Cooking shows! (Hell's Kitchen, Top Chef, etc.)

Anyone else find these addicting?

Seeing as how I have a rather limited palate, I initially had no interest in cooking shows, but Iron Chef (the Japanese version) began to change my mind.

Then I saw Hell's Kitchen for the first time a year or so ago and thought it was ridiculously entertaining (though not terribly educational, as far as cooking goes). Now I'm a devoted fan of Top Chef on Bravo, Chopped on the Food Network, Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares on Fox (though the BBC version of Nightmares is way better).

I haven't seen The Restaurant (aka, Last Restaurant Standing) yet. Anyone know if it's any good?

Discuss your favorite cooking shows here!

Very addictive - although I find Gary Rhodes to be the cure (cannot stand him).

I didn't like 'The Restaurant', too much like 'The Apprentice' with food.

Have you seen Jamie's School Dinners (Channel 4, aired in UK 2005)?
Jamie's grandparents lived up the road from me, so I'm a little bias. But when he asked children from a deprived part of England what they had eaten for dinner and every one said something with chips (fries), then one child said he had only eaten one Pot Noodle all day, my heart just broke and I wanted to adopt!

Apparently Ainsley Harriott is huge in South Africa. Doesn't do anything for me.

The Hairy Bikers are good entertainment, like to see the world, but they aren't chiefs and they are the first to admit it.
www.hairybikers.com/

American television (even with cable's 200+ channels) doesn't offer many foreign options, unfortunately, so I haven't heard of, let alone seen, any of the shows you mentioned. The only non-domestic things we get are on BBC America.

New episode of Hell's Kitchen tonight! This season has been pretty blah so far. Only one chef (Danny) seems to have the skill necessary to win-- which means he'll probably be eliminated in favor of some drama causing douchebag within the next episode or two.

If anyone out there hasn't seen Chopped yet (on the Food Network), you should definitely give it a go.

The format is 4 chefs competing in three rounds (appetizer, entree, dessert), with one chef being eliminated ("chopped") at the end of each round. The last chef standing takes home $10,000. Each round features a handful of mystery ingredients that must be incorporated into the dish. Sort of a faster-paced Iron Chef.

New episodes air Tuesday nights, and repeats are shown throughout the week. Check your local listings.

That's what the internet was invented for. Check out www.surfthechannel.com
If you search TV, then J, you'll find Jamie at Home, which you can watch on your PC. There are loads of British cooking shows on there but you need to hunt around.

Thanks!