including the latest episode of WCK), I’m amazed by the food she creates with the most basic (or strange) ingredients and in so little time. Everything she cooks just looks so incredibly delicious and inviting to me.

Has anyone here ever eaten her food? If so, is it as delicious as it looks? Eating a meal cooked by her is on my bucket list.

i don't know why it gets me but when guy goes category by category saying justin warner style fun facts about each ingredient its just funny to me. its like he's trying to become more intellectual and serious as the series keeps going because it has actual prestige now. this isn't a negative btw

This show seems like the most difficult of all the chef competitions on the food network, yet the prize money is relatively dismal. I would expect at least $100K for all they have to go through physically and mentally. Anyone agree?

For me, it's Jet. He's made top 4 3 times now and is a fantastic chef. He consistently performs well but often gets edges out by randomizer luck. I would hate a former winner getting their second title or Antonio, Volt, Britt or Shota winning either. Dear god though I want nonone from the East winning except the 2.

On TOC 5 there were a lot of posts here complaining that Maneet is a one-note chef and the distinguished judges were all familiar with her Indian dishes, thus they all conspired to hand her a second championship belt. I'm just inquiring if there will be such conspiracy posts on here again against any TOC 6 chef competing since their flavor profile can also be easily discernible, just like Maneet's. If not then I'm in awe of Maneet's great levers of power and influence over the TOC 5 judging and her fashion choices.

Anybody get tickets? I’ll be going Tuesday with husband and daughter, and again the second week on Tuesday and Wednesday! Pretty excited to get tickets this year, since we missed it last year.

I THINK we will see the bracket reveal and first four chefs cook on Sept 10, and all but four chefs for round two (sweet sixteen down to eight) on the following Tuesday and Wednesday, and also the first eight down to final four rounds. Not positive about it. A couple people I work with are going on different days, and it will be fun to compare notes!

A couple changes from season four filming are that they split the days up into two separate sessions which I think is a really good change. We are going to both sessions on the 17th and 18th. Not sure if they will shuttle us back to cars and check in again or if we will just stay on site until the afternoon session. We’ll see.

Anything people want me to watch for and report back on? I will NOT give spoilers, but I can report back on things that are spoiler free.

Here’s the link to the behind the scenes post I wrote, since so many questions are answered there!

I’ve noticed that Guy varies up how he says goodbye to losers each round - sometimes it’s just “thanks for coming, bye”, and sometimes it’s a pretty explicit “see you next year”.

Do we know how deliberate what he says is?

Is it just me or does watching the same reruns of GGG seems dated and pouring salt on fresh wound for most of us struggling in this age of increasing food inflation. $20 shoestring budget for an updated classic was even laughable back then in 2020 so why do Foodnetwork executives still think the 2025 audience can still relate. Can’t even buy the spices with that now.

I see a lot of people complaining about who does or doesn’t get in and what metrics they use to decide who has to compete for a spot and if they just get one thanks to their connections, but I think the bigger problem is chefs who return every single year.

Antonia is the very first that comes to mind when I think of someone who should sit out a year or two, Maneet would be the next, and I know everyone will freak out when I say this one, but Jet Tila could go with sitting out a year as well.

Imagine the new blood they could bring in or some of the lesser known chefs they could then give a bigger highlight to if we didn’t always have Guy’s best friends taking all the higher seeds in each part of the bracket. Just my thoughts on things and how maybe they could change it up a bit.

Also, I want this to be in an arena with like 20k seats so bad. It would basically be real life Food Wars.

Can we please stop making the first round of eliminations in cooking competitions head to head battles? I really hate it. I want to see the best of the best move on, and I really hate seeing someone who did well go home just because they were paired up with another competitive chef. If they want to cut the numbers of contestants in half, they should just do a regular challenge. Top half of dishes make it, bottom half don’t. Save the head to head battles for a smaller group farther in the competition. I hate that 24 in 24 starts with head to head battles. It can be kinda enjoyable to watch in the moment but watching people I recognize and like do really well but still go home after 1 challenge is really disappointing. It just feels so wrong. I’m catching up on the premiere of the new Masterchef season and of course, they’re making them go head to head. It’s ridiculous seeing good competitors go home for a good dish on their very first try.

Please producers, if you want to eliminate half of the contestants to start a show, I’m begging for a fair equal playing field, not head to head “showdowns”.

There are so many types of unique, interesting desserts. I’m tired of watching contestants make waffles

Early impressions while still watching it air.... it appears this year we don't have any crappy gimmick teams! They all seem to be very competent chefs. All the signature dishes had me salivating. Maybe this show is doing a turn around? I may be too optimistic,but so far I'm pleasantly surprised.

Sometimes I'll put basil or chives or whatever on the top but it seems like during all of these cooking competitions, they always put something citrus or pickled on the top of their dishes. Does it really elevate (for instance) Beef Bourguignon or bolognese?

Hey ya'll! I'm new to this group but I've been an avid Food Network fan since I was a kid. I'm curious, who is everyone rooting for on TOC? Personally I think it's the warrior princess herself time to shine!

I’ve always loved TGFTR, but weirdly have only watched a few of the later seasons. So I decided to rewatch from the beginning, currently midway thru on season 6 (although I did unfortunately get spoiled for who wins when attempting to google the exact question I’m about to ask….). Enjoying it a lot, these early seasons feel so much more normal than current TGFTR.

Anyways, I’ll cut to the chase. Why in almost every episode of TGFTR is there a stock sound added in of a cat yowling? I feel like I’m going crazy - it’s weirdly consistent in that I feel like it happens only once every episode. Like the producers have it on their bingo card to fill out for every episode, idek. Nobody else seems to have noticed this??? Besides one tweet tagging Tyler Florence and asking him (to which he said essentially “send proof” and no proof seems to have been sent??). Anyways anyways, it usually happens right after a contestant says something dramatic or something that’s supposed to inspire drama and tension for the viewers. But also sometimes it happens an inexplicable moments, when teams are just like leaving their trucks or something. Its bizarre, I can’t think of any possible explanation for it except for that they think it increases tension??? How???

So sorry for coming across as a conspiracy theorist.

tldr; i am going insane. are there cats in my walls or is there genuine cat yowling noises added into episodes of the great food truck race??

p.s. sorry that tldr is not very short

Maybe I have nostalgia but I don’t recall Alton’s version being so repetitive. It’s the Same sabotage every time, in the same order. I don’t see the point, most of the contestants don’t have enough personality to it interesting to see the same scenario with different people.

I think this is a miss.

The battle heats up as the teams do a little league food challenge for Mookie Betts and create an entirely new special from what they already have on the truck.

Both the pros & rookies still finding their footing in the beast that is finding parking and foot traffic in LA/SoCal.