I made goofy faces when I first heard that Syfy was putting out a cooking show. I thought, "Oh God, please don't make it Mary Knows Best in the Kitchen!"
Marcel's Quantum Kitchen starts on the 22nd. I will be covering this on that day to remind everyone, but also because I'm actually really really excited about this show! Marcel became notorious for his boastfulness on Top Chef, but this "kid" (okay, he's 30, but in chef worlds he's a pup), puts together a team of really crazy and interesting cooks with special weird skills and makes a catering company that caters over the top insane themed parties. His take on cooking is like a mad scientist experiment (molecular gastronomy) and just way over the top cool. This show is a great choice for Syfy and with his personality as a bit of a little cocky punk who is so gifted he doesn't get along with regular folk makes this a winner in my book.
I got to see the first two episodes and I was floored! It's not only really interesting, and the characters are instantly adorable and likable and talented, but you watch the team sit around kicking out ideas for over the top insane catering. They don't just cook. They invent. They tinker and cause fires and flops and all kinds of craziness. You learn more about cooking in that show than any Food TV episode. You begin to look at foods like you never did before. And, you want desperately to be invited to these damn parties!
I was not only sold on the show, but it is likely to be one of my favorite shows. One episode and you'll be hooked too. It's reality TV with obstacles being thrown in Marcel's path, but the guy is genius and actually a sweetheart and a control freak at the same time. You can forgive him because in the end he's a fantastic chef and an inventive creative mind that we so need out there. He's an outside the box dude and you know I admire that!
Here's a sample: