Parents' Guide to

Food Network Challenge

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Competitive cooking show offers lots of tasty fun.

TV Food Network Reality TV 2005
Food Network Challenge Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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What's the Story?

On FOOD NETWORK CHALLENGE, cooks, chefs, bakers, and cake artisans from around the world compete for cash prizes and bragging rights. Each episode features a specific challenge in which individual and/or teams of contestants must prepare, cook, and/or construct their culinary creations within a set time limit. Throughout it all, the participants -- and the experts -- offer insight into what goes into their cooking, as well as some advice about how to create interesting dishes. When time runs out, they must present their (hopefully) mouthwatering and/or aesthetically pleasing masterpieces to a picky panel of judges, which includes food experts like veteran sugar master Kerry Vincent and American food journalist Mark Bittman.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (1):

The fun series, which is hosted by Claire Robinson (who succeeded long-time host Keegan Gerhard), presents a wide array of events catering to specific specialty skills in areas like BBQ grilling, sandwich making, pizza dough throwing, and cake construction and decorating. It also features a variety of national cooking competitions, including Pillsbury's National Bake-Offs.

The show is definitely geared toward cooking and baking fans, but kids may be drawn to some of the holiday-inspired and kid-themed shows, which include creating spectacular birthday cakes and constructing giant Disney characters out of fondant. And een non-chefs may find themselves interested (or inspired) by the ways that people get inspired by food and food preparation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about cooking competitions. Why are these shows so popular? Who are they intended to appeal to?

  • Do you think the media has changed the way that people look at food and food preparation?

  • Is cooking on a TV show different from cooking at home or at a restaurant? Why or why not?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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