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There are so numerous great TV cooking competitions right now, it would be practically out of the question to talk about them all in one article. Many of the most general televised cooking competitions are on the Food Network, but there are also galore valued and well received competitions on Bravo, The Learning Channel, the Cooking Channel, PBS and other networks.

The following are galore of the best cooking competitions on television right now, disregarding of whether you want to participate or merely watch along:

Chopped

This reality show on Food Network is hosted by Ted Allen, and it features four competing chefs each episode, who invent an appetizer, entrée and dessert with three to five mismatched ingredients until one contender is left standing, who receives a $10,000 prize.

Cupcake Wars

Another reality show on the Food Network, this contest features four baking and cake embellishing contestants, along with their assistants, battling it out over three rounds to win the prize of $10,000. It is much like Chopped in that there are mystery ingredients and a sequence of challenges.

Food Network Challenge

This reality show features professional chefs taking part in timed competitions versus one another, in respective specialties such as cake baking, teppanyaki Japanese cooking or fruit sculpting. Each winner receives a gold medal and a $10,000 prize.

Iron Chef America

Based on the hit Japanese show, the American version of Iron Chef features professional chefs from the United States and around the world competing versus one of the “Iron Chefs” using a mystery ingredient that will have to be present in all the dishes. The “Iron Chefs” include Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto and Michael Symon.

The Next Food Network Star

As do a great deal of of the outstanding TV cooking competitions, this show airs on the Food Network. Chefs compete in this reality show for rather an interesting prize: their own show on the Food Network! Former winners include Guy Fieri.

Top Chef

This American reality contest show airs on Bravo and features chefs from around the world contending for the grand prize. The firstborn Top Chef show features up-and-coming chefs competing in on a weekly basis challenges, who are judged by seasoned professionals, including celebrated chefs and remarkable feed and wine experts. There is likewise a Top Chef Masters series, which features celebrated chefs from around the world competing versus one another for the prize of $100,000 to be donated to the charity of their choice.

ReviewFrom Molto Batali: Leg of Lamb in a Clementine Crust SERVES 8 TO 10 MINUTES AS A MAIN COURSE Ingredients ½ cup grapefruit juice 4 clementines, halved 1 cup arid white wine 3 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 1 boneless leg of lamb (5 to 7 pounds—always get the larger one), rolled and tied by your butcher Salt Directions 1. Combine the grapefruit juice, clementines, wine, garlic, rosemary, 2 tablespoons black pepper, and the oil in a blender or processor, and pulse until the mixture forms a rough paste. 2. Place the lamb in a large, shallow, nonreactive dish or pan. Rub the marinade over it, and turn the lamb to coat it on all sides. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours (up to 36 hours). 3. Remove the lamb from the marinade, reserving the marinade, and transfer it to a roasting pan. Season the lamb acutely with salt and pepper, and let it stand at room temperature for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425°F. 4. Rub the reserved marinade over the lamb, and add 1 cup of water to the roasting pan. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. 5. Reduce the oven temperature to 400°F, and proceed roasting until an instant-read thermometer registers 130°F for medium-rare, roughly 1 hour and 25 minutes for a huge roast. (It may be only 45 minutes for a little one, so be careful and check the temperature after 45 minutes in any case.) 6. Remove the pan from the oven and concede the lamb to rest for 20 minutes before carving. From Molto Batali: Cool Chard with Peppery Ricotta SERVES 8 TO 10 MINUTES AS A SIDE DISH Ingredients Salt 3 pounds white or red Swiss chard, leaves sliced into ½-inch-wide ribbons 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup red wine vinegar 1-½ cups fresh ricotta, preferably sheep’s milk ricotta, drained ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 3 tablespoons freshly cracked black pepper Directions 1. Bring 8 quarts of water to a boil in a huge pasta pot. Set up a huge ice bath nearby.When the water comes to a boil, add 2 tablespoons salt. Drop the chard into the water and cook until tender, 7 to 8 minutes. 2. Drain the chard and plunge it into the ice bath. When it has cooled, drain it well. Place the chard amidst two platters and press them together very with resolute determination to release the excess water. Place the chard in a big mixing bowl, add the oil and vinegar, and toss. Season lightly with salt, and set in a cool place or in the fridge. 3. Mix the ricotta, nutmeg, and black pepper in a bowl until well blended. Set aside. 4. When ready to serve, arrange the chard on a wide, flat platter and spoon 10 to 12 little dollops of the ricotta around it. Serve cool. From Molto Batali: Grapefruit & Honey Cake SERVES 8 TO 10 Ingredients 3 tablespoons plus ¼ cup finely ground fresh breadcrumbs 2 medium grapefruits ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 4 big eggs, at room temperature 1 teaspoon salt ½ cup sugar ¼ cup honey 1-½ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder Directions 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Oil a 9-inch round cake pan with tall sides, and dust it with the 3 tablespoons breadcrumbs. 2. Using a grater, zest both grapefruits. Juice one of the grapefruits to yield ¾ cup juice. In a little bowl, combine the zest, juice, and olive oil. Set aside. 3. In a big bowl, beat the eggs and salt with an electric mixture until frothy and light. Slowly beat in the sugar and honey, and proceed to mix until pale and thick, with regards to two minutes more. 4. In a discerned bowl, sift the flour, the remaining ¼ cup breadcrumbs, and the baking powder together. Then gradually beat the arid ingredients into the egg mixture. Fold in the citrus zest mixture just until incorporated. 5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then remove it from the pan and let it cool to room temperature. About the Author Mario Batali is the James Beard Award-winning author of eight cookbooks, including Molto Gusto, Molto Italiano, Spain…A Culinary Road Trip, and Italian Grill, as well as the iPad app Mario Batali Cooks! With a host of television shows to his name, fifteen restaurants, and Eataly—a 50,000-square-foot Italian marketplace in New York City’s Flatiron district, which he co-owns with his partner, Joe Bastianich—Mario Batali is arguably one of the most recognized and valued chefs working in America today. Mario splits his time amidst New York City’s Greenwich Village and northern Michigan with his wife and their two sons.

