Celebrity Cooking Showdown
Celebrities and chefs race the clock in a kitchen showdown.
Celebrity Cooking Showdown was a short-lived American cooking competition that aired on NBC from April 17–19 and April 22, 2006. Hosted by Alan Thicke, the series paired celebrities with professional chefs in a timed cook-off. Early articles stated that Food Network host and author Sandra Lee would serve as co-host, but she never appeared on the program when it aired. The show featured three preliminary rounds, with the top winner from each advancing to a final round. Due to low ratings in head-to-head competition with shows like NCIS, Gilmore Girls and American Idol, NBC pulled the plug before the finals were aired, later reversing its decision to broadcast them back-to-back on Saturday April 22.
Quick Facts
- Runtime
- 60 minutes
- Creator
- Glenn Gordon Caron
- Executive producers
- Sean "Diddy" Combs
- David A. Hurwitz
- Ben Silverman
- Company
- Bill's Market & Television Productions
- Bad Boy Films
- Reveille Productions
- Country
- United States
- Network
- NBC
- First aired
- 17 April 2006
- Last aired
- 22 April 2006
Facts from the source article.
Format
The competition consisted of three preliminary rounds, each pairing a celebrity with one of three chefs: Wolfgang Puck, Cat Cora, or Govind Armstrong. All three chefs had previously appeared on Food Network's Iron Chef America. After a montage of the chefs instructing their partners, the contest began. Each contestant had 50 minutes to prepare an appetizer, a main course, and a dessert.
Roughly 15–20 minutes into the contest, after the second commercial break, each team could use two "chef's passes"—one by the chef and one by the contestant. To activate a pass, the chef or contestant placed a towel into a wire basket outside the kitchen; a horn sounded, and the chef entered the kitchen for two minutes of assistance. Only one chef could be in the kitchen at a time during a pass. With five minutes remaining, the chefs could return for final advice.
As a disadvantage, two ingredients for each contestant were kept in a pantry on an elevated stage behind the chefs; the contestant had to retrieve them upon realizing they were missing. When time expired, judges Colin Cowie and Gael Greene evaluated each dish on flavor and presentation, scoring each on a 1–10 scale. Each judge could award up to 20 points, for a maximum total of 40 per contestant.
Results
On April 17, Cindy Margolis (paired with Wolfgang Puck) won with 34 points, narrowly defeating Tony Gonzalez (paired with Cat Cora) who scored 33. Alison Sweeney (paired with Govind Armstrong) placed third with 31 points; she burned her hand on a hot metal saucepan. On April 18, Ashley Parker Angel (paired with Wolfgang Puck) scored 36 points to beat Patti LaBelle (paired with Cat Cora) who earned 34. Gabrielle Reece (paired with Govind Armstrong) finished third with 26 points.
On April 19, Chelsea Cooley (paired with Cat Cora) won with 35 points, edging out Tom Arnold (paired with Wolfgang Puck) and Big Kenny (paired with Govind Armstrong), who each scored 34. The finals, broadcast on NBC.com and on television on April 22, paired Cindy with Wolfgang, Ashley with Cat, and Chelsea with Govind by random draw. Ashley sliced open his hand on limes and needed paramedic attention; Cindy burned her hand pulling out rack of lamb. Judges withheld scores so America could vote. Cindy won the competition.
More in 2000s American Cooking Television Series
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