What Anthony Bourdain Really Thought About Cooking Competition Shows

Though he spent roughly two decades on our TV screens, Anthony Bourdain wasn't always traveling the world in search of unique cuisines. He was also a classically trained chef who worked at numerous restaurants, much of which he wrote about in his bestselling memoir, "Kitchen Confidential." Both of these experiences gave him insight into how food-related TV shows were structured. And, during an "Ask Me Anything" thread he led on Reddit nine years ago, one Redditor asked what he thought about cooking competition shows, namely Bravo's "Top Chef."

While Bourdain said, "I never thought of cooking as a competitive sport," he did find cooking competition shows entertaining. He particularly enjoyed watching "Chopped" and "MasterChef Junior" with his daughter, Ariane. But Bourdain also appeared to find fault with the emotional drama that is often an element of cooking competition shows. 

"I have mixed emotions about [cooking competition shows]," he wrote in the Reddit thread. "I think a lot of these shows, on one hand, have been good for the industry. On the other hand, they've created an entire species of cook, who really [don't] want to work in a restaurant; they just want to be on TV."

Many cooking competition shows fuse reality with intentional assembly. These deliberate decisions facilitate contention, yet they detach from the authenticity viewers' expect. In "Kitchen Confidential," Bourdain details the behind-the-scenes grime and grit that chefs — whom he saw as underrecognized and underappreciated — encountered at work. As an authentic account of the chef experience, "Kitchen Confidential" opposes what is seen on our screens.

In his AMA Reddit response, Bourdain called "Top Chef" the best of the cooking competition shows because of the contestants' technique and professionalism. Yet "Top Chef" is also accused of lacking impartiality, dumbing down contestants for entertainment's sake, and feeding judges lines, among other charges. But, other shows didn't fare as well. In an interview with Tuscon.com, Bourdain called Gordon Ramsay's "Hell's Kitchen" series "grotesque and not about the food at all." He added, "You don't even see anyone cooking on that show. It is just Gordon yelling at these poor nitwits who are standing around waiting for the ax to fall."

Despite his explicit criticism of cooking competition shows, Bourdain recognized their positive impact in the cooking industry.  They ultimately provide access to and awareness of food culture for millions across the globe. And, accessibility to food education has inspired people of all demographics to pursue cooking, which only further diversifies and expands food culture.