Mario Batali Picture

Mario Batali Picture

Mario Batali Photo

Most helpful customer reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful.
It had me at HELLO
By Joanne
I bought this to give as a little extra gift for my son to open on his birthday in November. He appreciates good food (like his mother) and likes to eat healthy but hearty. I have countless cookbooks but not a one by Mario Batali, that is until now. I am keeping this one and getting my son another one in time to gift. What immediately struck me in this book was the use of both familiar and some unusual (but accessible) and very unusual ingredients to use in cooking–kohlrabi, cardoons (like a huge celery), endive, radishes, plus others. To me, personally, I love trying out new spices and ingredients, or using familiar ingredients in an unusual way–that is the adventure for me. When I have guests over for dinner, I like to serve at least one thing that they may never have had before or recently, or something familiar served in a new way. This book does that for me. Then there are the basics, yummy roasts, short ribs, mostly meats & fowl, some shellfish, pastas (also many unusual kinds), polentas, vegetables, beans, etc.. There are a variety of soups, entrees, sides, and desserts to choose from. The recipes are overwhelmingly ‘rustic,’ and the pictures bring that forth–no fru fru here. (There’s also a recipe for cannoli and shells, one that I make myself in the same way). Almost every recipe has its own picture which draws you right in. The Table of Contents is laid out clearly to find any recipe at a moment’s glance. Each of the twelve chapters is organized by the months of the year so that the menu matches the season. As the title implies, none of these recipes are involved or complicated. The layout of the recipes has all ingredients and directions printed on one page and on the opposite page is the picture. If you desire to make one of the dishes with some unusual ingredient you know you can’t find, there is a large resource guide in the back of book to find it…or as I have been known to do, I substitute; call me a rebel. I don’t let anything hold me back if I’m ready and willing to try out a new recipe.

Do I have any negatives? Yes, one very minor one. In just a few recipes, (thankfully few) notations in the recipe ‘suggest’ buying Mario’s product to complete the recipe. It’s not a big deal but I cringe when I see the author stoop to this level. If you want someone to know your products exist, mention it once in the foreword, then don’t mention it again in specific recipes. To my mind, it is tacky. Despite this one minor negative, it is easy to see that a lot of effort and thought went into this cookbook. For now this review is one to let others know about the book, that it’s worth having for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. So many cookbooks, so little time, as they say; but I will use this one soon and report back when I do. It’s getting cold out so I think I will start with the Tuscan Ribollita soup (in “chapter October”) after I buy some fresh greens; then I’ll be ready to go. I just wanted to share the basics with everyone in the meantime, bc I am very pleased with the many thoughtful features of this book that I wanted to let the word out.

UPDATE: Made the Ribollita soup, halved it, which still made plenty for up to 6 people. Easy to make. I used broth instead of water. Finishing up leftovers today. The Marinated Broiled Portobellos were fast and tasty, to be eaten warm or room temp. The Prime Rib paste/marinade, great. Used it on steak too.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Great for the vegetable dishes alone.
By C. Garness
We are trying to eat more seasonal, vegetable heavy meals in our household and this book has been immensely useful in helping me get a good meal on table in a reasonable amount of time. Most Italian cookbooks I have (including Batali’s previous ones) always leave me wondering what to serve alongside the the glut of pasta and meat dishes they contain. Not so with this one. The chapters are broken down by month of the year and a they are side heavy (I’d say a third to half of each months recipes are vegetables or salads). Some of the highlights I’ve cooked so far have been rutabagas with maple, chili and mint, roasted kohlrabi with parmesan, and roasted parsnips with horseradish, chives and poppy seeds.

My only word of warning is that the recipe measurements and cooking times sometimes seem a bit off so you’ll need to use your experience and judgment, but all in all I’m very happy with this book. It’s been in heavy rotation in my kitchen for the last month.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
BARS15201
By bars15201
I ordered this book as a Christmas gift. Received the order promptly, sooner than I expected. The recipient of the book has cooked some of the best meals for me. We both love it!

See all 8 customer reviews…