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
    MasterChef
    MasterChef
    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
    Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives
    The Great British Baking Show
    The Great British Baking Show
    Chopped
    Chopped
    Beat Bobby Flay
    Beat Bobby Flay
    Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
    Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
    Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
    Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
    How to Live to 100
    How to Live to 100
    Halloween Wars
    Halloween Wars
    Hell's Kitchen
    Hell's Kitchen
    Barefoot Contessa
    Barefoot Contessa
    Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
    Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
    The Kitchen
    The Kitchen
    Cutthroat Kitchen
    Cutthroat Kitchen
    Cupcake Wars
    Cupcake Wars
    Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
    Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
    Guy's Grocery Games
    Guy's Grocery Games
    MasterChef Junior
    MasterChef Junior
    Carnival Eats
    Carnival Eats
    Nailed It
    Nailed It
    Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations
    Bizarre Foods: Delicious Destinations
    Girl Meets Farm
    Girl Meets Farm
    Masterchef Canada
    Masterchef Canada
    Cook's Country
    Cook's Country
    Somebody Feed Phil
    Somebody Feed Phil
    Delicious Miss Brown
    Delicious Miss Brown
    Next Level Chef
    Next Level Chef
    Cake Wars
    Cake Wars
    America's Test Kitchen
    America's Test Kitchen
    Is It Cake?
    Is It Cake?
    Zumbo's Just Desserts
    Zumbo's Just Desserts
    Selena + Chef
    Selena + Chef
    MasterChef Celebrity Showdown
    MasterChef Celebrity Showdown
    Good Eats
    Good Eats
    Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back
    Gordon Ramsay's 24 Hours to Hell & Back
    Chef's Table
    Chef's Table
    Supermarket Stakeout
    Supermarket Stakeout
    Tournament of Champions
    Tournament of Champions
    BBQ Pitmasters
    BBQ Pitmasters
    Milk Street Television
    Milk Street Television
    Crime Scene Kitchen
    Crime Scene Kitchen
    Lidia's Italy
    Lidia's Italy
    Down to Earth with Zac Efron
    Down to Earth with Zac Efron
    Great Chocolate Showdown
    Great Chocolate Showdown
    Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
    Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted
    Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars
    Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars
    Rotten
    Rotten
    Chopped Junior
    Chopped Junior
    Salt Fat Acid Heat
    Salt Fat Acid Heat
    Come Dine With Me
    Come Dine With Me
    Kane's Kitchen
    Kane's Kitchen
    BBQ with Franklin
    BBQ with Franklin
    Bizarre Foods
    Bizarre Foods
    Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
    Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi
    30 Minute Meals
    30 Minute Meals
    Bizarre Foods America
    Bizarre Foods America
    Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
    Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines
    Guy's Ranch Kitchen
    Guy's Ranch Kitchen
    Man Vs. Child: Chef Showdown
    Man Vs. Child: Chef Showdown
    FoodNation With Bobby Flay
    FoodNation With Bobby Flay
    Julia Child
    Julia Child
    The American Barbecue Showdown
    The American Barbecue Showdown
    The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell
    The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell
    Holiday Baking Championship
    Holiday Baking Championship
    Iron Chef
    Iron Chef
    The Zimmern List
    The Zimmern List
    Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee
    Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee
    BBQ USA
    BBQ USA
    Man's Greatest Food
    Man's Greatest Food
    Restaurant Stakeout
    Restaurant Stakeout
    Bake Squad
    Bake Squad
    Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
    Welcome to Sweetie Pie's
    Essential Pepin
    Essential Pepin
    A Chef's Life
    A Chef's Life
    Be My Guest with Ina Garten
    Be My Guest with Ina Garten
    Pig Goat Banana Cricket
    Pig Goat Banana Cricket
    Hyper HardBoiled Gourmet Report
    Hyper HardBoiled Gourmet Report
    The Great American Recipe
    The Great American Recipe
    High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
    High on the Hog: How African American Cuisine Transformed America
    Tyler's Ultimate
    Tyler's Ultimate
    Trisha's Southern Kitchen
    Trisha's Southern Kitchen
    Spring Baking Championship
    Spring Baking Championship
    No Passport Required
    No Passport Required
    Everyday Italian
    Everyday Italian
    Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco
    Well Done With Sebastian Maniscalco
    Grilling
    Grilling
    The French Chef with Julia Child
    The French Chef with Julia Child
    Baketopia
    Baketopia
    Food: Delicious Science
    Food: Delicious Science
    Lords and Ladles
    Lords and Ladles
    Chopped Canada
    Chopped Canada
    Avec Eric
    Avec Eric
    Sugar Rush
    Sugar Rush
    Symon's Dinners Cooking Out
    Symon's Dinners Cooking Out
    Iron Chef Gauntlet
    Iron Chef Gauntlet
    Cooks vs. Cons
    Cooks vs. Cons
    I'll Have What Phil's Having
    I'll Have What Phil's Having
    Pizza Masters
    Pizza Masters
    The Taste
    The Taste