Flying hot dogs and whiskey shots make this Miami chef’s new game show bizarre TV fun
Joel McHale, the comedic actor who has written his share of funny and strange television, ended his appearance on a new food television show with Miami chef Jeremy Ford thusly:
“Thank you for having me. It was really weird, especially the ending,” McHale said.
Take every serious, self-important aspect of past food reality shows and chuck them out the window — and then you have TruTV’s newest show, “Fast Foodies.” Ford, chef/owner of Miami Beach’s Stubborn Seed, competes with two other celebrity chefs to recreate the fast-food guilty pleasures of celebrities — and then to put their own spins on those classics.
The show is available online with new episodes released Thursdays at 10:30 p.m.
Ford, a past champion on Bravo TV’s “Top Chef,” is the perfect co-host to lampoon this entire genre: He has the cooking reputation but also the flat-hat, ultra-tight smedium T-shirt look to kick over the table.
His willing partners are other serious food competition chefs turned rebels, fellow “Top Chef” winner Kristen Kish and “Iron Chef” winner Justin Sutherland.
“My face hurt from laughing so much,” Ford said. “Twenty-twenty was such a hard year. This is the kind of show you can sit back with, sip a cocktail and have a laugh with.”
Celebrities barely know what they’re walking into and neither does the audience. The show is amped up with fast cutaways, high-tempo hip hop and what appears to be an eager production assistant asking the chefs to turn up their personalities to 11. Get past that and what you have are four people having a good time on set as they gather around food for fun.
McHale, the star of comedies such as NBC’s “Community,” was the first Guinea pig. He asks the chefs to perfectly recreate one of his favorite childhood treats, the Portillo’s Chicago hot dog. The chefs compete to make the best replica — and in the second half to make the best reinterpretation.
Future episodes will feature celebs such as Amanda Sears (“Insecure”), “Conan” sidekick Andy Richter and James Van Der Beek (“Varsity Blues”) challenging the chefs with sausage McMuffins, Hawaiian pizza and cheeseburgers.
“Everyone can relate to the dishes we’re doing,” Ford said. “Not everyone can relate to a seared foie gras.”
In between, there are whiskey shots, raunchy jokes and hot dogs fired out of a T-shirt cannon.
Are you not entertained?
“Fast Foodies”
What: Chefs compete to recreate a celebrity’s favorite dish and then reinterpret it in an upscale way.
Where to watch: TruTv on our cable provider or online at TruTv.com
When: New episodes air Thursdays, 10:30 p.m. Past episodes available online.
This story was originally published February 5, 2021 at 2:29 PM.
