Playing the Game

Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be writing my first blog post about Around the World in 80 Plates.

Going to London was a great way to kick off the incredible journey we experienced on the show. At least there weren’t any language barriers and the cuisine was… well, somewhat familiar. As you can guess, all that would change when we moved on.

My first impression was that I was blown away by the quality of the contestants. They were all true professionals with impressive backgrounds and lots of real world experience in the kitchen. I know they were all excited to be on the show but, as you can guess, they didn’t know what they were in for. It was really interesting to see how they reacted to hearing that they had to vote someone off. Obviously that changed their attitude to the game right away. 

The first episode showed how demanding the show is. It requires a mix of culinary skill, physical stamina, teamwork, and political savvy. Not to mention heroic eating capacity! I know I couldn’t have drunk all that beer and polished off those plates of pub food.I thought both teams did a great job under the circumstances. Skipping the steak and kidney pie could have been a fatal mistake but both teams managed to overcome it. Their impressive teamwork allowed them to create and serve some great dishes. I’m not sure I expected to see locals like Nigella Lawson be so appreciative.

You’d think that not being able to use potatoes in English cuisine would have been a serious problem for the Black Team but their polenta fries were a fantastic substitute. Ultimately, deciding against dessert cost the Red Team this time. Curtis and I didn’t get to witness the backroom machinations but Nookie showed ya gotta play the game to stay in the game.

Looking forward to the next leg of our journey in Lyon, France.