Entertainment
Top 10 Untold Truths Of Man v Food
Cooking and food TV shows have been a popular form of entertainment for quite a few years. Watching talented chefs creating meals that all of us can only dream about cooking. However, while watching a good cooking show can be rewarding and give us plenty of ideas on tasty new dishes to create, sometimes those shows lack a bit of much needed excitement. Luckily a cooking show came a long that not only showed us great food but cranked up the excitement levels to maximum. Here are our Top 10 Untold Truths Of Man v Food.
10. Making Food Challenges Popular
Man Vs Food brought he idea of the food challenge right into our homes. Each week we get to see a man tackle the greatest food challenges out there, while the show made such feats popular, they in no way invented them. Eating competitions have been a staple of US culture for generations; whether it’s hot dog eating contests, devouring the biggest steak or eating the most pizza in the shortest time. What ever the food or challenge is, the country is full of competitive eaters. While these kinds of contests have been going on for years, there is no escaping the fact that Man v Food made them a lot more popular. Rather than most people just watching or hearing about these types of competitions, Man v Food suddenly made people think ‘ I can do that.’ With plenty of websites out there that devote themselves to competitive eating, they can’t deny the explosion and increase in competitions and participants since the show started. Not only in the US either but across the globe. Since Man v Food has become a world wide hit, many countries across the globe have been joining in the fun and getting into the spirit of competitive eating.
9. A Challenge Too Far
Over the course of the show, Man v Food has had some truly monumental challenges. Whether it`s sandwiches that could feed an entire family or steaks the size of a cow, the Man v Food challenges have become stuff of legend as man strives to eat as much as possible. However, there have been a few challenges in which the hosts have struggled to complete and even failed all together. It must be said that it`s not always the size of the food that is too much, it is quite often the heat and spice that gets the better of the hosts. One of the seemingly smallest challenges to happen on the show came from Sarasota, Florida. Dubbed `Fire in the hole,`; the challenge was to eat 10 chicken wings in 20 minutes. That in it self sounds pretty easy and straight forward but the wings were coated in a mouth scolding concoction of habanero peppers, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, and ghost chilli extract. The sauce was so hot that only a couple were eaten before the towel got thrown in and the host ran off to the back of the restaurant, guzzling milk and not looking so good. Another failed challenge involved the worlds biggest commercial burger. 190 pound beast of a burger which had to be consumed in two hours or less, couldn`t be finished off. They came close and managed to eat 160 pounds of the burger, but close wasn`t good enough for this challenge and a big fail was given to this one.
8. The Audition
While Man v food is a food show, one of the main things about it is the challenges. A man, Adam Richman or later Casey Webb, try to eat some of the biggest and hottest food dishes in the country. Because the challenge part of the show is so important you may well think that when Man v Food are looking for a host for the show, they look for someone who can handle a lot of food, or at the very least have someone with a bit of experience with competitive food eating. However, according to the first host, Adam Richman, this is not the case. The producers are actually more interested in a host that has a good camera presence and can talk about food. The audition for the gig didn’t have any eating challenges nor did they test their auditionees on how much they could eat or how far they were willing to go with food. This surprises us as the over eating element to Man v Food is such a big and important part, that surely the produces should have tested this out with their future hosts. Luckily both Adam Richman and Casey Webb proved themselves to be more than a match for those giant plates of food.
7. By Doctors Orders
As we have mentioned on our list of untold truths of Man v Food, there were never any officially eating tests for the hosts when they got the job. However, once the show started to go into production and the premise of the show was mapped out in all it’s eating glory, doctors where actually consulted to make sure the hosts would be safe. As the show puts its host through so much, consultants were brought in to check the health and wellbeing of the hosts before they started out on their food adventures. Because of the nature of the show and how much food they will eat during the course of a season, it`s critically that the producers make sure their hoists have a good baseline health before they put on the inevitable weight gain from eating all that food. Also, throughout his time on the show Adam Richman actually skipped meals leading up to a challenge and if he a day off, would go the whole day without eating in order to increase his eating capacity. There is a lot that goes into making Man v food, more than just eating some great tasting food.
6. Why The Show Really Ended
When Man v Food first hit our screens in 2008, it became a huge ratings winner for the Travel Channel network. While we all loved to watch original host Adam Richman working his way through the country, eating everything that came across his path, the show was unexpectedly pulled off the TV in 2012. The moment the show went off the air, fans went into a frenzy and speculation and rumors ran wild as to what actually happened. Many people thought that original host Adam Richman was forced into retirement due to bad health and years of over eating. There were also other rumors that Richman fell out with the production staff on the show and there was also a rumor circulating that Richman`s mental health was at stake; he did after all have a few public rants and melt downs on social media. However, according to Richman himself, the reason the show ended was quite a simple one. The decision was all his, he was not forced out nor did his health play any part of it. The simple fact is that Richman just thought that after 4 years, the show had run its course and he had done everything he could have done with the format. While this reason may not be as exciting as many of the rumors, it actually makes sense for a host to leave a show before it becomes boring or drops in ratings and the show just fades away. It`s always better to go out on top and that`s exactly what Adam Richman did.
