According to our feature last week, cooking shows are on the wane. Well, maybe in the UK. Across the pond, Next Gen Chef (Netflix, available now) is serving up what it claims is “the biggest prize in culinary show history”: half a million dollars.
It’s a contest for pros, meaning standards are high and opportunities for amusing mishaps are rare. A lineup of judges and chefs are stern and intimidating, and there’s certainly no fun had about the name of the show’s venue – the Cooking Institute of America, or CIA.
It turns out the place is less Langley, more Hogwarts. A contestant references Harry Potter less than two minutes in, and indeed the main dining area, the poshly named Farquarson Hall, bears a strong resemblance to a certain wizards’ canteen.
Robotic host Olivia Culpo plays Dumbledore, divvying up the contestants into houses (she doesn’t use a sorting hat, disappointingly) and assigning an ‘entrance exam’: a seven-course menu inspired by CIA alumni. The twist? “Half” the 21 entrants will get the boot immediately, leaving 12 (they’re good at cooking, not maths).
Indeed, the teams are deeply impressive, reflecting their top-level backgrounds with superb teamwork and decisive menu-planning.
It takes a long time to plough through the dishes, but the food all looks beautiful – even, frankly, the scallops one judge calls “disgusting”.
Such consistent high standards should be boring. But with the food front and centre, and the competitive and backstory elements kept pithy and relevant, it turns out to be surprisingly absorbing.
Maybe there’s life in the cooking show yet.
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