It's time we all admitted it: cooking and baking shows are arguably better than any other type of reality show. There's just nothing like the feeling of eating a grocery-store cupcake and pretending it's Cupcake Wars-level, or watching Gordon Ramsey absolutely rip apart a contestant's creation.
But as cool as these shows are, production often exaggerates or makes up some aspects to make sure they're 100% entertaining. So, u/Endiee asked, "Redditors who have been involved with cooking competition shows like Chopped, what are some interesting behind-the-scenes secrets?" and people did NOT hold back.
Disclaimer: Though people claim to be speaking from their own experiences with celebrities, BuzzFeed can't confirm the validity of these stories.
1. The rush after "go time" isn't entirely accurate:
"There is usually a 'hiccup' between when the host says, 'go,' and when the competition actually starts. That means we stop shooting and the culinary team usually comes out and talks down the ingredients with the chefs or the chefs just talk amongst their team and figure it out."
2. The contestants aren't as alone as you'd think.
"My dad did camera work for a few Food Network-sponsored cook-off/bake-off things. Apparently, they have help, even though on air it looks like they're alone. Someone will help with basic prep and stuff, working off the contestant's directions."
3. There's loooots of time in between participants finishing their dishes and the actual judging portion, so the judges are eating lukewarm or cold food.
"Went to primary (elementary) school with a guy who was on MasterChef junior or whatever, and he said by the time they've finished cooking and the judges are tasting, the food is stone cold and probably disgusting regardless of the skill that went into its creation."
4. And for the drinks that need to look cold, they use fake ice cubes.
"I participated in a bartending challenge similar to Chopped called Shaken the Cocktail Challenge (it's for YouTube).
I was the second episode that filmed, and the guy who was my opponent mentioned how there was so much time between the end of the drink-making and the taste tests for his first filming that it likely contributed to his loss.
So they had to have these fake ice cubes for any drinks on the rocks."
5. The drama between participants is exaggerated, to say the least. Instead, the main beef is between participants and producers.
"I will say that 9 times out of 10, no one is being catty or sabotaging behind the scenes.
I did one competition while on crutches and the other competitors went out of their way to help me at times. The people putting on the competition were the main pain in the butt when I informed them in advance that the crutches situation would be a thing."
–[deleted user]
6. The judges sometimes have... less influence than we might think. Or none at all.
"My brother was actually on MasterChef a few years ago and let me tell you, the way he describes it, the show definitely has a very very ugly underside.
He used to tell me all about how from the very first day, the judges and writers of the show plan who is gonna win based purely on what they think will get them the highest publicity. Contestants were offered schedules about when each of them will get eliminated and offered monetary rewards if they followed it."
7. Child contestants can get lessons before competing on kids cooking shows to make sure they can actually complete the task.
"Those kids cooking shows, though... those kids get basically taught right before they cook. They are still amazing cooks though for being so young!"
8. Participants are allowed to bring, and use, their own recipes from home. They don't just memorize everything before the show.
"In the US version of Hell's Kitchen, you can frequently see the contestants carrying around and/or looking at a binder of papers, presumably recipes."
9. The whole experience isn't as quick and rushed as it looks like.
"They had to reshoot a lot of stuff (reveals and plating). Like, in Cutthroat Kitchen, you ran to get your supplies... they'd shoot that like 4 times."
10. Some of the cooking shows you've seen weren't filmed in actual kitchens, or even real TV studios.
"I was a contestant on Ready Set Cook in the 90s (the American one, not the British Ready Steady Cook). The studio in NYC it was filmed in was previously a TV studio used by Sesame Street when it was starting out. Which was cool.
But originally it was a live theatre — so when you looked up or at the walls, there was all this cool plaster work and ornate decorations etc. from a real, old-school theatre. But with holes busted through to drop chains to hangs light bars and cables and stuff.
Just kind of weird that surrounding all this TV studio equipment and modern set pieces was the shell of a dead Victorian theatre."
11. The ingredients provided by the show aren't always top-quality.
"I think the biggest thing you wouldn't expect is a lot of the time the ingredients are kind of in gross condition and sometimes that messes up a perfectly executed end product... especially the produce."
–[deleted user]
12. And of course you've wondered, what happens to the leftovers? Well, it's often the contestants' job to deal with it.
"You are forced to eat any of the remaining food you've made."
–[deleted user]
13. The "secret ingredients"? They aren't actually all that secret, and there's tons of practice time.
"My best friend was on Cooks VS Cons. It's 2 real chefs and 2 home cooks. You don't know who is who and each round they give you a 'mystery' ingredient to cook a certain dish with.
Except, the ingredients are told to the all the contestants either a week or 2 weeks before (I don't remember which). They get to practice as much or little as they'd like before the show is filmed."
14. When judges just aren't a fan of a particular ingredient, they might be asked to pretend they love it anyway.
"I did one thing long ago as a kid for a cooking thing, and the episode I was on was about cooking healthy for kids. Well this one asshole decided to make a banana smoothie.
I am not very picky. I got on to the show because my parents are chefs and made sure I'm not picky, but I absolutely HATE bananas and smoothies. Worst-tasting thing I'd ever had. Still had to drink it and act like it was amazing. Also, they didn't allow the kids to vote on what was the best."
15. The crowd might also play a large role in deciding the winner. Because, of course, the audience is always the real judge.
"At least one time, they changed the winner based off the crowd's reaction. Like, the best person won the prize but on air, someone else was crowned the winner..."
16. Yes, judges get full. And yes, they keep eating anyway.
"I was a judge for a webcast cooking competition at an event. There was seven teams who each had to do a savoury and a sweet dish with a secret ingredient. The dishes were all amazing and even with only a bite or two of each, we were so full it hurt to breathe after."
17. And, to end on a positive note: the money winners get is 100% real, and actually helps many competitors achieve their dreams.
"My girl won $15,000!!! She's currently in culinary school now."