My Favorite Reality Contest TV Shows - Cooking

This show is the first one that started my fascination with cooking show challenges.
It gets better every year.

Cool Chef and head judge Tom Colicchio and hosted by the very classy and cookbook author Padma Lakshmi. Can't beat the chemistry.

Chef contestants (Cheftestants) compete in in each episode in a Quick Fire challenge which may include immunity from elimination or special prize. Then the Chefs proceed into the Elimination challenges to chose a winner, with the loser being told "Please pack your knives and go"., The final winner receives the honor of being named Top Chef and $200,000 and other prizes to start their own restaurant. Even the losers win though, as many have went on to their own successful careers.

Credit and to see more: Top Chef on bravotv.com

It's been panned by the critics for being a lame follow-up to the Top Chef show because it lacks the rivalry of the younger chefs. I like it because there is a grace free from drama about the Master chefs treatment of each other. Another Bonus: Curtis Stone will be hosting it this season. Yum!

This season 12 Top Chefs will compete by elimination much like the original Top Chef series. Each week, winners of the Quick Fire will receive $5000, the episode winner will win $10, 000, with the final prize of $100,000. The prize money for each is earmarked for their favorite charities, How cool is that?

Credit and to see more: Top Chef Masters on bravotv.com

I like to see Bobby get beat trying to come up with a better version of the meal of which his guest chefs are well known. Sometimes it does happen during his surprise drop-in challenges. I'm not sure if Bobby is very confident or just a little arrogant, but to me he's seems supremely arrogant.

Told you it was Evil. :D

I'm not sure if Bobby is a very confident chef, or just a little arrogant, but I think it may be both.

Credit: Throwdown with Bobby Flay on foodnetwork.com

There's nothing like a all-in-the-family business...

I'm not kidding. Buddy Valastro is the Cake Boss. His team includes his 4 sisters, 3 brothers-in-law and his even his mom. I wonder how that works. Actually you can see how the family vs. business works on a daily basis. He especially has some nearly head-butting moments with his sister, Mary.

Filmed in the family bakery Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Credit: Cake Boss on tlc.discovery.com

Love the contrast of a tattooed, biker-looking, rock musician with a successful cake business.

Duff and his talented cake building artist employees, some are also rock musicians, turn out some of the best bakery creations. Sometime unusual tools are used. Like the hardware-type. :D

Filmed at Charm City Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland.

Ace of Cakes is no longer filming, but I'll keep watching re-runs til I see all 104 episodes. :D

Credit: Ace of Cakes on foodnetwork.com

Three chef and their teams are challenged to create huge theme cakes that are created especially for events. These chefs make their over the top creations in hours instead of weeks. The winning chef's cake is used in the event.

Very little drama, just for drama's appeal, beyond the hectic contest itself which is more than enough to frazzle these cake artists.

Credit: Ultimate Cake Off on tlc.discovery.com