DJ2_Freeman

This is my first time seeing or hearing about Melissa Cookston and I really don't like her. Now I want to get this out of the way first I don't doubt her cooking abilities or skills, but I find her attitude crappy and the way she carry's herself is annoying. She gives off that I'm better than everyone else and I know everything vibes, Every time she's on screen it kills the mood immediately on the spot, she'll also make over exaggerated faces while talking to competitors and she'll look at them like they are stupid it's so frustrating even if it's fake it doesn't make her any more likeable. She's also biased throughout the series, as others have pointed out she and she herself said she doesn't really like onions, vinegary things or cold cheese. And in season 2 they complained about rare beef which is understandable for some but rare beef is still good in cases and is fairly popular, as cooks they should be willing to give it a fair shot, sure it's not medium rare or medium but they acted like it was a crime that T did that and they basically insulted him for it. She also wants people to make Spicy food but she always complains if something is too spicy for her it's weird

I'll use Gordon Ramsay as an example to compare them. And I'm not talking about his over the top character he plays in us tv programs but how he actually carry's himself and acts. I've never really seen him complain about specific foods he doesn't like. He tries everything and gives peoples food fair chances. He doesn't look at people like they are inferior or stupid just for explaining the cooking process or what they are preparing, he's willing to wait and try it and he'll travel and learn different cultures cooking and food practices. He hardly ever brags about himself to others and how successful he was. Whereas Alissa in this show just screams I think I'm the greatest and everything is below me and I know everything. Again I know it's a judges job to critique and give suggestions to competitors but she almost always gives them this face of confusion or disgust it's so blatant and it just kills the entertainment and vibe that the competitors bring every time she does it to someone and she does it to EVERYONE multiple times each episode

The other main judge doesn't really challenge her on food it's usually just them both agreeing which is fine if they both have similar tastes but then there's the other judges who get even less than half the screen time of the main judges and they cut their opinions out of the show so they are pretty much pointless and it feels like they have no real say

The competitors are almost all likeable, charismatic, talented and they bring their interesting unique cooking styles to the show. I'm half way in season 2 and I'm still enjoying it. The only thing really keeping me from giving this show a higher rating than a 6 is the judges.

Overall I think anyone who's into bbq or cooking challenges will enjoy this if you're able to ignore the judges weird faces or biases they have towards the competitors and food.