Image via Complex Original
The food game show is a mysterious beast. Certainly these shows have existed, broadcast on television screens primarily in the late 1990s and early 2000s, introducing us to tests of gluttony and food knowledge. Unfortunately, due to what is likely the difficult task of keeping a game about food interesting, many of these game show gems are no longer with us.
Fill up your shopping cart and step into the pressure cooker, we've compiled 8 food game shows you (probably) forgot about.
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Trivia Unwrapped
Broadcast on: Food Network
On air: March 2004 to April 2005
Hosted by: Marc Summers
This trivia show was buried by the salt grains of time, the embodiment of #rare. But what we know is this—it was a brief spin-off of the still running Unwrapped series on Food Network. The show consisted of a first round with video clips, a second round (a.k.a. the "Jumbalaya Round") a final round (a.k.a. "Today's Specials). A bonus round called "Fridge or Freezer" (the contestant chooses between two different prizes), and the "Big Pie Payoff" (contestants would spin a wheel and answer 10 questions within 60 seconds to win a trip to cooking school) also existed. If you've seen this show, you're a rare breed of human, and we salut you. Also, we want to know more.
Dinner Takes All
Broadcast on: TLC
On air: 2006 to 2007
Hosted by: Varied (contestants hosted their own dinner parties)
A short-lived show based on the British classic Come Dine With Me, this interpretation mimics the original in both literal show structure, and the snarkiness of the contestants. Five contestants spend one night cooking, serving, and entertaining in the form of a dinner party for the other four contestants. At the end of the night, the four guests rate the dinner party based on food, presentation, and entertainment.
After all five contestants have held their dinner parties, the contestant with the highest score from their peers wins $1000. This show ultimately changes episode to episode (and dinner party to dinner party), with each contestant picking out the theme, menu, and entertainment for their own party. The comedy comes from the varied cooking skill of the contestants and their interpretation of the word "entertainment." It ranged from temporary tattooing, to painting portraits, to smoking cigars and watching TV. Fun is relative, apparently.
Bartender Wars
Broadcast on: Fine Living Network
On air: October 2009 to January 2010
Hosted by: Egypt Sherrod
A battle between bartenders with a single spirit as the theme of the day's competition, this show focused on completing various challenges based around the liquor of the episode to earn points. Challenges range from a "quick shot" (speed challenge), "happy hour" (a technical challenge involving the background patrons), "liquor picker" (bartenders throw darts to select their ingredients), the "wheel of challenges," and the "lightning round" (a physical challenge which in which the guests participate in). With plenty of cheesy lines and innuendos from the bartenders, this show was panned by critics for its lame contestants, arbitrary point system, and the show's overall tacky, "trying-too-hard" vibe.
Ready...Set...Cook!
Broadcast on: Food Network
On air: October 1995 to January 2001
Hosted by: Robin Young (1995 to 1996), Sissy Biggers (1996 to 2000), Ainsley Harriott (2000 to 2001)
Based off the hit British television show, Ready Steady Cook this show consisted of pairing two contestants from the studio audience with a well-known chef (typically with their own restaurants) into two separate teams; one pair being dubbed the Red Tomatoes and the other pair, the Green Peppers. The contestants would then have $10 to spend on ingredients to make an impromptu meal with their respective chef.
Given 20 (eventually changed to 18) minutes, each team would have to prepare a meal which they would then present to the audience. The audience would vote after hearing a description of the meal from the dish's team and vote with cards, one side with a red tomato and the other with a green pepper. The winning team's contestant would receive various cookware and kitchen supplies as prizes. While the British version ran for much longer than the U.S. counterpart, this was considered popular in its heyday for the audience involvement, and could almost be considered a precursor to Food Network's Chopped in terms of random ingredients coming together to make a dish.
