I am Hooked on these Food Network Shows

I am hooked on Food Network. They have some fun new shows that I am completely hooked on!

Cupcake Wars is my guilty pleasure. There are 3 or 4 "couples" and one couple gets eliminated each round. The final round is between two couples, and they have to create a centerpiece for a special party {one episode was Sea World, another was for an awards show}, as well as make 1,000 cupcakes. I love seeing what they come up with. They are scored on creativity as well as taste. It has inspired me to come up with some cupcake flavors of my own, which I cannot wait to try. If you are lucky {or maybe not-so lucky}, I will share them with you here.





Here is a look at one of the winning teams:






Chopped is a really fun show - with the same concept as Cupcake Wars.  Individuals go through three rounds and one is eliminated in each.  For each round, they have surprise ingredients in their baskets that they must use in their creations.  One round is appetizers, one is main course and the last is dessert.  The basket ingredients are different for each course.  This show is highly entertaining, as the contestants range from home cooks, to sous chefs, to caterers, etc.  The last chef standing wins $10,000.

24 Hour Restaurant Battle is fascinating to me.  I know I have dreamed of opening a restaurant, and in this show two groups have 24 hours to plan their restaurants, design a menu and shop.  They get judged on customer opinions, decor, presentation and how tasty the food is.  Love it!

My newest favorite show is The Great Food Truck Race.  The host is Tyler Florence {pretty easy on the eyes for sure}.  Last week was the opener for this show.  Seven food trucks travel across the country, and are given assignments.  Each week one truck gets eliminated.  Last week's challenge was to see which truck made the most money during a weekend.  The trucks cover a wide variety of foods.  There was the "Nom Nom" truck which featured Vietnamese meatball sandwiches as their specialty.  They ended up coming in 1st place.  There was a crepe truck, a French food truck, a pressed sanwiches truck, a gourmet burger truck.  The truck that got eliminated was my favorite.  They served hot wings and several varieties of banana pudding.

{Photo courtesy of The Food Network}

The opinions herein are those of blog author only. There was no compensation - I just wanted to share my favorite shows with  you!  Please refer to my Acknowlegement Policy for further information.