''Celebrity Cooking Showdown'' is a program that aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

from April 17–19 and April 22, 2006. It was hosted by

Alan Thicke Alan Willis Thicke (né Jeffrey; 1 March 1947 13 December 2016) was a Canadian-American actor, songwriter, and game/talk show host. He was the father of singer Robin Thicke. Thicke was best known for playing Dr. Jason Seaver on the 1980s sitco ...

Format

The competition was divided into three "preliminary rounds", where each celebrity was paired with a famous chef. The three chefs participating were

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...

Cat Cora Catherine Ann Cora (born April 3, 1967) is an American professional chef, television personality, business person, and cookbook author. She is best known for her featured role as an "Iron Chef" on ''Iron Chef America''Yancey, Kitty Bean"'Iron Che ...

and Govind Armstrong, all of whom had been on Food Network's

Iron Chef America ''Iron Chef America'' is an American cooking show based on Fuji Television's ''Iron Chef'', and is the second American adaptation of the series, following the failed ''Iron Chef USA'' that aired in 2001. The show is produced by Food Network, wh ...

. The program's host was

; early articles on the show stated that

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery, who manages and operates it as a division of the Warner Bros. Discovery U.S. Networks Group. The channel airs both televi ...

host and author Sandra Lee would serve as co-host, but she never appeared on the program when it aired. Following a montage of clips showing the chefs teaching their new pupils the ropes, the actual contest would begin. Each contestant had to prepare three dishes (an

appetizer An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or th ...

, a

main course A main course is the featured or primary dish in a meal consisting of several courses. It usually follows the entrée () course. Usage In the United States and Canada (except Quebec), the main course is traditionally called an "entrée". En ...

and a

dessert Dessert is a course (food), course that concludes a meal; the course consists of sweet foods, such as cake, biscuit, ice cream, and possibly a beverage, such as dessert wine or liqueur. Some cultures sweeten foods that are more commonly umami, ...

) within 50 minutes. To aid them, after the second commercial break had passed (roughly 15–20 minutes into the contest) each team was allowed two "chef's passes" (one by the chef and one by the contestant). In order to activate the chef's pass, either the contestant or the chef must place their towel into a wire basket just outside the kitchen area. A horn as if to end a hockey period would go off, and this would allow the chef to come into the kitchen for two minutes and assist the contestant. Only one chef could be in the kitchen area on a chef's pass at a time. Also, when only five minutes remains in the contest, the chefs are allowed to return for whatever last-minute advice and help they can give. As a disadvantage for each contestant, two ingredients for their dishes are not in their kitchen area. Instead, they are kept in the pantry located on an elevated stage behind where the chefs stand. Once the contestant realizes that the ingredients are missing, they must run over and find them in the pantry. When time runs out, the judges (event planner

Colin Cowie Colin Andrew Wilkie Cowie (born 3 January 1962) is a Northern Rhodesia-born American lifestyle advisor, author, interior designer and party planner. Biography Cowie was born in Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), and educated in South Africa ...

and food critic

Gael Greene Gael Greene (December 22, 1933 – November 1, 2022) was an American restaurant critic, author, and novelist. She became '' New York'' magazine's restaurant critic in fall 1968, at a time when most New Yorkers were unsophisticated about food and ...

) evaluate the final product. In order for a dish to be considered, it must be finished and on the judge's platform when the clock hits zero. The judges then evaluate each meal on a scale of 1-10 using two criteria: flavor and presentation. Each judge can give a maximum of 20 points, so a perfect score for a contestant would be 40. The top winner from each preliminary round advanced to the final round. However, due to low ratings in head-to-head competition with shows like ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

'', ''

Gilmore Girls ''Gilmore Girls'' is an American comedy drama television series created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, starring Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel. The show debuted October 5, 2000, on The WB and became a flagship series for the network. The show ran fo ...

'' and ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', NBC pulled the plug before the finals were aired due to very dismal ratings (the Tuesday and Wednesday editions finished an embarrassing fifth out of the six broadcast networks in their 8:00 time slots). The network originally announced the two episodes would be available only on nbc.com, and the Thursday night (Day 4) episode was available to watch on NBC.com until the time it would have ended airing in the

Pacific Time Zone The Pacific Time Zone (PT) is a time zone encompassing parts of western Canada, the western United States, and western Mexico. Places in this zone observe standard time by subtracting eight hours from Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC−08:00 ...

(9pm PDT/12am EDT). NBC later reversed its decision not to broadcast the final episodes and ran them back-to-back on the night of Saturday April 22, though only those who watched the final round on NBC.com were able to vote on the outcome.

Celebrities participating

Alison Sweeney Alison Ann Sweeney (born September 19, 1976) is an American actress, reality show host, director and author. Sweeney is best known for her portrayal of Samantha "Sami" Brady on the NBC soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', a role she played under c ...

