Watch Food TV Shows Online

Food has been a part of television from almost the beginning, and the TV chef has been a popular character in American culture for the better part of a century. Chef and cookbook author James Beard hosted the first network cooking show in the 1940s, establishing a genre that would eventually lead to entire cable networks devoted to the nuances of food preparation. The contemporary food show, however, is often much less about food than its ancestors were.

Early TV cooking shows were often concerned as much with advertising as they were with cooking instruction. Sponsors’ products-kitchen appliances, gadgets and food products-were promoted openly and enthusiastically. By the time Julia Child hit the airwaves with her The French Chef in 1963, though, the cooking show had becomes a more serious mixture of entertainment and education, giving home cooks an enjoyable way to learn how to cook new dishes.

In recent years, the food genre has broadened to include a range of program types. The celebrity-chef cooking show remains popular, but the reality and game show genres have reached into the realm of food, as well. In competitive cooking shows, chefs work individually or in teams to create dishes which are evaluated by a panel of judges. In one type of reality food show, a celebrity chef helps to make over struggling restaurants; in these shows, the focus is generally on the interpersonal drama of the situations rather than on the details of food preparation.

Yet another food-TV genre merges the cooking show with a travelogue, as a host seeks out interesting dishes in far-flung locales; the culinary subjects may be regional delicacies, exotic cuisines or otherwise unusual fare. Some of these shows have an educational component, as the host looks on while the local chef shows the audience how to prepare the dishes.

    Hot Ones
    Hot Ones
    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
    MasterChef
    MasterChef
    The Great British Baking Show
    The Great British Baking Show
    Tournament of Champions
    Tournament of Champions
    Chopped
    Chopped
    Beat Bobby Flay
    Beat Bobby Flay
    Next Level Chef
    Next Level Chef
    The Kitchen
    The Kitchen
    Somebody Feed Phil
    Somebody Feed Phil
    Cutthroat Kitchen
    Cutthroat Kitchen
    Hell's Kitchen
    Hell's Kitchen
    Spring Baking Championship
    Spring Baking Championship
    Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
    Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
    Guy's Grocery Games
    Guy's Grocery Games
    MasterChef Junior
    MasterChef Junior
    Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
    Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
    Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
    Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
    Cupcake Wars
    Cupcake Wars
    Worth It
    Worth It
    Barefoot Contessa
    Barefoot Contessa
    Good Eats
    Good Eats
    Delicious Miss Brown
    Delicious Miss Brown
    Bread - Sourdough Bread Baking
    Bread - Sourdough Bread Baking
    Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
    Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
    Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
    Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
    Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
    Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
    Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations
    Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations
    Lidia's Kitchen
    Lidia's Kitchen
    Cook's Country
    Cook's Country
    Is It Cake?
    Is It Cake?
    Milk Street Television
    Milk Street Television
    BBQ Pitmasters
    BBQ Pitmasters
    Carnival Eats
    Carnival Eats
    Chef's Table
    Chef's Table
    Masterchef Canada
    Masterchef Canada
    Nailed It
    Nailed It
    Mexican Made Easy
    Mexican Made Easy
    Girl Meets Farm
    Girl Meets Farm
    The French Chef with Julia Child
    The French Chef with Julia Child
    Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back
    Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back
    Bizarre Foods
    Bizarre Foods
    Selena + Chef
    Selena + Chef
    Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
    Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
    Restaurant Stakeout
    Restaurant Stakeout
    Nigellissima
    Nigellissima
    Salt Fat Acid Heat
    Salt Fat Acid Heat
    The Chef Show
    The Chef Show
    Supermarket Stakeout
    Supermarket Stakeout
    30 Minute Meals
    30 Minute Meals
    Down to Earth with Zac Efron
    Down to Earth with Zac Efron
    Chopped Junior
    Chopped Junior
    Cake Wars
    Cake Wars
    Holiday Baking Championship
    Holiday Baking Championship
    Nadiya Bakes
    Nadiya Bakes
    Bake Squad
    Bake Squad
    Christmas Cookie Challenge
    Christmas Cookie Challenge
    Huang's World
    Huang's World
    The Kindness Diaries
    The Kindness Diaries
    High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
    High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
    Rotten
    Rotten
    Trisha's Southern Kitchen
    Trisha's Southern Kitchen
    Halloween Wars
    Halloween Wars
    Amy Schumer Learns to Cook
    Amy Schumer Learns to Cook
    The Next Iron Chef
    The Next Iron Chef
    Baking Impossible
    Baking Impossible
    Guy's Ranch Kitchen
    Guy's Ranch Kitchen
    Gordon Behind Bars
    Gordon Behind Bars
    Everyday Italian
    Everyday Italian
    Farmhouse Rules
    Farmhouse Rules
    The Zimmern List
    The Zimmern List
    The Galloping Gourmet
    The Galloping Gourmet
    Man's Greatest Food
    Man's Greatest Food
    Pig Goat Banana Cricket
    Pig Goat Banana Cricket
    Eating History
    Eating History
    BBQ with Franklin
    BBQ with Franklin
    Avec Eric
    Avec Eric
    Taco Chronicles
    Taco Chronicles
    Lords and Ladles
    Lords and Ladles
    Baketopia
    Baketopia
    You Gotta Eat Here
    You Gotta Eat Here
    Knife Fight
    Knife Fight
    Iron Chef
    Iron Chef
    Kane's Kitchen
    Kane's Kitchen
    Snack-Off
    Snack-Off
    Gourmet Detective
    Gourmet Detective
    Paula's Home Cooking
    Paula's Home Cooking
    Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby
    Amazing Hotels: Life Beyond the Lobby
    A Chef's Life
    A Chef's Life
    Cooks vs. Cons
    Cooks vs. Cons
    A Taste of History
    A Taste of History
    Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco
    Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco
    Great Chocolate Showdown
    Great Chocolate Showdown
    The American Barbecue Showdown
    The American Barbecue Showdown
    5 Ingredient Fix
    5 Ingredient Fix
    Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller
    Quick Fix Meals With Robin Miller
    Sugar Rush
    Sugar Rush
    Essential Pepin
    Essential Pepin
    Buddy vs. Duff
    Buddy vs. Duff
    Family Dinner
    Family Dinner