Food on the Tube: Who knew cake could be this exciting?

When I saw previews for some of the first episodes of Food Network Challenge, I didn’t know what to think. I mean, people baking cakes doesn’t strike me as the most compelling television. I think I avoided the show for quite a while, figuring it was just a silly filler program, nothing to be taken too seriously.

As is inevitable, however, it was some lazy Sunday afternoon and I was flipping channels when I stopped on the Food Network (as I usually do) and figured I would give it a shot; nothing better was on. Something strange happened. I found myself intrigued and entertained. For an entire hour, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. The talent these cake decorators have is out of this world. As I caught several more episodes, I realized it wasn’t just cake decorators either. Sugar sculptors, chefs, and fruit carvers have all been featured on Challenge, and they have all been great.

The show has been successful for a number of reasons. The level of competition is high enough to create drama without seeming too manufactured. Sure, sometimes they “stir things up” with small tweaks to the rules, but I find that these never really get in the way. Aside from that, these competitions are just really tough. They get the best contestants from around the world and they give them very difficult tasks. These competitors are also very different from each other. Like the true artists that they are, each person has their different style and personality. Some, like Duff, like to use motors and fireworks, some just like to keep it simple.

Speaking of Duff, I wasn’t so sure that he was deserving of his own show after his appearances on Challenge. I liked him just fine, but he never had good luck during the Food Network Challenges. It seemed that he always shot too high, with something inevitably going wrong. Once I actually caught a couple episodes of Ace of Cakes, however, I quickly became a fan. Not only is the work they do incredible, but the personalities on the show really are entertaining. You can tell that these folks really enjoy being at work, and they would have to be because they work hard!

If you’ve seen previews for any of these shows and thought that you had no interest in watching people decorate cakes, I would urge you to tune in and give them a chance.

Any other fans out there?

Clacked by Bob Degon
on Nov 22, 2008 @ 11:49 EST5EDT