The Two Best Challenge Shows from the Food Network

I am a cooking show addict. And while I don’t want to, I will admit it (this one time). But when it comes to my favorites, there are actually two cooking challenge variety type shows that are at the top of the list.

Both of these shows make me laugh and entertain me for hours (it can be a problem). If you haven’t seen these shows yet, you have got to tune in!

Beat Bobby Flay

If it’s your first time watching this show, then you may think that Bobby Flay literally has no friends. But if you’re a seasoned Bobby Flay viewer, you know that in reality, Bobby has an amazing following that includes other chefs and friends that know him for what he is, a freaking king of food!

His flavors are bold and delicious. He has a huge ego, and because of that people love to razz him and thus, Beat Bobby Flay. The basis of this show is chefs that want to win in the kitchen and ‘beat’ Bobby come on the show to do just that, cook against Bobby and win.

There are two rounds of cooking on this show. First, two chefs that want to cook against Bobby, face off against each other. The ‘judges’ for this round are two of Bobby’s friends, that harass him about how bad his cooking is and how great the opponent is doing. After a winner is chosen for this round, they bring in judges that do not watch and do a ‘blind’ taste test to determine the winner, Bobby Flay or the chef that wants to beat him. This show is full of great food, funny wit, and of course, Bobby Flay.

Guy’s Grocery Games

Guy Fieri is the host of Guys Grocery Games. He’s a part of other shows, too, such as Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy’s Big Bite, The Best Thing I Ever Ate, and so many more. Guy knows good food and whether he’s cooking it, sharing the best spots with us, or encouraging others to do their best, he is the host with the most.

‘Triple G’ as he likes to call it stands for Guy’s Grocery Games and I swear I can have this on for hours. The show is set in Flavortown Market, the supermarket of the show. The contestants have to run around and shop, participate in multiple challenges throughout, and cook meals to serve to judges, it’s a lot! The show features cooks as experienced as head chefs in executive restaurants to home cooks who whip up delicious and prize worthy dishes for their friends and family. The variety and uniqueness each chef brings to the different cuisines is so fun to watch and they all have their own style.

This show starts with four contestants. Each round the cooks have to make a certain genre of food. So Guy will tell them to make an Italian dinner or street food with a specific twist. But, and talk about twists, and this is where it becomes the most fun, there is a challenge for every round. And they are crazy, strange, and altogether fun challenges, like you can only choose ingredients that cost $3.99 or you can only purchase one ingredient from each of the aisles, (and nothing outside of the aisles.)

There are four rounds and one person gets booted at the end of each round. Then, at the end, there’s the most fun and entertaining part of the whole show. It’s basically bringing back SuperMarket Sweep.

Do you remember that show? The mid 60s show was revived in the 90s and reruns ran for years. On that show, you had a timed run around the store and whoever’s cart was mostly costly, won. But for GGG, the player has a list of 10 things to find in two minutes. For each item they locate and get into their cart, they win $2,000 for a possible $20,000 total. This is my favorite part to watch and I am always so happy for them when they win it all!

Whether you want to see Bobby get harassed and made fun of, or watch Guy trick the contestants by telling them to ‘GO’ but not in so many words, these cooking challenge shows are the perfect choice. They make me laugh and keep me coming back for more.