Maybe it's the fact that I don't actually have the resources to cook or the silent desperation for real food that stems from soggy dining hall salad and microwaved pizza, but I have a newfound obsession with "The Food Network." Between the elaborate meals, the kitchen mishaps and colorful characters, it's addicting.
Here are my top seven shows from the famous cooking network, guaranteed to kick off your own obsession (and also, probably make you hungry).
1. Kids Baking Championship
Seeing as there are only four episodes in the first season, this is definitely worth flying through. The kids are amazing bakers, which is always a nice reminder that people half my age have already surpassed my cooking skills. They're also adorable pint-size chefs who will probably be mentally scarred from the experience of a cooking competition.
2. Guy's Grocery Games
I have a theory that "The Food Network" operates in similar fashion to "The Hunger Games," where the winning contestants of their various shows are never really allowed to leave. Guy Fieri won the second season of "The Next Food Network Star" about 10 years ago. Since then, he's become the face of the network, unsurprisingly. This is one of his better shows, in my opinion, in which chefs race through the grocery store to collect their ingredients before cooking. It could only be better if they had to try to make it through Wegmans the day before a snow storm.
3. Cupcake Master
Cupcakes are a staple of the baking world (and children's birthday parties). They're miniature works of art on this show, and it never ceases to amaze me just how much bakers can do with a tiny bit of cake. Topping off the contest with giant displays of 1,000 cupcakes just makes it seem like a dream come true.
4. Cutthroat Kitchen
Contestants start with $25,000 and get to pay each round to sabotage their fellow chefs. The winner leaves with their remaining money. This show could have easily gone wrong or come off as plain ridiculous, but the sabotages are so creative and funny (just Google "cutthroat kitchen sabotages" -- you won't be disappointed). Alton Brown hosts, and he's much more diabolical than he was on "Good Eats" (talk about some serious character development).
5. Beat Bobby Flay
I am almost positive that Bobby Flay sold his soul to "The Food Network." This is one of 13 shows he has hosted/had a major role in on the network, and that is not the face of a man who is willingly cooking himself to death for the sake of a paycheck. Regardless, the entire premise of this show is to, indeed, beat Bobby Flay. It's fun to see Bobby struggle with other cook's signature dishes and even, rarely, lose at his own game.
6. Ace of Cakes
One of my favorite food shows that doesn't involve any aspect of competition is this humorous, down-to-earth following of Charm City Cakes, a bakery in Maryland. While the main star, Duff Goldman, is now a "Food Network" regular, his fellow crew deserve some serious recognition for being hilariously strange and super skilled bakers. While the show isn't on the air any more, it is available on Netflix.
7. Worst Cooks in America
Hands down, the most relatable "Food Network" show is "Worst Cooks in America." These are the people who never learned how to cook and have only relied on take-out and microwaveable meals their entire lives. They are a hilarious and almost scary premonition of my future if I don't learn how to cook soon. Two teams compete to see which chef is the "best of the worst." Unsurprisingly, this show is one of Bobby Flay's horcruxes; he's the blue team's coach for the seasons available on Netflix.
