''Man v. Food'' is an American

food reality television series Food reality television is a genre of reality television programming that considers the production, consumption and/or sociocultural impact of food. Reality food television emerged as a recognisable sub-genre in the 1940s. Historically, food real ...

. It premiered on December 3, 2008 on the

Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, which had previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in New York, New York, United ...

. The program was originally hosted by actor and food enthusiast

Adam Richman Adam Montgomery Richman is an American actor and television host. He has hosted various dining and eating-challenge programs on the Travel Channel and History Channel. Early life and education Richman, an only child, was born into a Jewish fa ...

. In each episode, Richman explores the "big food" offerings of a different American city before facing off against a pre-existing eating challenge at a local restaurant. The program airs in

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web syndication, ...

at various times during the week. Travel Channel revived the series in 2017, with Casey Webb replacing Richman as host, starting with the fifth season on August 7. The show moved to the

Cooking Channel Cooking Channel is an American basic cable channel owned by Food Network, a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (69%) and Nexstar Media Group (31%). The channel is a spin-off of Food Network, broadcas ...

for season eight, which premiered on July 2, 2019. After an extended hiatus, season nine premiered on December 28, 2021.

Host

Series host

grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, completed his

undergraduate degree An undergraduate degree (also called first degree or simply degree) is a colloquial term for an academic degree earned by a person who has completed undergraduate courses. In the United States, it is usually offered at an institution of higher ...

International Studies International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of h ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,71 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, and earned a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

. A self-educated food "fanatic", since 1995 he has kept a travel journal including each of the restaurants he visited and what he learned from the trip. Although described as "a bit on the husky side", to maintain his health while indulging for the show, Richman exercises twice a day while he is on the road. When the schedule permits, he does not eat the day before a challenge and he tries to stay "crazy hydrated" by drinking plenty of water or club soda and forgoing coffee or soft drinks. After taping for a challenge is complete, Richman spends an hour or so on a treadmill, telling the ''

Las Vegas Review-Journal The ''Las Vegas Review-Journal'' is a daily subscription newspaper published in Las Vegas, Nevada, since 1909. It is the largest circulating daily newspaper in Nevada and one of two daily newspapers in the Las Vegas area. The ''Review-Journal'' ...

'': "Being sedentary is incredibly uncomfortable. Despite the fact that the first 10 minutes or 15 minutes on the treadmill might suck, it actually does alleviate a lot of pressure, and you feel better".

Locations

;United States: states and territories ;states and territories not featured ;Canada: Provinces ; provinces and territories not featured

Premise

In ''Man v. Food'', Adam Richman travels across the United States to explore the culture and unique "big food" of one city in each episode. In some episodes, Richman takes on food challenges involving very hot and spicy (or

piquant Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...

) foods (such as foods spiced with

habanero peppers The habanero (; ) is a hot variety of chili. Unripe habaneros are green, and they color as they mature. The most common color variants are orange and red, but the fruit may also be white, brown, yellow, green, or purple. Typically, a ripe haba ...

), and also large quantities of food, such as a five-pound-sandwich challenge. He finds places in each city to indulge his appetite and visits local landmarks. Richman interacts with local restaurateurs as they demonstrate the making of a house specialty or element of local cuisine. He gives a brief insight to the local community by talking to patrons at the establishments and asking about the most-talked about orders. The show emphasizes quality as well as quantity—a number of the locations in season one are

Zagat The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, covering ...

-rated, while others have received honors from ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' magazine as home of "The Best Sandwiches in America". Over the course of the series, his personal record was 37–22 (win-loss) in his food challenges. Combined with the team events in season four, the overall record stands at 48 wins for "Man" and 38 wins for "Food". Episodes sometimes include a brief fantasy sequence where Richman pretends to be a character to psych himself up for the episode's big food challenge. The half-hour show culminates in Richman facing off against an established local food challenge. Each show wraps with a fake

press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental or ...

where Richman fields questions about the challenge as if it were a just-concluded sporting event or as if he had just won, or in some cases lost, a big award. Richman unsuccessfully attempted a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

when he and a group of 40 regional eaters tried to eat a burger in two hours. After two hours, the participants had approximately left of the burger.

Critical reaction and reviews

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' noted that the

received its highest-ever ratings for a new debut with ''Man v. Food''. They highlighted the show as an example of other networks moving in on the traditional turf of the

Food Network Food Network is an American basic cable channel owned by Television Food Network, G.P., a joint venture and general partnership between Warner Bros. Discovery Networks (which holds a 69% ownership stake of the network) and Nexstar Media Group ...

