Scott Amundsen I see quite a few writers who feel sorry for the contestants on this show. I do not. For starters, we all know that Americans will do anything for a buck, and the promise of $25,000 bucks is quite a carrot to dangle in front of people.As for their cooking skills (or rather the lack thereof), my mother started me learning to cook when I was eight. Nothing fancy, just things like hamburgers, hot dogs, fried eggs, etc. It is a life skill that IMHO should be taught to most children. At the very least I think that a kid should be able to put dinner on the table by age twelve; there's a lot of simple stuff out there that young people can learn to cook and have fun doing it too.One thing I have to point out which seems to be a constant on this show is people's reaction to fish and seafood in general. In a word, "EEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!"Well I am sorry but I find this extremely comical; why Americans appear as a species to be intimidated by fish is a mystery someone will have to explain to me someday.As far as laughing at the contestants is concerned: they seem to accept it and I do think most grown-ups would have an idea as to what they are getting into.

Paul Creeden As a home cook with restaurant experience, I really enjoyed this show. The only objection I have is the occasional exploitation of people who should not even have passed the audition. Some of the contestants have clear "issues" from the get-go which could have been respected prior to selection. I'm not talking about contestants who are just plain funny or klutzes in the kitchen. I am talking about those who are obviously troubled or challenged beyond following recipes.Beyond that objection, I enjoyed everything about this show, but I watched it on Netflix without commercials and could fast forward through repetitions and recaps. Big plus there. The educational value of the show for a novice cook is impressive. Consider that the viewer is getting food education from top chefs and food educators while being entertained. That's a win-win any way you look at it. But, it means you have to like working with food and feeding people good food. Just watching this as reality TV would get very tired because of the repetitive nature of the competitions. I myself would like to see all eight seasons on Netflix.

Littlelep This series of programs highlights how really difficult it is to be a competent cook and is mildly educational, but it truly encapsulates the sad side of all reality shows. The competitors may not be the very worst cooks in this country, but they are true novices and the viewer learns more about how not to cook than about techniques that can be helpful in the ordinary home kitchen. Furthermore, there is hyped tension between the chef-instructors and among the competitors that is not as dramatic as on other reality shows, but that makes the viewer uncomfortable and is not entertaining.One may empathize with the pitiful people that are being humiliated, but there is nothing satisfying in their performances to offset the depression gathering over the weeks. These are like simple children who have been denied a mother's example for their whole lives -- not just in the kitchen, but in life. The chefs are somewhat interesting; but at the end of each hour, the viewer feels cheated. The idea may have seemed good on the planning board; but in reality, it is a true dud!

MartinHafer While this series is not yet complete, I have watched all the episodes and enjoyed them very much. I hate to admit it, but I think I liked the shows simply because unlike other Food Network shows, this one made me feel like a master chef in comparison! Heck, most 7 year-olds would feel superior to the people chosen for this odd competition! Plus, it's sad to admit, but I liked laughing at the food that some of them created--it was so scary it was almost surreal!In episode one, two big-time chefs recruit teams for each other that are made up of some of the worst cooks you could imagine. Unlike the very closely controlled format of later shows, the potential team members were invited to bring in ANYTHING and have the chefs evaluate their appropriateness for the show. What they did not know is that the ones chosen were NOT those who made acceptable dishes, but those who made the most horrible food--and soe dmishes were amazingly gross and funny. The biggest problem with most of these potential competitors appears to be confidence--they are, in most cases, just too afraid of cooking and it shows in the very scary 'things' they concoct. On the other hand, a few were simply clueless.In subsequent episodes, the two teams are given very specific tasks and the two chefs demonstrate a variety of techniques and the participants try to replicate them as best they can. And, each episode the teams lose a member--the one who does poorest.Overall, a bizarre sort of show but one that is oddly addictive--and, in a sick way, kind of funny. It's fun to watch and very different from the usual fare on this channel. I'll be most likely updating this review after the series concludes.