Dessert, deconstructed
‘Crime Scene Kitchen’ invites you to decode cake
Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Fox decides to put its own spin on the baking competition — a genre that has been dominating TV lately. “Crime Scene Kitchen” launches this Wednesday, May 26, on Fox, and this isn’t your average cake-themed showcase.
For starters, it’s hosted by actorcomedian and “Card Sharks” host Joel McHale, so the jokes will probably have a little more bite than the typical wordplay (the trailer even poked fun at it). There’s also a deceptive twist: instead of themed challenges, this series is “a culinary guessing game in which bakers are tasked with decoding what type of dessert was made when all that’s left are the crumbs, flour trails and a few elusive clues” (according to Fox).
This forensic approach to baking is just the kind of lighthearted programming you’d expect to find in a network’s summer lineup. And if you’re thinking the premise sounds vaguely familiar, you might be thinking of Quibi’s “Dishmantled,” hosted by Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”). That competition also tasked contestants with identifying and recreating a dish that had been shot out of a cannon.
You won’t find any cannon-blasted foods or endurance tests in the dessert-themed “Crime Scene Kitchen.” This series focuses more on detective work — it’s more of a trial of the senses.
Once the bakers have sifted through the clues and tasted the crumbs, they’ll have to recreate the recipe for celebrity judges/chefs Curtis Stone and Yolanda Gampp, who will determine whether their best guess even comes close to matching the mystery dessert.
In fact, this is how Fox describes its newest competition series: “Each episode begins at the scene of the crime — a kitchen that was just used to make an amazing, mouth-watering dessert that has since disappeared. The chef teams of two are challenged to scour the kitchen for clues and ingredients to figure out what was baked. Next, each team must duplicate the recipe based on their guess. To take the $100,000 prize, the competing dessert makers will need to prove they have the technical knowhow, imagination and problem-solving skills needed to decode and recreate incredible desserts and cakes from across the world.”
Stone and Gampp bring a wealth of experience to the series and the judges table. Stone is best known for his TV appearances on “Take Home Chef” and “Top Chef Junior,” while Gampp’s own cake creations have garnered half a billion views on YouTube, leading to guest spots on shows such as “Cake Wars” and “Nailed It.”
Would you be able to solve all the cake clues?
Play along when “Crime Scene Kitchen” debuts this Wednesday, May 26, on Fox following the Season 5 finale of “The Masked Singer.”
Episodes will also be available on Tubi after airing in prime time.