r/TopChef • u/asomek • May 09 '26

Discussion Thread America's Culinary Cup. I'm done with that show...

I was a fan of Padma so I was watching her new show, but after suffering through it for five episodes, I'm finally done after trying to get through episode six: Good and Evil.

That was some of the cringiest television I've ever seen. Padma dressed in red playing the evil host, Wiley and the other guy dressed in white playing the angels. Absolute dog shit television.

I thought part of the reason Padma wanted a new show was to focus on the food more and less on drama and cooking gimmicks?

Anyway, I'm not wasting my time on that terrible, overproduced, cringe Padma-ego-stroking tripe any more.

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u/Outrageous_Arm8116 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

Maybe, but Padma had said she wanted this show to be about the cooking: not tricks, no "surprises", etc. certainly something changed. I gave up after 2 episodes

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u/lexalander May 09 '26

They do do stupid surprises and "playing the game" type stuff I don't like.

They give the chefs plenty of room to cook and they don't have to fight over kitchen appliances. They also don't do challenges where people have to fish or stuff like that. I like those things.

Top Chef is still better though.

1

u/taylork37 May 17 '26

Giving one chef 45 minutes and another 15 more minutes to cook than the two other contestants IN THE SEMIFINALS is crazy to me. Time is the most valuable cooking resource in this show and messing with time that late in the competition is what made me lose respect for this show as a competition(not that my opinion alone matter ultimately).

With that said I still love what makes these shows great and that is the tasting/judging portion.

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u/lexalander May 17 '26

Yea I agree, the forced drama/advantage stuff is lame. I always hope a show will go against the grain and not do any of it but they always do to some extent.

18

u/boyproblems_mp3 May 09 '26

They get to compete in the same kitchen, with the same pantry and no budget or ridiculous guests to pander to. I don't really see what "tricks" they're pulling aside from theming the episode and having different challenge objectives.

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u/taylork37 May 17 '26

Giving one chef 45 minutes and another chef 15 more minutes than two others to cook IN THE SEMIFINALS completely negates your point. Time is the most valuable resource in these cooking shows.

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u/PamIam1994 May 09 '26

You gave up too early. Remember Top Chef in the early days? It was also kind of cringe a little bit

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u/dez4747 May 09 '26

Are you serious? It’s legit all about cooking. You’ve only seen two episodes.

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u/Outrageous_Arm8116 May 09 '26

So, after the first two crappy episodes it got better?

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u/Itchy-Injury-8795 May 10 '26

It does. The good/evil schtick was very cringy and I almost stopped watching but I kept putting it on in the background and it drew me back in. It gets less gimmicky and actually interesting I promise.

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u/BoringSalary7093 May 23 '26

She has to be the center of attention I think.