(''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'') *

Chelsea Cooley Chelsea Scott Cooley Altman (born October 30, 1983) is an American actress, singer, model and beauty pageant titleholder who has competed in the Miss Teen USA, Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants and who has held the Miss USA 2005 title. As ...

(

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020. ...

2005) * Cindy Margolis (Actress/Model) *

Tony Gonzalez Anthony David Gonzalez (born February 27, 1976) is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. Regarded as one of the greatest tight ends of all time, he is the NFL's all ...

(Tight End, NFL's

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

) *

Big Kenny William Kenneth Alphin (born November 1, 1963), best known by his stage name Big Kenny, is an American country music singer. He and John Rich (musician), John Rich comprise the duo Big & Rich, who recorded four studio albums and charted fifteen s ...

(Half of Country Music Duo

Big & Rich Big & Rich is an American country music duo composed of Big Kenny and John Rich, both of whom are songwriters, vocalists, and guitarists. Before the duo's foundation, Rich was bass guitarist in the country band Lonestar, while Kenny was a sol ...

) *

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...

(Singer) *

Gabrielle Reece Gabrielle Allyse Reece (born January 6, 1970) is an American former professional volleyball player, sports announcer, and podcast host. Early life and education Reece was raised in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, an only child of Terry Gl ...

(Former professional

beach volleyball Beach volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of two to four players each on a sand court divided by a net. Similar to indoor volleyball, the objective of the game is to send the ball over the net and to ground it on the opponent's side o ...

player) * Tom Arnold (Actor/Comedian) *

Ashley Parker Angel Ashley Parker Angel is an American musician and actor who rose to prominence as a member of the boy band O-Town. After the band dissolved, he had a brief solo music career, and was the only former band member who declined to go on a reunion tour ...

(Singer) *

(Celeb Party Planner) Served as a judge on the show.

Results

On Monday, April 17, the three contestants were Cindy Margolis (paired with Wolfgang), Tony Gonzalez (paired with Cat) and Alison Sweeney (paired with Govind). In a 34-33 decision, Cindy's menu of Chinois chicken salad, pan-seared Szechuan beef and

baked Alaska Baked Alaska, also known as Bombe Alaska, ''omelette norvégienne, omelette surprise,'' or ''omelette sibérienne'' depending on the country, is a dessert consisting of ice cream and cake topped with browned meringue. The dish is made of ice cre ...

narrowly edged out Tony's

Caprese salad Caprese salad (, ) is an Italian salad prepared with sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and sweet basil and seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is usually arranged on a plate in restaurant practice. Like pizza Margherita, it features the colo ...

tower, Penne alla vodka with salmon and

affogato Affogato (), or more fully (), is an Italian dessert comprising a scoop of gelato, either (plain milk-flavored) or vanilla, topped with espresso. Some variations add a shot of amaretto, , Kahlúa, or other liqueur. Varieties Cafés usual ...

Italian sundae. Alison's menu of marinated lobster, blue cheese-stuffed tenderloin and citrus crepes finished a close third with 31 points. Alison also suffered a burned hand when she grabbed a hot metal saucepan without a mitt. On Tuesday, April 18, the pairings were Ashley Parker Angel and Wolfgang, Patti LaBelle and Cat, and Gabrielle Reece and Gorvind. Ashley's choices of curried chicken and shrimp

satay Satay ( , in the US also ), or sate in Indonesia, is a Javanese cuisine, Javanese dish of seasoned, skewered and grilled meat, served with a sauce. Satay originated in Java, but has spread throughout Indonesia, into Southeast Asia, Europe, ...

s with peanut sauce, vegetarian pizza with wild mushrooms and pesto, and caramelized lemon

crème brûlée ''Crème brûlée'' (; ), also known as burnt cream, Cambridge burnt cream, or Trinity cream, and virtually identical to '' crema catalana'', is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar. It ...

with fresh berries defeated Patti's

black-eyed pea The black-eyed pea or black-eyed bean is a legume grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean. It is a subspecies of the cowpea, an Old World plant domesticated in Africa, and is sometimes simply called a cowpea. The common commerci ...

croquettes with spicy

aioli Aioli, allioli, or aïoli () is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean. The names mean "garlic and oil" in Catalan language, Catalan and ...

and dandelion greens

tasso ham Tasso ham is a smoked, spiced, and cured meat, a specialty of south Louisiana cuisine. In this case "ham" is a misnomer since tasso is not made from the hind leg of a hog, but rather the hog's shoulder. This cut is typically fatty, and becaus ...

