The premise of the show is Joe Cahn and some celebrity judges traveling around the country to a number of college football games in search of the best outdoor chef’s in the tailgating parking lots. Three teams compete against each other to prepare tailgating foods that not only taste great but have excellent presentation. The judging criteria that sets this reality cooking show apart is that the foods need to be “tailgate friendly”. That means it has to be food that the competitors can prepare in a parking lot on normal tailgating cooking apparatuses. So that means Baked Alaska is probably not going to be served for desert. Take a look at a few videos in advance of the debut.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIteZV8v4t8
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USjDs_guNUc
The three teams of two are given three hours to prepare their meals that will impress the judges and also gain the respect and admiration from The Commisioner. All of the meals are prepared on traditional tailgating equipment like grills, smokers, turkey fryers, camping stoves, etc. While the contestants are preparing their food, the show captures Joe Cahn and the celebrity judges wandering the tailgating parking lots and meeting with other tailgaters and checking out their tricked out tailgating vehicles and sampling their food.
The tailgating chef that wins that particular episode gets $1,000, a ridiculously large trophy and bragging rights of being crowned the best tailgater of that particular college team. Winners of each episode will be invited back for the season finale where all the finalists will compete for the overall honor of being named America’s Best Tailgater.
I was given an exclusive sneak peek at a full length episode courtesy of the folks from TLC. The episode I watched in full was the one where Cahn and the crew head to Los Angeles for the USC/UCLA game. I won’t offer any spoilers but I will say that the team that ended up winning was the team I was rooting for.
I’ve already scheduled to record the season on my DVR and I would suggest you do the same. It’s about time they did a reality show based around tailgating.
And just for fun, here is a picture of me and Joe Cahn prior to the San Diego Chargers vs. Miami Dolphins game earlier this season.