. In the '' Star-Ledger'', television critic Alan Sepinwall wrote: "It ain't deep, and it certainly ain't healthy (I could feel my arteries clog just from watching), but it's fun". Features reporters Thomas Rozwadowski of the ''Green Bay Press-Gazette'' said that "playfully eager host Adam Richman has won me over" and that "it's all in good fun". ''CityPages Minneapolis/St. Paul'' describes the show, "...like the food version of '' Jackass'', with host Adam Richman as its very own

Steve-O Stephen Gilchrist Glover (born June 13, 1974), known professionally as Steve-O, is an American entertainer, television personality, stunt performer and YouTuber. His career is mostly centered on his performance stunts in the reality comedy tel ...

". Christopher Lawrence of the ''

'' describes Richman as "impressive" and "likable" saying: "Think a beefier

Fred Savage Frederick Aaron Savage (born July 9, 1976) is an American actor and director. He is known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series '' The Wonder Years'' (1988 to 1993). He has earned several awards and nominations, such a ...

, although one who somehow weighs less than he did last season". Jonathan Bernstein of British newspaper ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' described "mixed feelings" about the series saying he likes "the concept" and "the guy" but that the challenges make him "a little uneasy".

Charlie Brooker Charlton Brooker (born 3 March 1971) is an English television presenter, writer, producer and satirist. He is the creator and co-showrunner of the sci-fi drama anthology series ''Black Mirror'', and has written for comedy series such as ''Bras ...

, also of ''The Guardian'', was largely critical of the show's celebration of excess, stating "if food is the new porn, this is an all-out orgy between wobbling gutsos and farmyard animals – a snuff orgy, no less, since the latter end up sawn in half and smothered in BBQ sauce".

Alton Brown Alton Crawford Brown Jr. (born July 30, 1962) is an American television personality, food show presenter, chef, author, voice actor, and cinematographer. He is the creator and host of the Food Network television show '' Good Eats'' that ran for ...

, host of the food science show ''

Good Eats ''Good Eats'' is an American television cooking show, created and hosted by Alton Brown, which aired in North America on Food Network and later Cooking Channel. Likened to television science educators Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye, Brown explores the ...

'', was also critical of the show, calling ''Man v. Food'' "disgusting": "That show is about gluttony, and gluttony is wrong. It's wasteful. Think about people that are starving to death and think about that show. I think it's an embarrassment".

Episodes

Amarillo Texas Big Texan Steak2 2005-05-29

Season 1: December 2008 – March 2009

The weekly series premiered on December 3, 2008, with back to back new episodes airing for the first two weeks then settling down to a pattern of one new episode followed by one repeat episode. First-run episodes of the series aired in the United States on the

on Wednesdays at 10:00 pm

Eastern time The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...

. The first season of ''Man v. Food'' was initially picked up for 10 episodes and then, after initial ratings success, an additional 8 episodes were ordered. The show travelled to

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Count ...

, Memphis,

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

, Austin,

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, San Jose,

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, the

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

Triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colli ...

, and

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with list of lakes in Minneapolis, thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. ...

. Over the course of the first season, the final record wound up at 11 wins for "Man" and 7 wins for "Food". Season 1 was released on DVD in the United States on October 6, 2009.

Season 2: August–December 2009

The second season of ''Man v. Food'' premiered on August 5, 2009, at 10:00 pm EDT. First-run episodes of the series aired in the United States on the

on Wednesdays at 10:00 pm

. The 20 scheduled episodes included visits to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

;

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

; Charleston, South Carolina;

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

; Durham (North Carolina);

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...

;

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County, Florida, Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The c ...

;

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

;

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

;

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ...

;

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

;

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

;

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

;

Anchorage Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring ...

;

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

;

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

;

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic Canad ...

and

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since ...

, plus a "Baseball Special" episode that aired on September 30. After the season finale in Hartford, a special "Live" episode aired in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...

on February 3, 2010. Not counting the "Live" episode (which Adam won), the final second season tally stood at 13 wins for "Man" and 7 wins for "Food". The season 2 DVD was released on October 26, 2010.

Season 3: June–October 2010

The third season began to air on June 16, 2010, with a one-hour run at 9 pm ET before the premiere of ''

Bert the Conqueror ''Bert the Conqueror'' is an American reality television series which premiered on the Travel Channel on June 16, 2010. In the show, American stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer travels across the United States to amusement parks and other entertai ...

