By Zeba Fatima
“Around The World In 80 Plates” is a cooking competition that meets travel show. Its basic premise is to drop chefs in various cities around the globe, put them through challenges to acquaint themselves with local culture and cuisine and challenge them to recreate those tastes for the palates of locals who will judge them.
In London, setting of the series premiere, two teams of chefs from across the U.S. race around town to down an assortment of traditional pub grub and chug more than a couple beers.
From that brief introduction, the two teams take over pub kitchens, competing to see who can best recreate favorites like fish and chips and steak and kidney pie. Local taste testers then decide which team best executed their culinary treasures.
The “judges” don’t send anyone home. Instead, the losing team has to decide which one of its ranks is packing their bags, a la “Survivor.”
If the first episode is any indication, it’s gonna get real catty and real backhanded real quick.
Add some reality TV-quality characters (a favorite is the guy who was once a sorority house chef) and the prospect of leaving American city-dwellers alone to navigate through monkeys and cobras in a Moroccan street market, and you’ve got the makings of a guilty TV pleasure.
“You could tell the chefs who were trained in the school of hard knocks and had more street smarts when it came to some of the tasks,” co-host chef Cat Cora told the press.
Cora co-hosts the show with Australian chef Curtis Stone.
Of the places the crew visited Argentina, China, Italy, Morocco, Spain, Thailand and Uruguay both Cora and Stone agreed that Thailand was a favorite destination.
They hope to see Japan on a season two itinerary.
“A really good place to start is a local market because you can wander around and get a feel for the culture,” said Stone.
Steer clear of the hotel concierge, Cora adds, since they send tourists to tourist destinations.
“It’s all about chatting with locals drivers, people on the street, guides, etc.” Cora added.
