Ciao House

Best accidental find I've had. This is the first culinary arts program that showcased what a chef does as a director of a kitchen: organizing, coordinating & utilizing the talents of chefs to prepare regionally themed meals. Moved beyond the gimmicks of single ingredient focus competition to a unique take on elimination. The personality traits of chefs are shown in the what & how they cook, yes; but moreover how & if they can lead. Gabrielle B. Was a great complement to Alex G. As cohosts. Alex shines in her pointed but superbly constructive criticism which helps participants learn & grow. The regional focus backdrop of Tuscany & sharing a villa's small kitchen adds a great dynamic. Beyond a focus on "rooting" for a personality to a fuller understanding of each chef. How do they respond to challenges of all sorts - whether cooking, interpersonal, situational. Steps up the quality of the Food Network's offerings. Can't wait for season 2 & an answer to the question: will Omar return?

Scenery, setting, production, judges all get a thumbs way up. But, honestly can they not find contestants that don't make every chef in the world look like giant, whiny egotistical jerks? There is not one person here you hopes win or root for! You watch every week hoping the worst of the worst go home! There must be nice, decent talented chefs somewhere! Please find them for Season 3. I know being a successful chef requires immense dedication and hard work and an ego but the Season 2 contestants are so ridiculously over the top. I had one I thought was talented that I did back but of course they were eventually eliminated. Please do better casting wise next season.

We watched the first season of this show only because we were going to be visiting Italy soon. It seemed disjointed and very low budget. We are very pleasantly surprised with the second season. Much more compelling and the production values are far better. We like the concept of team members deciding who will be going home. We also feel like we are learning a lot about Italian cuisine. Alex is not as obnoxious in the second season as she was in the first. If you were not happy with the first season, I definitely think you should give the second season a try. The setting is beyond beautiful and the food looks fantastic. I hope it comes back for a third season.

What a disappointment that.this show follows the Food channel's formula--ridiculous time constraints, cruel food critics, crushed competitors. Alex's biting comments are vicious. Gabriele's arrogance is irritating. They even insult the Tuscan guests--nona's, wine makers, and butcher so far--by allowing them only few minutes and missing a chance for the contestants and the audience to learn about Tuscan food. Isn't learning about Tuscan food supposed to be the point of this show? Apparently not. What a wasted opportunity. Not the best choice of chefs, but if culinary education were truly the goal of the show, there were many missed opportunities.

Did the casting call for this show read "Looking for awful human beings who happen to be chefs"? There's nobody to root for on this show. If you want a display of pure narcissism to end your Sunday night, this is for you. It's just such a shame. I'm sure there were more qualified chefs, who also had a shred of humility and basic decency that would have loved the opportunity. The two judges are good! Big fan of Alex and always have been. It's just a waste of her abilities, but I'm sure she is not complaining about being in Tuscany. I hope that if this show gets renewed for another season, they can find contestants that people want to root for and see succeed.