Mets et merveilles

As one who has an interest in food preparation and presentation, I was impressed by the culinary skills of the contestants, and tried to ignore the extraneous theatrics as much as possible. The professional chef judges added some helpful commentary (despite the fact that they were foolishly portrayed as food gods). I found the host ("presenter," as the British say) to be very unappealing and indelicate; she seemed an odd choice to include in a creative cookery competition. Despite its drawbacks, I remain impressed by the talented contestants.

The show is beautiful and creative. A fun spin on the standard cooking show. The judges are great. The host is funny and warm, but the show could really do without her self deprecating fat jokes.

I love the garden atmosphere. Many contestants have crazy, creative recipes which are very inspiring. The one big negative I have to mention is from episode 5. Elainea had this habit of sticking a finger in her food to taste test it, lick her finger, and go back to preparing food! I can't believe I have to say this to a cooking show, but that is extremely unsanitary and a big no no when cooking food! I'm surprised that the producers, directors, or anyone else who proofs these shows before they air didn't catch that! In the future, please school your contestants on sanitary practices before filming.

I watch multiple British reality-competition shows...WHY or HOW are ALL the episodes filmed the same day?? The host and judges wearing SAME outfits every episode... wth

For one thing I enjoy watching competitions. but the thing I love about it is to watch talented people showcasing their skills. I am not the one for extended back grounds of the contestants, I'd rather see more action.

For a while I have been bored with the similar set ups for cooking shows... so this magical forest feels very fresh! And even though the reciepes are peculiar and not for everyone, I can feel the joy of creating something stunning in the kitchen both by the judges and the contestans.

of course it is not perfect. I would like to see the executions better (maybe an online recipe site), and ofcourse it is scripted (how can they keep the garden full with the ingredients they need if they dont know before hand) jokes may not be for everyone neither. So if you like shows with shiny set pieces with long backgrounds of contestants dont watch this.

But I find this fairytale set up very refreshing, creative and it is definitely a feel-good series