Early last week, everyone’s favourite baking show – The Great British Bake Off – returned, seeing a dozen home bakers set out to become the Bake Off champion. So, what is it exactly that makes us as audiences obsessed with seeing others cook scrumptious meals on our screens?
At the centre of it, a cooking show is simply us as audiences watching someone follow a recipe and seeing what the final product. When you put it like that, it’s very dull… That’s what cooking shows were like back in the day. However, in the 21st century, cooking shows seem to have their own flair and thrill, luring us in.
Whether that’s Gordon Ramsay’s hot temper on Hell’s Kitchen, or some of the infamous baking fails on Bake Off, its these unique aspects of each show we love and makes us want more and more.
The more you think about it and the concept of these cooking shows (especially the competitive ones) it is torture. We are watching people cook delicious meals right in front of our eyes, and the torture behind it is the fact we can’t enjoy the taste of these meals at the end of the preparation.
The psychology behind this is that we are actually satisfied with watching a project come together – as we see the cooking from the start where we only see ingredients, right up to the end product as it comes out the oven. Mmm yum.
As a nation we have a sweet tooth, and this plays a big part in why we are obsessed with watching TV cooking shows. For instance, take Bake Off (pre the Channel 4 days), we would get excited as Sue Perkins would announce what the next challenge was for the contestants. As an audience, simply hearing what they were going to cook initially excites us because not only does it stimulate our brains to think ooh this is going to look tasty, but it may even encourage us to cook it ourselves – therefore uncovering our hidden culinary talent!
From the mention of Sue Perkins, this goes hand in hand of another important element as to why we are in love with cooking shows! And this is the presenters (and cooks of course) on our screens. Some of the best TV personalities we know and love today have rose to fame from TV cooking shows. This includes the likes of Gordon Ramsey, Jamie Oliver, Mel & Sue, Mary Berry, Nigella Lawson, Gino D’Acampo and many more. Looking at people like Gordon Ramsey in particular, it is no surprise we love to sit down and see them in their natural habitat (the kitchens) as they expose their quirky (and sometimes hot-tempered) personalities as they demonstrate their culinary skills.
Something you may have noticed is also new episodes of some of our favourite cooking shows always seem to come on our screens in specific seasons of the year – particularly winter. The thought of spending a chilly evening in the wintertime, snuggled up on the sofa with a hot chocolate as Bake Off is about to come on, somehow warms us internally and makes us more eager to watch it.
Ultimately, as a nation we are in love with our food so there is no surprise we are besotted with cooking taking over our screens!
Let us know – which is your favourite?
By Katie Green
Feature image: Eater London