5. The New Host
As we have just mentioned on our list of the untold truths of Man v Food, in 2012 the popular food show was pulled off the air and looked set to be finished for ever. However, in 2017 the Travel Channel decided to bring this fan favorite back into our lives. The show would follow the same format but with one big difference. No Adam Richman. The internet went crazy as many people couldn`t see the show working without Richman and they even started a petition to get Richman back. However, Richman wasn`t interested in coming back and was in fact working on another Travel Channel show so the show had to find some new blood. In came Jersey born Cassey Webb to take charge of the new era of the show. Cassey himself has some pretty good food credentials as he has been working in the food industry since he was 15 years old and has worked in pretty much all aspects of the industry. That`s some pretty impressive food history. While Webb seemed to have all the aspects needed to front the new Man v Food, fans were still not happy and planned to boycott the show when it came back on. Luckily when the show came back, Webb managed to win fans over and lead the show into new territory. He had some pretty big shoes to fill but many people think he filled them quite nicely and may even surpass his predecessor with time. We certainly look forward to the shows new direction and host taking Man v food in a new way.
4. Not Everyone Is A Fan
Since Man v Food first hit our screens way back in 2002, it became a huge hit with food loving TV watchers. Everyone loved to watch a man take on some of the biggest and best food the country had to offer. However, during those early years of the show, Man v Food had some pretty harsh critics. Food critics and experts pilled on the hate for this show as they saw it as unnaturally glutinous and over indulgent. While food, and our view of eating, has shifted to a more refined and healthier approach over the years, many people in the food business felt that Man v Food encouraged people to eat too much and slide back into the unhealthy side of dinning. As well as critics and experts, one of the biggest critics of the show was the late, and very popular chef, Anthony Baurdain. While he also agreed with the over glutinous aspect of the show, he also couldn`t work out why people watched it. The show didn`t teach you anything about food, is what he thought. The only reason he could come up with for Man v Food’s popularity was that the audience watched hoping that the host would eat too much in one challenge and die. That is one morbid reason for the legendary chef misunderstanding of the show. It must be said that then host Adam Richman jumped to his show`s defence on several occasions as he thought it wasn`t glutinous and was more indulgent. He also pointed out that the show highlighted reginal food that a lot of people wouldn`t be aware of if it wasn`t for Man v Food. We certainly agree with Richman on this point.
3. Don’t Ask ‘That’ Question
Man v Food was a true game changing TV show. Not only did it show viewers great food, as well as giving us a look at some hidden reginal restaurant gems, the show also gave us a look at some seriously big food portions. Not only do we enjoy seeing the hosts battle against the mountains of food put in front of them and see if they are up to the challenge, but it also shows us just what effects a lot of food has on the Human body. The amount of food that gets eaten over the course of a season is staggering but just how do our hoists cope with all that greasy food? Well, they are actually happy to tell you. In many interviews they have been open and honest about their weight and any health problems they might have due to the show. However, there is one question that will not be answered and is a strict no-no and that’s any questions about the bathroom. It seems to happen quite a lot as the audience are weirdly interested in the amount of food and if that causes frequent trips to the bathroom. But the hosts aren’t very forthcoming with this information and don’t see the answer as relevant to anyone. This we’ll have to agree with as none of us want to picture that side of the show. We’d rather all just sit back and enjoy men tackling the biggest and best food around.
2. It’s As Fun To Make As It Looks
We all love nothing better than to get lost in our favorite TV show. Whether we like to binge watch the latest drama or get lost in a fantasy world, we truly are living in a golden age of TV. While we may enjoy watching a certain show, do we actually know what goes in to making it? When it comes to big budget shows, we have no doubt that there are many complicated and expensive aspects that go into making it. But what about something like Man v Food? It seems simple to make doesn’t it? Well, according to the production staff, as well as the restaurant staff of the locations they film at, it’s actually a very long day. A typical filming session can last up to 12 hours with the actual challenge part of the show only taking up 3 hours of the shoot. That may sound like a long and grueling day but according to sources, the shoot flies by as everyone involved is there to have fun and the star is always the food. It’s nice to know that the fun that comes across on screen is genuine and everyone is there to enjoy the fodd, as well as to see the hosts battle those infamous challenges.
1. Man v Food: The Return
There is no denying that Man v Food became a pop culture phenomenon as we tuned in each week to see host Adam Richman wrestle with a burger twice the size of his head. The joy of this made Man v Food a massive hit around the world. However, when the show got cancelled we were all left with a food shaped hole in our hearts. But a few years later that hole was filled as Man v Food smashed its way back into our lives in 2017. While there were many people out there that were not happy with the fact that Man s Food would be getting a new host, as we have already mentioned on our list, but a lot of people were pleased to see this show back. While all the haters out there where trying to get a petition going to boycott the show, new host Casey Webb soon turned those people around and the new version of Man v Food is in to its fourth season with Webb hosting, eight over all, and the future is looking very bright for everyone’s favorite food eating TV show. There are even plans to spice things up in future seasons as Webb looks set to take on a more creative role within the show. While we all miss Richman, it’s nice to know that the show is in good hands and we look forward to seeing more food adventures in the future.