The Great Soul Food Cook-Off

I have been watching competition shows where I felt the winner was not the most talented, based on judge comments, but the most liked and was happily surprised when I came upon this show that it would appear to be genuine. However, yet again the outcome seemed contrived based off of the judge comments. I do not question that the winner made good food but based off of the complete competition and judge comments I believe that once again the outcome was not based on the actual meals presented but the familiarity or likeability of the winner.

The show is great and contestants are fun to watch. Now for the judges...I could overlook how annoying their comments were, up until the grandma show. How in the heck are you going to pair these chefs with these grandmas you picked and then kick someone off the show for listening to them. It would have been disrespectful not to listen to the grandmas. This was horrible and you ended someone's dream to win, based on your own decisions. You owe that contestant an Apology and some money! And the saddest part is you did this show right before the finale. That chef looks like a great chef and because his grandma you chose used box pudding... all of the judges should be ashamed of themselves. Can't watch anymore of this.

I have been cooking for many years and don't understand the Soul Food Cooking Styles they had them do... if I was to tell my Grandma to elevate her Collard Greens she would look at me crazy!! I understand the techniques each one brought to the table but the Judges were not good at all and they even cut each others throat at times depending on the plate. Chef Dorian was a BEAST and when I saw her elimination I cut the TV OFF immediately. It's a poor representation of Soul Food and a disgrace to those who were looking for Soul Food Cooking not a pretty plate.. Soul Food is not a pretty plate it's flavor, tenderness, texture , passion and LOVE. They are were good even to the one's who thought they were the best in the country at what they do. When I think of Soul Food I think of getting my stomach full.

The show is entertaining, but I wish they would make choosing the winner for each challenge less noticeable. I hate the fact that the chefs never compete cooking with the same ingredients but the concept that they have works well by giving them a dish to make. Overall it was enjoyable to watch.

I thoroughly enjoyed this show. I love how it showed that soul food could be elevated to Michelin star level dishes. Each chef had interesting back stories and were all talented. Although the chef I was rooting for didn't win, I completely understood why that person lost.