Reality cooking shows are all the rage these days, but let's face it, some or more realistic than others. There are shows that are too theatrical and dramatic to ever possibly happen in a real kitchen center, but that's how reality TV works. Ironically, reality doesn't always mean it's real.
Watching obviously fake reality TV shows doesn't take the fun out of it. If anything, it makes the viewers more interested. Sometimes, real-life scenarios are too boring for TV, which is where producers come in to spice it up and make it enjoyable enough for TV. From judges who taste the food before it's eventually presented to them on-screen to having more time than that's shown on-screen, some of these reality TV shows aren't as real as they look (while others truly are real).
Updated on June 29th, 2021, by Lynn Gibbs: Reality TV isn't just for shows like The Hills or The Real Housewives, it can also be entertaining for the food world as well. There's something that gets viewers' hearts pounding when cooks or bakers go head to head in less than a given amount of time to make the best meal and come out on top. When famous hosts, chefs, and judges are involved, it makes the competition all the more serious.
However, just as is the case for shows like The Real Housewives, food competition shows can also be fake, rigged, or not as nerve-racking as they appear. After all, making meals in a short time frame without hours to prepare can be tough, which is why a bit of editing magic is involved.
Real (And Kind Of Fake): Guy's Grocery Games
Guy Fieri has his hands in everything these days, and his reality food competition show, Guy's Grocery Games is one of his best. As the host of the show, he has a few professional cooks and novice cooks come to a grocery store and compete in a series of tests and cook in front of judges (using ingredients from the store).
As thrilling as it is, Distractify hints that the show is both real and fake. The show takes place on a "15,500-square-foot" soundstage that was created into a grocery store. All the produce and ingredients are real. So while the store isn't technically a store, the twists of the show are real.
Fake: Supermarket Store Stakeout
Famed chef and food host, Alex Guarnaschelli, presented Supermarket Store Stakeout; a reality show that focuses on a pop-up food competition in the parking lot of a grocery store. Each round of the show has a theme where the cooks need to exchange money for strangers' goods in their carts. Some strangers are happy to take money for the food they just bought while others are freaked out by the contestants and storm past them.
According to Reddit, a person a part of the crew noted how fake the show was. One of the greatest examples is that there are many shoppers who have their faces blurred, while others not so much. Those without their faces blurred have signed a waiver allowing the network to use their likeliness for the show. This proves that the shoppers knew what was going on when they left the store.
Real: Sugar Rush
Sugar Rush is a baking competition on Netflix that has four teams going against each other to win a cash prize. According to Mashed, Sugar Rush is anything but staged.
Due to the number of mistakes and flops that happen throughout the series, no serious competitor would intend for that to happen on purpose.
Fake: The Great British Baking Show
The Great British Baking Showis still going strong with 11 seasons. The show has 12 non-professional cooks going against each other for the prestige of the title. What makes this show lovely to watch is the family element it exudes. And while the cooks and their talents are real, according to Cheat Sheet. it's also staged.
Filming takes at least 16 hours and production will retake certain shots or scenarios if it doesn't turn out the way they hoped. Sometimes, the camera crew will even make contestants resay something if it didn't come out right or wasn't theatrical enough.
Fake (And A Little Real): Iron Chef America
Iron Chef America has literal Iron Chefs with a remarkable culinary background go against each other the title. According to ABC, however, Iron Chef America is not as real as viewers think. There are over 120 people working on set to make sure the scenes go their way for the 10+ cameras filming the chefs.
The cooks and their skills are totally real as the camera films them for over an hour without stopping but there's also a lot of dramatic things added just to make it interesting on screen.
Real: Nailed It!
Hosted by Nicole Byer, Nailed It! has some of the best of the worst cooks in the world compete week after week. In each episode, contestants bake the most ungodly, unruly-looking cakes and cupcakes known to man. And as unappetizing as some of these dishes look, they taste even worst.
According to Mashed, some items are inedible, raw, or undercooked, proving that the show really does have some of the worst (yet diehard) bakers on the show.
Fake: MasterChef
Gordon Ramsay exudes falseness with his gritty language and over-the-top antics. The restauranteur and chef has such a deep ion for food, that he lets his love of it all get to him. However, viewers cannot deny that he makes fantastic TV.
Throughout MasterChef, the best chefs in the world go against each other in a series of events to see who is the most skilled. Sadly, a former contestant on MasterChef noted that the show is very much fake. According to Radar Online, Ben Star noted that production had the right to alter everything for the sake of television. “Comments you see a contestant make are often pieced together from sound bytes tangents recorded throughout the entire season," Star said.
Real: Bizarre Foods America
A spin-off of Andrew Zimmern's Bizarre Foods, has Zimmern searching his native land for the most disgusting, vomit-inducing cultural cuisines that will make even the strongest stomach cringe in agony. Just like its predecessor, Bizarre Foods America examines an array of cultures and cuisines that help make them unique.
There is no reason for this show to be scripted as it is his initial apprehension before digging in that makes it one of the best shows for food lovers and makes the show a success. Regardless if whether the show did have its scripted moments, according to ABC the entrees and food he eats are real.
Fake: Cake Boss
There were rumors abound that the delectable pastries seen on television screens on Cake Boss were not even made at Carlo's Bake Shop, but, instead at a factory.
The typical reality television moments with the family involved in some outrageous dilemma that somehow worked out in the end also show signs of falsehood. According to Trends Catchers, not only is Buddy rarely at the cake shop but producers need to get the okay from the buyers in order to present the cake in such a theatrical fashion. In reality, the bake shop doesn't do that. What's worse is most of the cake isn't edible, but the sheet cake of it is.
Real: Chopped
Chopped really put the contestants to the test, giving them less than appetizing ingredients, expecting them to somehow pull out a miracle in the brief time allotted. Some of the results are surprising when some of the contestants create delicious-looking meals.
Most reality cooking shows have judges that look like they are just there for the paycheck but not these judges, they're truly intrigued by what the contestants can do and give out their rulings without bias. Former contestant, Michael Vignola, said there's nothing fake about Chopped. "This show is real. There's no stop and go. It's very much like real kitchen life, and you have to just make it happen," he told Tasting Table.