bobhyneman In many cooking contest shows they do things like have 6 haute- cuisine chefs preparing six haute-cuisine dishes using ingredients I can't even identify, or they pair ridiculously incompatible ingredients (chocolate, sardines and cotton candy). I can't learn anything from such shows.Despite the fact that some of the sabotages are so silly they detract from the show, the food the contestants cook, on Cutthroat Kitchen is normal everyday food, such a tomato soup made from scratch. THAT, I learn from.Sometimes when I cook I don't have every last ingredient I want, or don't have proper utensils, or have to used a heat source that is not my first choice. I think that happens to all home chefs. When two chefs have took cook tied together at the waist, well, that's just comic relief and sometimes a lesson in teamwork.

LeDentalPlaque I watched one episode of Cutthroat Kitchen and was turned off forever. Ever since it started, I sometimes unfortunately end up hitting an episode of this show here and there if my timing is bad with the Food Network.The first thing that peeves me about this show is that they make a joke out of cooking, and they make these chefs do ridiculous things. I mean, this is a competition, and how can you judge someone's true ability to cook if they're forced to cook with a lamp and no stove, or to have them hop on stools from one place to another, or to have your ingredients replaced by jelly beans? How can you honestly compare the food cooked by this one poor chef (who's been sabotaged so intensely) to the others who have had the full arsenal of the kitchen at their disposal? It's just wrong, plain and simple.I think this deserves a 2, a rarity for me, because it makes a joke out of cooking and it makes professionals look like fools.

Mike_Wiggins The summary pretty much says it all. I had been avoiding the show as I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it. But one evening, when there wasn't much on, I chose to commit to watching one full episode. And I did.I just wish I had listened to my inner alarm bells. Even though it was hosted by Alton Brown, who I admire a lot, the premise for the show was just mean and unsportsmanlike. What fun is there in stacking the deck so that ANY other opponents can't really perform. Forcing a cook to use a hockey skate instead of his knives (in the episode I watched) was not what I would call entertainment.But there ARE moments where you might see a chef shine with their knowledge. In this episode, one chef was allowed to "steal" cheese from another chef. The "thief" thought he had mortally wounded his victim. But he was unaware that his victim was very smart and had wisely brought out enough ingredients from the pantry to make her OWN cheese. Clever.In the end, I don't like this type of gaming. It's like watching a game of high school football players going against an NFL team (to me, at least). And that's why I say "Never again!"

acranford As the title suggests, this show glorifies backstabbing and general poor gamesmanship. Perhaps, in the right dosage, that could make an interesting show, but on CK this is not the case. It's not funny or entertaining--it is painful to watch. It is actually disturbing to watch these contestants try to sabotage each other for money.Each contestant tries to produce versions of classic meals like french toast or tacos. The only real challenge is that the person next to you is trying to make your dish horrible.That means that every contestant is like that bully from high school or that guy who purposefully cuts in front of you in traffic. The contestant who wins is the biggest jerk in the group--the person you would normally hope loses. There is not emotional gratification from this show because the person with the most damaged moral compass wins.Plus, the contestants must enjoy ruthlessness more than monetary gain. Although they are each given $25,000 at the beginning of the show,they have to use it to bid on ways to sabotage each other.*Slight Spoiler* They basically use all their money to do this. I watched 3 episodes and not one winner has walked away with $10,000. One contestants won about $2,000.If they were smarter, they could have gone on Chopped where the competition is fairer and the winner is guaranteed $10,000. If they were smarter still, they would make a pact before the show that no one bid on anything and let the best, most skillful chef win $25,000.This isn't some disgruntled complaint about how this show isn't Good Eats or how FN has too many competitions. This show is just plain horrible. It is so bad that Icouldn't just let it go and I had to write a review.