, blackened shrimp and grits with spring asparagus petite salad and coconut cake with raspberries by a final score of 36-34. Gabrielle finished a distant third, her meal of tuna

tartare Steak tartare or tartar steak is a French dish of raw ground (minced) beef. It is usually served with onions, capers, parsley or chive, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and other seasonings, often presented separately, to be added to ...

with Crispy

nori Nori is a dried edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, usually made from species of the red algae genus ''Pyropia'', including ''P. yezoensis'' and ''Pyropia tenera, P. tenera''. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is generally made in ...

and fresh wasabi, dover sole with artichoke

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., appl ...

, green beans, and marinated tomatoes,

d'Anjou The D'Anjou pear, sometimes referred to as the Beurré d'Anjou or simply Anjou, is a short-necked cultivar of European pear. The variety was originally named 'Nec Plus Meuris' in Europe and the name 'Anjou' or 'd'Anjou' was erroneously applied ...

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

with spiced cranberry reduction scoring 26 points. On Wednesday, April 19, the pairings were Tom Arnold with Wolfgang, Chelsea Cooley with Cat and Big Kenny with Govind. Chelsea's menu of charred

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

-style beef with Asian pear slaw and honey-

miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji (the fungus ''Aspergillus oryzae''), and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads; p ...

vinaigrette, spicy tuna belly and asparagus roll with

wasabi Wasabi (Japanese language, Japanese: , , or , ) or Japanese horseradish (''Eutrema japonicum'' syn. ''Wasabia japonica'') is a plant of the family Brassicaceae, which also includes horseradish and Mustard plant, mustard in other genus, genera. ...

crème fraîche Crème fraîche (English pronunciation: , , lit. "fresh cream") is a dairy product similar to cream cheese, a soured cream containing 10–45% butterfat, with a pH of approximately 4.5. It is soured with a Microbiological culture, bacterial cult ...

, and

green tea Green tea is a type of tea made from the leaves and buds of the '' Camellia sinensis'' that have not undergone the withering and oxidation process that creates oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China in the late 1st millenn ...

parfait with kiwi and cashews eked out a 35-34-34 victory over Tom's scalloped corn casserole with apple smoked bacon, prime beef burgers with

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (, ) is a famously pungent Italian blue cheese made from unskimmed cow's milk; believed to have been created in the 9th century; now with use of its name controlled under the criteria of a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). Gorg ...

and special sauce, molten chocolate cake with whipped cream and Kenny's dungeness crab with white asparagus and hazelnut vinaigrette, seared Kobe-style beef with potato mousseline and

chanterelle Chanterelle is the common name of several species of fungi in the genera ''Cantharellus'', ''Craterellus'', ''Gomphus (fungus), Gomphus'', and ''Polyozellus''. They are orange, yellow or white, meaty and funnel-shaped. On the lower surface, mos ...

mushroom salad and fried cookies and cream. The finals, broadcast over both NBC.com's website and on television on April 22, paired Cindy with Wolfgang, Ashley with Cat, and Chelsea with Govind. For this round, the contestants were paired up with their chefs by random draw and given just one day to practice their dishes. The competition started badly as Ashley sliced open his hand with a knife while cutting limes. The

laceration A wound is any disruption of or damage to living tissue, such as skin, mucous membranes, or organs. Wounds can either be the sudden result of direct trauma (mechanical, thermal, chemical), or can develop slowly over time due to underlying diseas ...

was severe and required paramedic attention to apply a temporary bandage (he later needed stitches to seal up the wound) and cost him nearly 5 minutes of his 50. Cindy later burned her hand while pulling out her rack of lamb. Cindy's menu consisted of roasted beet napoleon with goat cheese, marinated rack of lamb and butterscotch apple crumble. Chelsea's menu was hamachi sashimi, duck breast with spicy

soba Soba ( or , "buckwheat") are Japanese noodles made primarily from buckwheat flour, with a small amount of wheat flour mixed in. It has an ashen brown color, and a slightly grainy texture. The noodles are served either chilled with a dipping sau ...

noodles and jasmine rice pudding (and a cold bottle of

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

). Ashley's menu was coconut

ceviche Ceviche, cebiche, sebiche, or seviche () is a cold dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. Different versions of ceviche are part of the culinary cultures of various Latin American countries along the Pacific O ...

, tequila lime steak fajitas and Mexican chocolate fondue. Each judge weighed in, but withheld scores so that America could vote on the winner. Cindy won the competition.

Home viewer contest

Every night during Celebrity Cooking Showdown, one viewer won a 4-piece GE kitchen. All viewers had to do to enter the contest was to send a text with a letter that corresponded to the celebrity they thought would win over the judges. As with the ''

Deal Or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a ...

'' Lucky Case Game, only the correct guesses were entered into the contest. From there, the winner was picked amidst the correct guesses.

External links

Official Website
* {{IMDb title, 0783325
NBC kills "Celebrity Cooking Showdown," effective immediately
NBC reality television shows 2006 American television series debuts 2006 American television series endings 2000s American cooking television series 2000s American reality television series Television series by Universal Television