.'' It began airing on June 16 at 9 pm Eastern / 6 pm Pacific, with episodes in

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

and

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

. Other visits chronicled this season include

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, Phoenix,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Long Island,

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

, Indianapolis, the

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States * Syracuse, New York ** East Syracuse, New York ** North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, M ...

, Portland (Maine),

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

Butte __NOTOC__ In geomorphology, a butte () is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from a F ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division and the state ...

, and

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. The final tally for the third season was 12 wins for "Man" and 8 wins for "Food". At this point, Richman's total win percentage for the first three seasons is 62%.

Season 4: May 2011 – April 2012

The fourth season of ''Man v. Food'' is titled ''Man v. Food Nation''. The format of the show is generally the same, with Richman travelling across the US to visit cities known for their interesting eateries. Unlike the previous seasons of ''Man v. Food'', Richman would recruit locals of the selected cities to take on the food challenges, while he serves as their coach. Richman stated that the change is not due to any lack of ability or desire to do the challenges himself, but instead to keep the show interesting. The locales featured on ''Man v. Food Nation'' were

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Co ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

, the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of ...

, the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

, Providence,

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, U.S. Route 66,

Harlem, New York City Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...

, the Pacific Coast Highway, St. Paul,

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

, Omaha, Green Bay,

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

Oahu Oahu () ( Hawaiian: ''Oʻahu'' ()), also known as "The Gathering Place", is the third-largest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is home to roughly one million people—over two-thirds of the population of the U.S. state of Hawaii. The island of O� ...

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

and Jackson, as well as a "Street Eats" special and a Thanksgiving "Feast" special. After a special preview episode on May 25, 2011 at 9PM ET/PT, ''Man v. Food Nation'' premiered on June 1, with back-to-back episodes in New Haven and Tampa, and concluded on April 11, 2012 with back-to-back episodes in Charlotte and Jackson. ;Opening: The final record for this season was 11 wins for "Man" and 16 wins for "Food", and this was the first season in which "Food" won both the season opener and the finale, and most of all, "Food" had more wins than "Man". This was Richman's final season on the show.

Season 5: 2017

After five years in hiatus, Travel Channel revived ''Man v. Food'' for a fifth season. With former host Adam Richman moving on to other food shows, Casey Webb, a food enthusiast and actor who worked in the restaurant business, continues what Richman started. Webb travels the country in search of legendary eating challenges at the most unique eateries in America. Webb visited eateries in New York City, Milwaukee, Charleston, New Orleans, Sleepy Hollow,

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

, Portland (Oregon), Chicago, Des Moines and

Billings Billings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, it is the seat of Yellowstone County and the principal city of the Billings Metro ...

, and his first season tally was 5 wins for "Man" and 5 wins for "Food".

Season 6: 2017–2018

Season six of ''Man v. Food'', the second hosted by Webb, premiered on December 4, 2017 with back-to-back episodes in Los Angeles and Boston. In inclusion, Webb also visited eateries in Louisville, St. Louis, Seattle, Burlington, Pittsburgh, San Diego,

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County, Florida, Volusia County near the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 ...

, Philadelphia, Boise, the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant por ...

, Nashville, and

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

. His second season tally ended up at 8 wins for "Man" and 6 wins for "Food".

Season 7: 2018

Season seven of ''Man v. Food'', and the third hosted by Webb, premiered on the Travel Channel on May 28, 2018 with back-to-back episodes on the Jersey Shore and in Minneapolis. In addition, Webb also visited Atlanta, Worcester, Savannah,

Palm Springs Palm Springs (Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Riverside County by lan ...

, Baltimore, Orange County,

Duluth , settlement_type = City , nicknames = Twin Ports (with Superior), Zenith City , motto = , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top: urban Duluth skyline; Minnesota ...

, Phoenix, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Maui. The final tally for this season was 7 wins for "Man" and 7 wins for "Food".

Season 8: 2019–2020

Season eight of ''Man v. Food'', and the fourth hosted by Webb, premiered on the Cooking Channel on Tuesday, July 2, 2019 with an episode in Sacramento. During the course of this season Casey also visited Wilmington,

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 ...

