By Reality shows have gotten bigger and better than ever before, with many winners walking away with mind-blowing and life changing prizes. Winning American Idol will get you a record deal and a big bag of cash whilst winning The Bachelor (or The Bachelorette) gets you an engagement and a ring worth more than most houses. However, for this British cooking show, the prize isn’t quite so ‘wow’.
Aired originally on BBC Two in the UK, The Big Family Cooking Showdown is now on Netflix with season 2 just recently dropped. The show pitches families against other families to be crowned the best home cooks. It’s warm, fuzzy, family friendly nature means it has inevitably been compared to The Great British Bake Off, but the similarities don’t end there.
Whilst winners of the GBBO win a glass engraved cake stand and a bouquet of flowers, winners of the BFCS get to take home an engraved wooden cutting board. Yep, you read that right.
Now of course money isn’t everything, but taking part in these reality shows can be stressful and all consuming so you would like to think the champions get a just reward. Lorna Nanda Gangotra, who was one third of the winning family, said:
“It was very intense. It took up a whole year of our lives. We practiced, practiced, practiced. But it was worth it. Apart from winning, we also got a valuable insight into how things work behind the scenes, which I found very interesting.”
In fairness, the publicity and exposure you get from featuring on these shows can be just as valuable, whether it be getting a book deal or your own TV show. Particularly now the show is on Netflix, time will tell if the added exposure will lead to exciting futures for the winners.