The concept for this show sounded good - at first. Contestants from across Canada make a unique recipe that they either invented or inherited, in an effort to win a prize for the best recipe in their category of recipes such as pies, cakes, soups etc. It sounds like a giant country fair bake-off!
However, we are not shown all the entries and we never meet the semi-finalists who receive a golden ticket to enter the next stage of the competition. Instead we only meet the three finalists in each category. Its like tuning into So You Think You Can Cook during the finale.
The show then requires the three finalists to make their recipe in bulk for 200 people. An industrial chef is assigned to each of the contestants to convert their recipes, but they have only one chance to recreate the quality of their original recipe on an industrial scale. In the first episode a pastry is made using a bread mixer which smashes the butter into the flour creating a paste rather than a crumbly crust, needless to say that contestant went home because the product didn't match her original entry primarily because of the poor pastry.
The least offensive and most original dish wins that episode's category prize but loses all rights to their recipe to Loblaws, the Canadian supermarket chain who pays for rights to the recipes and presumably also pays for the show. They then have the option to launch the product in their stores. Eventually a 'Best in Show' dish will be chosen from the various category winners.
The show is a very thinly veiled marketing tool for Loblaws and builds no suspense beyond the cheesy announcements that the winner will be announced ---- right after this message...
However, we are not shown all the entries and we never meet the semi-finalists who receive a golden ticket to enter the next stage of the competition. Instead we only meet the three finalists in each category. Its like tuning into So You Think You Can Cook during the finale.
The show then requires the three finalists to make their recipe in bulk for 200 people. An industrial chef is assigned to each of the contestants to convert their recipes, but they have only one chance to recreate the quality of their original recipe on an industrial scale. In the first episode a pastry is made using a bread mixer which smashes the butter into the flour creating a paste rather than a crumbly crust, needless to say that contestant went home because the product didn't match her original entry primarily because of the poor pastry.
The least offensive and most original dish wins that episode's category prize but loses all rights to their recipe to Loblaws, the Canadian supermarket chain who pays for rights to the recipes and presumably also pays for the show. They then have the option to launch the product in their stores. Eventually a 'Best in Show' dish will be chosen from the various category winners.
The show is a very thinly veiled marketing tool for Loblaws and builds no suspense beyond the cheesy announcements that the winner will be announced ---- right after this message...
