Cooking shows come in all shapes and sizes: informative step-by-step recipe shows, quirky competitions, documentaries, and more. Like a fine buffet, there are plenty of options available for everyone to sink their teeth into.
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Long-running series likeChoppedandDiners, Drive-Ins, and Divescontinue going from strength to strength. However, 2022 saw new shows crop up and offer more spice to the proceedings. Here are the best of 2022’s offerings before the new year comes in.
6Chefs Vs Wild
Ever seen shows likeTethered,Naked and Afraid, or Bear Grylls’ classicMan Vs Wildseries and thought it needed more cooking?Huluthought so as they began broadcastingChefs Vs Wildback in September 2022. Running for 8 episodes, the show dropped off two world-class chefs in the backwoods of British Columbia in Canada.
They have to work together to out-cook two survivalists by searching for ingredients in the woods, with no help beyond advice from a foraging expert. Who will win: the side that knows how to cook, or the side that knows how to survive?to find out who comes out on top.
5Best in Dough
Also debuting in September 2022,Best in DoughgivesDisney+a culinary contest to keep up with the competition. It puts a variety of cooks in a contest where they have to prove who’s the best at slinging doughand making pizzafor the big prize. Unlike similar shows, it isn’t a tournament. Instead, its episodes pit people from similar walks of life against each other.
For example, the first episode ‘Nonnas’ has three Italian grandmothers out-pizza one another. ‘Pop Goes the Pizza’ does the same for pizza pop-up businesses, while ‘Planet Pizza’ sees competitors from Mexico, Japan, and Brazil combine a taste of Italy with a cultural twist from their home countries.
4Take Out with Lisa Ling
Debuting onHBO Maxback in January 2022 for 6 episodes,Take Out with Lisa Lingtakes a more documentary-style approach to cooking. It follows journalist & author Lisa Ling (hence the name) as she travels across the US to see how Asian cuisine has made an impact on the States from its earliest days to modern times.
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For example, while Louisiana is famous for its French Cajun cooking, it also has a Filipino community that’s contributed plenty of delicacies to the state. Likewise, New York has been discovering Bangladeshi cuisine thanks to a rising community from the South Asian nation. Informative and intriguing, the show packs a lot of variety into its short run.
3The Big Brunch
From anHBO Max showfrom the start of 2022 to one from the tail-end of the year in November,The Big Brunchis a straightforward cooking competition where ten competitors have to complete challenges to win $300,000 towards their business goals. Whoever impresses the judges moves on through the competition, and whoever doesn’t gets eliminated.
Across 8 episodes, they have to make hangover cures, leavened dough dishes, party food, and more. While everyone’s competing against each other, there are little to no frills compared to similar shows. Everyone presents themselves as themselves doing their best: no manufactured drama, no heel judges playing pantomime for the punters. It’s why viewers and critics alike caught on with it, describing the show as “less food fight and more comfort cuisine”.
2The Tiny Chef Show
While most of these shows are aimed at grown-ups, there are kids who like to get involved in cooking too. They’ve received ‘Junior’ editions of shows likeChoppedandMasterChef, and a few made from the ground up for them likeMy World KitchenandZumbo’s Just Desserts. Still, they could do with something fresh, andNickelodeongave them the freshest example around in September 2022.
The Tiny Chef Showis a stop-motion model show about the titular little cook. He makes different plant-based dishes for his friends from his tree stump home. He’s aided in his culinary creations by his robot Olly, his pet caterpillar Ruby, his pet snail Henry, and a living disco ball that announces the proceedings. Short as the show’s episodes are, they show kids how to make quesadillas, apple crumble, popcorn, and more in fun ways.
1Drink Masters
After all these shows about food and cooking, viewers could do with a show about drinks to wash it all down with. After all,making fine drinkscan require just as much expertise as fine dining, asDrink Mastersshows. Running for 10 episodes onNetflixfrom October 2022, the show pits 12 of the world’s top mixologists against each other in a variety of challenges.
Whoever overcomes every tonic-based test will win the top prize and get the title of Ultimate Drink Master. Some can sound simple enough, like spicing up the standard Margarita. Others sound more curious, like making botanical cocktails for Dale DeGroff, or making the perfect drink to go with a dish made by chef Edward Lee. Either way, it’s a unique show for those who fancy a tipple.
