Parents' Guide to

Snack-Off

By Melissa Camacho, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Fun MTV cooking contest has vocab, innuendo.

TV MTV Game Shows 2014
Snack-Off 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?

Created by Ridiculousness' Rob Dyrdek, SNACK-OFF is a cooking-competition series featuring amateur chefs who vie for cash, recognition, and a coveted golden spark necklace. Hosted by chef Eddie Huang, each episode features young people competing in two cooking challenges that require them to whip up delicious snacks in a limited amount of time with specific ingredients. The panel of judges, which includes chef Jason Quinn, swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen, and comedian Yassir Lester, taste the dishes and offer blunt opinions. After two elimination challenges, the remaining chef gets $1,000, his or her recipe put in the Snack-Off cookbook, and the necklace.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

From episodes about using leftover camp food to create a delicious snack to finding a way to use jelly beans in a steak entree, the series features young people showing off their limited culinary skills while coming up with creative recipes using mundane ingredients. But the show's real entertainment value comes from the host and the judges, who spend their time cracking jokes about the food and each other.

A few brief cooking tips are offered by chefs Huang and Quinn, but, if you're looking for a cooking show that highlights great recipes and cooking techniques, you won't find it here. However, the show does serve up some lighthearted fun and may even inspire some kids to come up with their own fun munchie ideas.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about cooking shows. Are they created to teach something about food and food preparation? Or are they simply meant to be entertaining?

  • Do you have a favorite recipe you invented? How did you come up with the idea?

TV Details

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