There’s no shortage of cooking competition shows out there. To break through, new ones have to have an enticing hook that sets them apart on a menu of options the size of The Cheesecake Factory. That’s what Hulu hopes it has with Secret Chef, a new cooking competition with a twist.
Anthony Langston, Stephenie Simmons, Jazmin Tyler, Sydney Buck, Alexa Santos, Danielle Harris, Poonam Ribadia, Anthony Bar, Joshua Walbolt and Leon Brunson. (Hulu)
In lieu of a judge or panel of them, the contestants on Secret Chef judge each other’s creations. The title takes its name from the fact that each chef cooks their meals in solitude, and the dishes are served under an alias. As they judge each other’s meals, they don’t know who made them. Not only are they participating in a cooking competition, but they’re also playing a real-world game of Guess Who?
Another twist: contestants have a mix of culinary backgrounds. Some are award-winning professionals, some are home cooks, and some are influencers. This adds to the complexity of trying to match each contestant with their alias. Contestants have good reason not to give any clues to their identity through their dishes, so sometimes the most skilled competitor may be downplaying their abilities to not be outed. And by the way, there’s a $100,000 cash prize on the line, half of which is supplied by series sponsor Hello Fresh, whose branding pops up here-and-there throughout the set.
Lastly, the host is digital. An animated talking hat named Chefy calls the contestants over to a screen to deliver instructions and judging results. In that way, it feels like a Big Brother cooking competition. Occasionally a guest chef arrives on set to offer some advice, but for the most part, Chefy is the only interaction the contestants get outside of each other. Chefy knows all, but the contestants are eternally in the dark. So as they judge each other’s dishes and someone comes in last place, they are sending one of their own home.
(Hulu)
As someone who has never gotten hooked on a cooking competition series, I found Secret Chef entertaining enough to stay through a few episodes. Some twists and turns are thrown in from the jump, keeping the contestants on their toes alongside the audience. That being said, I would much rather see more The Next Thing You Eat, which also comes from Chef David Chang’s Majordomo Media.
I give Secret Chef 3 out of 5 shakshukas.
All 10 episodes of Secret Chef are now streaming exclusively on Hulu.