Wall of Chefs

So overall I really enjoyed the Wall of Chefs cooking competition show. I appreciated seeing average home cooks show off their skills in front of some of the most respected chefs around the world and especially in the U. S. However, what was disappointing to watch was the implicit bias towards ethnic cooks (Black, Hispanic, Indian, Asian, etc). More often than not they didn't make it past the second round of cooks NOT because of their lack of ability but primarily because the chefs judging them were for the most part all-white and all-American. There's a certain culture approach to seasonings, style of cooking, presentation and flavor that exists in ethnic communities that just doesn't in 'traditional American cooking'. If renewed for a second season I'd love to see greater chef representation OR greater understanding for ethnic cooks.

In the vein of Masterchef, this show offers a similar premise--home cooks compete in rounds for a cash prize--but in an episodic format, rather than as a serial. So you get the viewer payoff of a weekly winner, but what you lose is any sense of involvement with the contestants, since they change every week. Likewise, there are three rounds per episode, and it all feels rushed. Two would be better. Perhaps the result of Canadian politeness, sometimes the judges (the "wall of chefs") sugar-coat their comments at the expense of specific critique. Even Hugh Acheson laid on the syrup, and he is known for his ascerbic wit, mostly absent here. Viewers looking to learn technique will be disappointed by the pace as well. We see very little actual cooking. Mildly entertaining, this show is in the end less interesting than watching reruns of Masterchef Australia from back in the days when it was had the boys instead of the current crew, who are likeable, but exhibit some of the same tendencies as the judges here.

I feel compelled to address the review that accuses the show of "underwhelming representation." I've only watched one episode, but assuming it is typical I can't imagine why anyone would make such a claim. I won't address it beyond observing that the person who won e01 was judged on creativity and execution, and the decision had neither literally nor figuratively anything at all to do with "seasoning, style of cooking, presentation", etc. The four contestants could not have been more diverse, so much so that in retrospect I wonder whether this was intentional. The chef judges are all quite famous, and the panel is thus what it is. (They are not, as the reviewer claims, mostly "All-American," whatever that means.) But the one advantage having so many judges is that a small panel of judges are assigned to each round, and some attempt is made to coordinate the speciality of the judges with the contestant dishes being presented. Decide for yourself. The show is worth a look, if you don't have anything much better to do.

The host is annoying... overall I'm sick of competition shows. What do the wins even mean to anyone anymore? Ohh I won a random episode in a random season on one of 1000 cooking shows on TV.

First, to the person claiming ethnic bias. Stop already! Did you ever think that the reason someone doesn't make it past the first round is because the other three cooks are better? Besides, your claim is false. You need to watch a little more closely.

Second, this is a Canadian show, not an "All American" show. All the chefs and cooks are Canadian. That's the reason not a single chef is recognizable to an American audience. We watch a lot of cooking shows and we've *never* seen or heard of any of them.

Now my review. I wish Cappe would stop screaming "Hands Up" twelve times. Almost as annoying as Padma Lakshmi from Top Chef saying "Hands up, utensils down". (Shouldn't it be the other way around)? His penchant for saying "I know you don't want to hear this, or believe it or not", or some other dopey comment before he announces the time left.

Minor annoyances for sure.

I have enjoyed watching this competition show. It's, I guess, my opinion that the judging is fair. The Wall of Chefs are Canadian, as are the contestants but at least 1 judge on the wall is familiar with most all cuisines out there. I don't believe that you need to be from nor familiar with Canadian cooking and food prep (this from an American born and bred).

As for unrecognizable chefs; I have seen a very large chunk of these chefs previously. Chef Acheson, Chef Susar Lee, Chef Crawford-just to name a few are known beyond Canada. And although I'd never heard of Chef Rob Gentile prior to watching this show, I know Buca di Beppo and have enjoyed eating at their restaurants several times.

Now, for the review saying they're tired of all the cooking competitions: What in the heck are you doing watching a cooking competition show for then?

I would love for there to be additional seasons. On a few of the competitions I've watched they have returning contestants. I would like to see some of those runner-ups return, the ones that narrowly missed winning the episode. Another possible is some of those that just completely crashed and burned out the gate, to redeem themselves after perhaps growing a little more experience/techniques.