, Charlotte, Kansas City, Omaha, Columbus, Providence, Green Bay, Miami, Tucson, Santa Fe, Santa Barbara, Alaska, Ocean City,

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

, San Jose, San Antonio, Austin, San Francisco, Mystic,

Fargo Fargo usually refers to: * Fargo, North Dakota, United States * ''Fargo'' (1996 film), a crime film by the Coen brothers * ''Fargo'' (TV series), an American black comedy–crime drama anthology television series Fargo may also refer to: Othe ...

Deadwood Deadwood may refer to: Places Canada * Deadwood, Alberta * Deadwood, British Columbia * Deadwood River, a tributary of the Dease River in northern British Columbia United States * Deadwood, California (disambiguation), several communiti ...

, Scottsdale, Denver, Portland (Maine),

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

, Washington, D.C., Lafayette, the Florida Keys, Cleveland and Detroit. The final record for this season stood at 19 wins for "Man" and 13 wins for "Food".

Season 9: 2021-22

Season nine of ''Man v. Food'', and the fifth hosted by Webb, premiered on the Cooking Channel on Tuesday, December 28, 2021 with an episode from the

Delaware Beaches The Delaware Beaches are located along the Atlantic Ocean in the eastern part of Sussex County, Delaware, which is in the southern part of the state. In addition to beaches along the ocean, the area offers many amenities, including restaurants, ...

. During the course of this season Casey also visited

Newark, NJ Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Long Island, Boulder, Roswell, NM,

Buffalo, NY Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Southe ...

and Brooklyn. The final season tally this season was 7 wins for Man and 3 wins for Food.

Season 10: 2022

Season ten of ''Man v. Food'', and the six hosted by Webb, premiered on the Cooking Channel on Tuesday, September 6, 2022 with an episode from Orlando, Florida. During the course of this season Casey also visited Salt Lake City, Las Vegas,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

, California Wine Country,

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake ...

, Tampa,

Hudson Valley The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to ...

and Salem. The final record for the season was 5 wins for Man and 5 wins for Food.

Clip shows

''Man v. Food: Carnivore Edition'' aired on March 3, 2010. The episode was mainly a compilation of clips from Richman's more "carnivorous" food stops. Some clips included

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke ...

in Amarillo, Texas, and the Thurman Burger in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, an ...

. A special series of episodes, ''Man v. Food presents Carnivore Chronicles'' debuted on the Travel Channel on October 27, 2010; this series features clips from past meat-related episodes, including some segments that were featured in previous clip shows, with some unseen material included. This series is seen Wednesday nights at 9 pm ET. Other clip shows included a ''Breakfast Edition'', featuring the series' most memorable breakfast dishes; a ''Dessert Edition'' and a ''Tailgate Edition'' were also shown. Another clip show was ''Man v. Food's Greatest Moments'', which featured the challenges in Amarillo, New Orleans, New Brunswick, Fifth Third Ballpark (Comstock Park), San Francisco, San Jose, Little Rock, Washington D.C., and San Antonio, and featured commentary on the challenges by Adam. Another clip show, '' Amazing Eats'', premiered in January 2012, and it features previous ''Man v. Food'' and ''Man v. Food Nation'' clips in episodes set by certain themes (cheese, pork, burgers, etc.). After season 8, Webb's first clip show, ''Man v. Food Hall of Fame'', premiered, with each episode featuring a top-5 list of best dishes following a certain theme.

Richman's retirement

On January 27, 2012, Richman announced his retirement from food challenges. No exact reason was given as to why Richman retired, only that he was moving on and wished his audience farewell. Explaining the show's re-tooling to become ''Man V. Food Nation'', Scripps Networks chairman Ken Lowe cited concerns over Adam Richman's health if the show had continued in its previous format. Rumors Richman had since turned vegan were found to be untrue, though he has since lost about . On August 5, 2016, Adam tweeted: "I honestly have begun to feel bad for those buying in to the tabloid rumors suggesting I'm anything but an omnivore".

References

External links

* * *
''Man v. Food'' in the UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Man V. Food 2008 American television series debuts 2000s American reality television series 2010s American reality television series English-language television shows Food travelogue television series American television series revived after cancellation Travel Channel original programming Cooking Channel original programming Competitive eating 2020s American reality television series

Host

Locations

Premise

Critical reaction and reviews

Episodes

Season 1: December 2008 – March 2009

Season 2: August–December 2009

Season 3: June–October 2010

Season 4: May 2011 – April 2012

Season 5: 2017

Season 6: 2017–2018

Season 7: 2018

Season 8: 2019–2020

Season 9: 2021-22

Season 10: 2022

Clip shows

Richman's retirement

See also

References

External links