Ciao House

Love cooking competitions shows. But the basis of a competition is the better chefs ultimately win. The foundation of contestants leaving this show is other contestants voting them out. Judges as a result are completely unnecessary. They played 0 role in the progression of the competition.

Unfortunately, at the end of each competition, it wasn't the weakest chefs going home, but the opposite. Strong chefs got voted out by weaker chefs binding together to get rid of skilled chef.

Judges should have had the responsibility to vote out chefs based on their performance. Very disappointing to see deserving talents leave the show because less skilled chefs took advantage of the poor structuring of the competition.

I like the idea of a competition showcasing Tuscany and the great food in the region and a competition thrown in, but is ruined by the chef voting off someone themselves. Every challenge is a team and ends up getting worse with the lower numbers but the worst part is the voting off one of the team. The judges seem kind of useless as they don't decide who deserves to stay but get to target the more talented chefs as a captain which makes them an easy target for the weaker chefs to gain up on and get rid of. As the show goes on ends up being a showcase of best of the worst with the weaker chefs bringing down the better chefs then taking them out. Making the competition and the show pointless in the end and a loose definition of the word "winner".

My fiancée and I were intrigued by this show when we saw the commercials. Set in Tuscany, lots of opportunity to showcase the locale with all the foods etc. Unfortunately, while they've shown some of those things, the format of the show is ridiculous and super unfair. Constantly lopsided teams, people being captains multiple times while others not at all, has allowed floaters to get further than they should have, while better chefs have gone home. The judges are different and their choices for choosing the winners are wishy washy and we just watched an episode where a judge pointed out something to the chefs about their choice for the menu, questioning it, thusly allowing them to make a change which really gave them an advantage. Ridiculous.

I just binge watched this show yesterday. I came onto IMDB expecting to see it rated around an 8. Boy was I was shocked to read all the negative reviews. I just don't get it. People need to stop over analyzing and just enjoy. (I was going to rate the show an 8, but did a 10 to try and balance out all the overly low ratings).

My husband came home around 3/4 of the way through and he also got hooked on it.

Comments (from reviews) about awful contestants are just not true. These seem like 'normal' people. Not overly hyper, like some shows. I love Alex. She has a good sense of humor and is very kind to people.

Looking forward to season 2.

Best accidental find I've had. This is the first culinary arts program that showcased what a chef does as a director of a kitchen: organizing, coordinating & utilizing the talents of chefs to prepare regionally themed meals. Moved beyond the gimmicks of single ingredient focus competition to a unique take on elimination. The personality traits of chefs are shown in the what & how they cook, yes; but moreover how & if they can lead. Gabrielle B. Was a great complement to Alex G. As cohosts. Alex shines in her pointed but superbly constructive criticism which helps participants learn & grow. The regional focus backdrop of Tuscany & sharing a villa's small kitchen adds a great dynamic. Beyond a focus on "rooting" for a personality to a fuller understanding of each chef. How do they respond to challenges of all sorts - whether cooking, interpersonal, situational. Steps up the quality of the Food Network's offerings. Can't wait for season 2 & an answer to the question: will Omar return?