Written by Allison Lips
Premise: Four home cooks compete for the chance to get their recipe on the menu at some of America’s most popular chain restaurants and $25,000. (I’m pretty sure those exact words are how the show describes itself.)
On the Menu makes me wonder why I bother reviewing this type of shows. It’s part Rewrapped, part Food Court Wars, and part Chopped with Ty Pennington, aka that guy from Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and Emeril Lagasse.
For the first round, four contestants have to recreate the signature dish of the chain restaurant featured in that week’s episode. Swap out a chain restaurant for snack food and you have Food Network’s Rewrapped. Rewrapped is more fun to watch because of its colorful set, but there’s nothing to dislike about On the Menu. On the other hand, there’s nothing making me want to see another episode of the show either.
Before the second round takes place, a contestant is eliminated. The remaining ones have to impress a group of diners, which is taken straight from the Food Court Wars playbook. After tasting three dishes, the diners choose which contestant will be sent home next.
The final round has the last two contestants refine their dishes for executives from that week’s chain. Each contestant makes a pitch. Then, the judges taste and discuss their thoughts about the dishes. Once all of those steps are taken, a winner is crowned. If that sounds familiar, it’s because that’s basically Chopped.
Structurally, there’s nothing wrong with On the Menu. The competition makes sense. The rules aren’t off the wall. Pennington is a likeable host. Lagasse doesn’t do much, except chime in with a comment every once in a while to remind the audience he’s still alive despite a dwindled television career.
It’s hard to review a show that fills you with indifference. On the Menu shouldn’t have been made and it’s baffling that it landed at TNT, but the producers aren’t crazy or clueless for making it. The show is just another 45 minutes of content for a network to air between commercials.
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Allison Lips is the Founder of Wait! What’s a Dial?, a television blog that showcases the writing of millennials. Allison graduated from Rowan University in May 2013. She has a passion for TV history, especially late night and game shows. If she could go back in time, Steve Allen would still be hosting The Tonight Show. Follow her on Twitter @waitwaitsadial.
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I think on the menu tv show is getting to be a really sexist show. I haven’t seen a woman get to the final round. Seems rigged.