Cooking up a storm

> The US version of My Kitchen Rules has failed miserably by turning a fun challenge for home cooks into a celebrity free-for-all

My Kitchen Rules Australia is so popular is because it pits home cooks against each other .

Teams of two (consisting of family members, married couples, best friends, and so on) get to showcase to judges Pete Evans and Manu Feildel (Colin Fassnidge joined them in season six) their skills as well as cultural heritage. Watching sisters Tasia and Gracia Seger ( above), who cooked their native Indonesian food, bicker their way into the finals and then win season seven was not only hilarious, but heartwarming. Fans of the show particularly enjoy the Instant Restaurant round of the competition in which each team must cook, and then get judged by the other teams in their group as well as the judges. This is where competitors sometimes bare their claws or reveal their ignorance. As for the US version, it doesn’t even come close to matching the quality of the original show. I would much rather watch the New Zealand version of My Kitchen Rules instead, which is a far better spinoff.

Talking about food-related shows, remember when Jeff Mauro, host of Sandwich King, went from city to city in the US for the show $24 for 24, where he had to spend that amount of money on three meals and a snack?

Well, there is now Cheap Eats with Ali Khan, a food blogger doing the same thing with a budget of US$35 (RM155.22).

Mauro even shows up briefly for an episode shot in his home city of Chicago.

Both hosts have this exhuberant charm going for them, but the fact that both shows are on Food Network simply means that ideas are being recycled.

Funny thing is while both managed to stay within budget, you can’t help but notice that they don’t count beverage costs and tips into the final tally.

Of course, if you watch any of these food-oriented channels, you will notice that actresses have been muscling in what used to be the territory of comely home cooks like Nigella Lawson, or glamorous professional chefs like Giada de Laurentis and Anna Olson.

Watching Valerie Bertinelli, Tia Mowry, Haylie Duff, TiffaniAmber Thiessen, and now Patricia Heaton become celebrity chefs since their acting careers have been non-existent is pretty sad.

And it doesn’t help that they are not offering us anything new when it comes to cooking.

The original Australian My Kitchen Rules (above) is still the best; while new series Cheap Eats (right) and celebrity cooking shows like Heaton’s (bottom, left) produce mixed results.