Pressure Cooker
Broadcast on: Food Network
On air: September 1998 to December 1998
Hosted by: Chris Durham
A surprisingly detailed game, this show from the Food Network consisted of two rounds with three contestants. Round one starts with the "Meal Mixer." The Meal Mixer is a spinning wheel that consists of the three meals of the day along with two slots named "snack." A space called "pot luck" is in the center of the wheel. Players must collect one meal ticket (in the form of food-shaped magnets placed on the front of the contestant's podiums) from the breakfast, lunch, and dinner categories and two from the snack category.
If that's not complicatd enough, during the first round, a voice randomly shouts "don't play with your food," after which the contestants are asked to create something out of food. The winner of this challenge receives a meal ticket of their choice. Round two consists of the first two contestants to receive five meal tickets. The two contestants take bites of a plate prepared by a Food Network chef and must guess a majority of the ingredients in the dish in order to win.
The final, "Pressure Cooker" round involved the contestant hearing nine food words or phrases. The contestant is given 60 seconds and must choose one of the initial nine food woods to start the host in reading off other food words that correspond to a particular theme. The contestant guesses the theme and then earns a point. In order to win the bonus round, the contestant must get six food topics correct.
Shortly after its initial run, the show was rebooted under the name Taste Test. Unfortunately, that show also disappeared faster than Rebecca Black's Klout score.
Hurl!
Broadcast on: G4
On air: July 2008 to September 2008
Hosted by: Tom Crehan
As the title suggests, losing your lunch is a primary part of this game show. Contestants are prompted to eat as much as they can of foods like hot dogs, pie, or mac n' cheese, and then are subjected to challenges that would likely make them puke, like riding carnival rides or swimming laps in a pool.
Unsurprisingly, watching someone overeat followed by watching them puke made people want to do the same. The show was panned by critics and regular viewers alike, leaving the show to just one season.
Date Plate
Broadcast on: Food Network
On air: 2003 to 2004
Hosted by: Kelly Deadmon
Another extremely obscure Food Network title, this show consisted of two contestants cooking a meal for a guy/girl in the hopes of wooing them. The guy/girl tasting the each dish has no idea who the chefs was, much like a blind date, and the taster makes their selection based purely on the quality and taste of the dish. Basically, like MTV's Room Raiders with food. It turned out, a fine meal wasn't the way to every contestant's heart, but indigestion? Practically a guarantee.
Supermarket Sweep
Broadcast on: ABC (1965 to 1967), Lifetime (1990 to 1995), PAX (2000 to 2003)
On air: December 1965 to July 1967, February 1990 to May 1995, April 2000 to May 2003
Hosted by: Bill Malone (1965 to 1967), David Ruprecht (1990 to 2003)
The granddaddy of all food related shows, the chance that you've peeped at least one episode of Supermarket Sweep is staggering. From the color-coordinated sweaters, to golden-wrapped hams (a.k.a. the key to victory), Supermarket Sweep set precedents as the first-ever grocery store game show.
The show started with three teams answering questions. These could range from identifying jingles, to naming prices, to completing proverbs with items and brands found in a grocery store. Next came the "Round Robin" segment, where contestants would cycle back and forth between their partners after every question. The questions consisted of either unscrambling the name of a brand, or identifying a brand after hearing five clues. Ultimately, these rounds were focused on teams earning seconds on their clock, giving them more time to shop in the mock supermarket during the infamous "sweep" segment.
The "sweep" segment is the final team-based aspect of the show, when each team sends one member to shop for items within the store, filling up carts to bring back to the check-out lanes. Major rules to the sweep include: 1. Contestants could only take five of any item. 2. Any merchandise knocked over or disturbed out of place would result in a penalty on that teams final total. There were also a number of bonus inflatables or food items that would add to a team's final total.
If a team was lucky enough to win the sweep segment, they were then given the chance to run through the supermarket with their partner and identify three secret products. If a team was able to identify all three products and grab the "money fan" by the time a buzzer sounded, then they won $5,000. This segment usually featured teams emotionally breaking down over the simplistic riddles that identified each mystery product.
When you hear the beep, think about all the people who lost their shit while playing Supermarket Sweep.