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Top Chef Family Style
By Marty Brown,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Family Top Chef spin-off highlights teamwork, skills.
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Top Chef Family Style
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Based on 2 parent reviews
Team challenge
Top chef does it again
What's the Story?
TOP CHEF FAMILY STYLE is a cooking show where pairs made up of a young chef and their chosen family member compete in challenges to win a $50,000 grand prize. It's hosted by singer Meghan Trainor and Top Chef Masters winner Marcus Samuelsson.
Is It Any Good?
The choice to pair young contestants with a family member proves to be more compelling and dynamic than a show just featuring young chefs would have been. Top Chef Family Style of course features the battle-tested Top Chef structure, which is still the gold standard for reality cooking competition shows. (And yet still something that Top Chef Masters missed.) But this spin-off succeeds largely on the basis of its casting. The younger half of the teams show not only a wealth of culinary knowledge, but also the patience and adaptability to roll with the unforeseen challenges and catastrophes that competition brings. Meanwhile, the older halves are so genuinely supportive, and often awed by their partners' skill levels, that the teams are easy to root for. Professional cooking is often known for its meticulousness and technical precision, and professional kitchens are often extremely hierarchical. So it's impressive to see the up-and-comers take the lead, pull off dishes that require immense technical skill, and do it all with boundless enthusiasm, curiosity, and support for one another.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about cooking. Does your family cook together? How often? Under what circumstances? What do you like to cook? Are there staples or traditional family meals in your household?
What do you think makes the young contestants great chefs? How do they talk about food? What are some examples of the contestants' making creative choices with food?
How do the pairs work together? What are some successful choices the pairs made together, and some problems they overcame? How does the dynamic between the older and younger contestants change when they're in the kitchen?
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 9, 2021
- Cast: Meghan Trainor , Marcus Samuelsson
- Network: Peacock
- Genre: Game Shows
- Topics: Cooking and Baking
- TV rating: TV-G
- Last updated: February 28, 2022
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