The Big Brunch

Wow, what a suprise!!! After spending Thanksgiving dinner with friends I stumbled across this gem. I never watch cooking shows, but I really like Dan Levy and thought I'd sample it... Well, I can't believe I spent the whole night binge-watching and binge-eating Thanksgiving leftovers until sunrise. I really liked the judges and thought the chefs they chose were brilliant, humble and unbelievably talented. Dan Levy is absolutely amazing and so cute with that semi permanent devilish smirk on his face... I too love brunch and was pleasantly surprised to find a show dedicated to this overlooked meal. I look forward to watching season 2!!! Well done!!! I had to come back and edit my review because I had to add that the beautiful relationship between these chefs, these strangers, was just as enticing as the food they prepared. I couldn't imagine a more deserving group of people. There wasn't any backstabbing or arrogance, the chefs very quickly bonded, supported and cheered one another on.

Loved this show mainly because it was quality humans doing quality things. No contrived drama, no drunken fights or mishaps, no backstabbing or conniving. It was relaxing to see good people doing good things. We pulled for all of them because there was no villain. Dan Levy, Sola and Will were a delight to watch and also genuinely cared about the contestants. The food created looked amazing, the set design was very clever and the special guests were good picks. If you're looking for a relaxing show to watch with your coffee on a chilly Sunday morning, this is it. Best cooking show I've seen, can't wait for season 2.

For those of you who enjoy Great British Baking Show/Great British Bake Off, you'll most likely enjoy this show. It follows the same format where there aren't any green screen interviews or intense judging panels or chef drama. This is a very sweet and wholesome show. Yes they swear but they're chefs and it's HBOMax so those that are complaining about that...come on. There is a great amount of humor and it's not terribly complicated or dramatic like other cooking competitions can be.

All of the chefs are people that are doing great things for their communities and with the diversity it brings a fresh take on a sometimes stale genre of television. Also Dan Levy is a gem per usual.

Dan Levy's cooking show looks beautiful and it is an easy watch. The kitchen and set are stunning, I loved the colors that they chose. I loved that we got to know the chefs on a more intimate level and almost felt like we were competing with them. The parts I did not enjoy were almost every critique from the judges. In one episode, they have a special guest judge who somehow topped will and sohla in terms of being insufferable. They tell the contestants to go back and think about the theme of the day... even though it wasn't really that clear ? That is ultimately the problem with this show, the contestants seemed confused on exactly what they are supposed to do - cook the best meal, or pitch the best idea for a restaurant.

First off, to the person who complains that there's swearing, like it's a shock to hear form cooks. What's shocking is that swearing is censored so much for other shows because cooks and chefs swear like it's a career requirement.

Second, as a diehard fan of cooking shows, I'm really disappointed in the lack of discussion about what the cooks are doing or how. A guy makes switch from scratch. Are we shown this? No! He just tells them he did it.

I never "not learn" from cooking shows and that's true of this one. I'm only two episodes in so maybe it's all the background storytelling that gets in the way of technique discussion but it's a bit frustrating.

I want to love this but I feel like it was made by a team that don't actually watch a lot of great cooking shows. I'll keep watching because I want to see who wins but they really need to beef up the value for watching this. Give us techniques and tips, show us more of what the actual chefs are cooking.