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I’m not ashamed to admit it: I love the Food Network. The soothing voice of Alton Brown has helped me through many of my scariest Sundays. It’s also the perfect network to have on in the background on a random Tuesday night as you wonder how a mid-20s chef can deglaze their pan without burning down their kitchen station. Two of my favorite shows, Chopped and Guy’s Grocery Games (no shame) stick to the time-tested chef vs. chef format with few surprises outside of the mind-bending food these people can make in thirty minutes. But now, there’s a new cooking show in my life. It’s encroaching on Food Network’s territory, and it comes from the binging behemoth that is Netflix, the king of creating easy-to-digest 22-minute mini-series with no commercials.
Their newest streaming hit is Nailed It, an approachable baking competition that mixes in a dash of approachable humor and palpable shame with the familiar food competition format style viewers are accustomed to. It’s easily become my favorite Netflix show not named The Office or Peaky Blinders. Here’s why.
The host chemistry on set is perfect. Combining the freewheeling comedian Nicole Byer with the proper French pastry chef Jacques Torres leads to some great conversations that don’t seem forced. The two play off each other well but the show is led by Byer, who is an absolute dynamo. Yeah, she’s over the top from time to time, but damn does she own it, and that really takes away the somewhat “stuck-up” approach that some other cooking shows foster. Nailed It doesn’t take itself too seriously and the laughs that come from it don’t seem scripted – which is refreshing.
That said, laughing at the despair of others is at the core of this show. Each week, Nailed It brings in a renowned culinary expert who makes crazy-detailed culinary creations like volcano cakes or cupcake-inspired cocktails. Then, each amateur chef is tasked with the impossible feat of replicating two of the expert’s creations in two rounds, to the horror of the expert and the hilarity of the hosts. Let’s be honest, these amateur chefs definitely try their best, but oh my god, some of these “cakes” they make are absolute disasters. For example, a retired cop was tasked with making an “elephant hot tub cake” and it was a train wreck. Sweat was dripping down his face as he tried to craft molding chocolate into an elephant tail – and then it all fell apart. It’s brutally funny.
The cooking chaos then culminates in a delightfully evil before and after shot, which is devastating to both the baker, who tries to hide their shame, and the expert, who sees their perfect artistry destroyed in front of their eyes. I mean, some of these reveals are amazingly bad, and both Byer and Chef Jacques aren’t afraid to lay into a baker over a particularly grotesque creation, which adds to the humor. As a spectator, it’s the perfect viewing scenario as you get to judge others from the safety of your own couch. Now, some bakers actually pull off some reasonably impressive cakes, but the vast majority are either drooping, dripping, or on the floor.
In the end, one baker proves to be the best of the worst and wins a $10,000 prize, which is promptly shot out of a money gun. Then, Byer and Torres retreat from the screen, only to appear again 30 seconds later when the next episode hits your screen. Even better, Nailed It just got renewed for Season 2. I’m already counting down the days. .
Image via YouTube
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@TaylorLaabs
@taylor1laabs
I too love food network shows like this, but nailed it was so cringy. 0/10 do not recommend
It felt very forced to me, GBBS is a million times better
The first time I watched GBBS, I watched it with my wife and she LOVED IT, and she normally doesn’t care for cooking shows.
That sounds awesome. I think I’ll be binge watching it, along with GBBS.