While some contestants on reality show cooking competitions have made names for themselves with book deals, restaurants, and endorsements, many will tell you that appearing on these programs is rarely a recipe for career success.
Journalist Victoria Namkung spoke with several past contestants of reality show cooking competitions for The Guardian. Aside from the winner, who may receive a cash prize, most contestants aren't paid for being on these shows. Some contestants even paid to fly out ingredients and equipment for competitions at their own expense. Long days, often 12 to 14 hours, are par for the course and contestants are often isolated from family and friends. Many participants, who were naive to the process, were surprised that entertainment, not cooking, was at the crux of production.
Namkung spoke with Derek Corsino, a high school culinary teacher at Healdsburg High School in Northern California. Corsino suspects he was cast as a last minute replacement on the Food Network's Spring Baking Championship. At one point in the casting process, he was told he was too well-rounded, a turnoff for producers who were looking for some drama on set. "They want things to go wrong every once in a while," Corsino says.
Namkung says that charisma is part of the recipe for success, and many contestants who go on to find fame after the show do so because they made good TV during their season.