Cooking under a strict time limit while TV cameras capture a chefs every mistake has to be difficult. Throw in some ridiculous kitchen sabotages that might require a chef to prepare a meal in a giant ball pit or with toy cooking utensils, and the cooking challenge becomes even more intense. Its exactly those sort of kooky booby traps that make Cutthroat Kitchen a cooking competition unlike any other.
Cutthroat Kitchen certainly has elements of other TV cooking competitions, but it also is a bit of a black sheep. Trash talking is encouraged, the judges have no idea what went into the meal that theyre eating, and the chefs competing almost certainly have not cooked under similar conditions before. If there was ever a cooking show that employed a dog-eat-dog mentality, Cutthroat is definitely it. From the pitfalls that can ruin a chef before the cooking even starts to the sabotages that undermine a chefs skills, heres everything you ever wanted to know about this truly twisted show.
“Cutthroat Kitchen” had its fans, but Alton Brown, the show’s host, probably wasn’t one of them. If the Food Network did officially cancel its wacky competition where chefs bid on creative ways to sabotage their competitors’ cooking, it was only because Brown quit.
Most Cutthroat Kitchen contestants are found through social media
Finding people who want to potentially earn $25,000 for a days work probably isnt that difficult. At least until you tell them theyll be put through the ringer and might walk away with absolute zilch. Chef Joe Arvin said that he was contacted by the shows producers after they stumbled upon his cooking channel on YouTube. “They initially wanted to know how strong of a competitor I was and if I thought that I would be able to handle the pressure of competing on a show like Cutthroat Kitchen,” Arvin said.
According to Arvin, its pretty common for the shows producers to reach out to potential contestants through YouTube or various other social media platforms. Once somebody says theyre interested in appearing on the show, they then send in a resume along with a few photographs of their best dishes. From there, contestants have a few Skype calls with the shows producers to discuss their culinary background and if they have the right mindset to keep their cool in the kitchen under pressure.
In total, Arvin said his audition process took around four months and oddly enough, there was never any actual cooking as part of his audition. Maybe producers thought nobody who didnt have legit cooking skills would be crazy enough to subject themselves to Alton Browns kitchen torture.
Cobb County resident and food guru Alton Brown said Food Networks “Cutthroat Kitchen” is officially over.
Posted originally on Sunday, July 8, 2018 by RODNEY HO/[email protected] on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
The quirky game show featured contestants bidding on all sorts of cooking obstacles that would hinder their opponents. Brown might have you use super small utensils or enable you to steal someone else’s ingredients. But the more you spend, the less money you’ll pocket at the end.
Brown in the fall of 2016 said he was taking a hiatus from producing episodes to work on other projects.
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.Editors Picks
Here’s Why The Food Network Canceled Cutthroat Kitchen
FAQ
Has Cutthroat Kitchen been cancelled?
Has anyone left Cutthroat Kitchen with $25,000?
Is the money on Cutthroat Kitchen real?
Was Cutthroat Kitchen scripted?
Why is Cutthroat Kitchen called Cutthroat Kitchen?
Unlike other competition food shows like Chopped and Iron Chef, trash talk is encouraged on Cutthroat Kitchen. Hence the name, Cutthroat Kitchen was even more intense than the average cooking show because of how “cutthroat” it could be. The show kept lawyers on standby to make sure nothing got too out of control.
Did food Network cancel Cutthroat Kitchen?
Food Network’s Cutthroat Kitchen, the quirkiest competition show, was officially cancelled in 2018. With over 200 episodes and 15 seasons, it came as a shock that it would be cancelled in the first place. Alton Brown, the show’s host, credits himself for ending the cooking competition.
What makes Cutthroat Kitchen a cooking competition?
Throw in some ridiculous kitchen sabotages that might require a chef to prepare a meal in a giant ball pit or with toy cooking utensils, and the cooking challenge becomes even more intense. It’s exactly those sort of kooky booby traps that make Cutthroat Kitchen a cooking competition unlike any other.
Is ‘Cutthroat Kitchen’ over?
Cobb County resident and food guru Alton Brown said Food Network’s “Cutthroat Kitchen” is officially over. He responded to a fan asking about it on Twitter Sunday night.