Think you’re a hot-shot chef? Are you celebrated like a conquering hero at get-togethers because your seven-layer dip leaves guests begging for more?
Do you watch cooking shows such as Hell’s Kitchen, Top Chef and The Main and smugly think, “I could do that?”
In short, do you think you’re Chef Worthy?
That’s the hook – and name – of Viva’s newest food series, which pits two friends or family members against one another in a culinary battle to see who reigns supreme.
The judge, jury and executioner of Chef Worthy is chef Michael Potters, who runs the hugely-successful Harvest restaurant in Prince Edward County. The man knows his stuff, and isn’t afraid to say what he thinks.
“People come into the restaurant and they’ll say, ‘I eat in different restaurants, and I walk away and I think to myself, I could cook better than that,’” Potters says on the line from his restaurant.
“That just sends me off, because chefs work hard, and creativity is everyone’s own interpretation. It’s very easy to sit there and criticize what’s on the plate. I don’t like it when my clients do it.
“I figure, if you can say that, you should be able to support what you say. Show me that you can cook better. Show me that you’re better than a chef.”
The première episode spotlights competitors Karl and Johanna. Karl is a flamboyant chef who fancies himself a bit of an expert. Johanna is a traditional cook. Both face off at the same dinner parties, claiming their food is the best. Their friends are tired of coming between them.
The solution? They each cook their signature dishes for Potters, who doesn’t hold back when ripping on Karl’s “fusion confusion,” or Johanna’s store-bought gnocchi.
“I was expecting more restaurant-quality food from Karl and Johanna. So I was really taken aback, and was like, ‘Are you for real? Do you really think that’s what we do every day?’” he says.
“The dishes are made with all these ingredients that were all thrown together. Karl’s especially. It was like he just opened the fridge and just took everything out of it. The ingredients made no sense.”
With a laugh, Potters says, “I don’t want to be a real jerk. I think of myself as being brutally honest. I’ve been worried all along that this would come back and bite me in the butt.”
After making faces – and uttering scathing remarks – while tasting Karl and Johanna’s creations, Potters bundles them off to Toronto’s George Restaurant, where they find out what it’s really like to cook on the line under chef Lorenzo Loseto, who has no problem yelling at them for screwing up.
After being knocked down a few notches, Karl and Johanna admit that cooking for a living is a high-pressure gig not for the faint of heart.
Each half-hour episode culminates with the duos preparing a meal under a time crunch with mystery ingredients. Potters alternately offers support and no-nonsense feedback, and the final judgement comes at the hands of four rotating guest judges.
Who reigns supreme in the debut episode, and scores a cool black chef’s coat? I won’t spoil it for you. You just have to see it to believe it.
Though Karl and Johanna bore the brunt of Potters’ ire in Episode 1, the chef says there were definite bright spots in the series.
“There were some really great international dishes. One competitor just made great straight-up Italian dishes. Everything she made was great, and we drank espresso and grappa. It was an experience for me. There was an Indian couple whose dishes were really great too.
“But then there was a guy who made what he called ‘Third-Date Tilapia.’ I’m like, ‘OK, buddy, sure,’” Potters says with a laugh.
Are you an amazing chef? greg@tvguide.ca
Chef Worthy debuts Saturday, Aug. 1, at 7 p.m. ET on Viva
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