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Only if Padma makes frequent guests appearance...yes, I have a girl crush.

I didn't catch all of it, but I did enjoy what I saw. I'm willing to give it some time to develop. The hard thing is that the first few episodes of any competition always suck. Mostly because the food always seems subpar and we don't know the characters yet.

It helps that there's not much competition in its current time slot.

I love Top Chef, but can only catch it at friends and relatives places, because I don't have cable.

I checked out The Chopping Block, and enjoyed it less than Top Chef, but way more than Hell's Kitchen. It has a higher production value, and Marco is less sensational than Ramsey, and he seems more connected to the craft of cooking.

So, for those without cable, I think this is a fine addition to the t.v. week.

That being said, I wish that this show focssed more on the actual cooking...

"Do We Really Need Another Cooking Competition Show?" Um, no.

I'll watch another reality show as soon as the world comes to an agreement to stop calling them reality shows.

As soon as you decide how you're going to bend the light through a lens, you've altered reality. And I know a lot of the interaction is unscripted, but then it's edited. As a video editor, I can assure you that the final product bears as much relationship to the original participant interaction, as a Taco Bell Gordito Crunch does to an aurochs.

I watched it and was somewhat entertained. I would have preferred to see more of MPW and, as is my complaint with most of these cooking "reality" shows, more of the actual cooking/food! I'm less interested in the personal stories/squabbling of the contestants than I am in the food they cook.

Also, I thought a few of the show's stunts were just silly. 24 hours to set/prep a restaurant? Come on. I miss real cooking shows like Julia had back in the day. Would love to see one of those with MPW.

I just got into Top Chef during the last few episodes of this past season, so I watched The Chopping Block to try to combat my withdrawl. It was okay, but I doubt I'll watch it again. As others here have noted, it didn't focus much on the food. The contestants didn't offer much insight during their interview time. Mostly they recapped what we'd already seen onscreen, and with a few exceptions, we didn't get any background on them.

I found the show pretty heavy handed, overall -- MPW's commentary was so melodramatic (he has a "moral imperative" to eliminate the right team? Whatever, dude.) and the graphics were a bit too slick. Plus, we didn't really need to see the salamander thing fall off the wall and the oven glass break TWICE. The repetition just emphasized that the incident was staged for dramatic effect.

Well let me start by saying I couldnt wait for it to air just because of the MPW factor, this man is incredible his show in England was great as compared to the incredibly annoying Ramsay . Oh and what a boost for US Foods wow , you know Sysco is looking to get some show somewhere now. As for the show I really didnt feel Marco should have let the couple that bowed out go! He should have said no you stay you signed up for this and you will see it through! As for the raw chicken serving chef and the arrogant pinhead of a brother who just wants to plug his familys failed restaurant they should have hit the bricks. I guess it went that way for the shows sake and the now ensuing fued among the black team. I hope black mama kicks his ass. She was totaly disrespected by the 20 minute shmoozer. All in all I will watch next week to see what happens but mostly just to see Marco talk and just to come really away with his insight on culinary which I live and breathe. Oh and on the stories that thses people are doing this for thier kids or for thier Mother B.S. If I was there it would only to be to please and satisfy MYSELF and to see the faces of those whom I prepared MY FOOD for. if youre not in it like that you will fail!!! Take care foodies.

I would agree that I was somewhat entertained, but only somewhat. I have a feeling that as the show goes on and douches like Xan and Flan and Than get kicked off, it'll start to pick up.

I still don't know what to make of Marco. This may take a show or two more to decide. But I love Gordon Ramsay, after seeing the F Word re-runs, I can appreciate him so much more. Marco seems TOO pompous.

And Jeffrey Steingarten is to food television what Jabba the Hut was to Star Wars! And watching either of them eat brings about the same reaction in my household.

I love documentary tv, and game shows. The problem with a lot of reality tv is that it tries not to fit in either of those categories. British Kitchen Nightmares was good because it was a documentary and Ramsay was just a character. US Kitchen Nightmares is garbage because it is bad documentary, trying to excuse itself by identifying as "reality tv".

Survivor succeeded because, in part, nobody knew or cared who the hell Jeff Probst was, even if they watched Rock and Roll Jeopardy a million times. The show became about the contestants and their subtle and not so subtle interactions. Once you put MPW in there, how am I supposed to care about these contestant nobodies? Tom Colicchio isn't on Top Chef enough to overshadow the characters early on.

Another thing going for Top Chef is that the contestants are more interesting to begin with. I sort of believe they could actually run a restaurant, and the question is just who could run it best. Shows like the Chopping Block, and Hell's Kitchen rely on fake tension built by the possibility of outright failure. Will these goons make a good restaurant, or fall flat on their face. No room for subtlety on network tv. The problem is that to create the possibility of failure requires sub-prime contestants. They don't air amateur baseball on national tv because professional is so much better.

No, we do not need another one of these shows, and we darn sure don't need one on a major network during primetime. It's time these so called reality shows go the way of the Dodo Bird.

i felt the same way but, i will watch again next week to see if it gets any better. cheers!

We need more reality cooking shows like old Top Chef seasons. More cooking, less drama. There are people like me, that wants to watch anything but drama. Save the drama fo yo mama!

Finally watched it, and best thing about it was MPW. Watch his version of Hell's Kitchen UK if you want to see what a interesting and yet reasonable person he is. You only catch bits of him on the show between the awful USA Realtity TV editing. It was even worse than the USA Biggest Loser, which has become a bit of a joke with the constant repeated footage, and peeks ahead.

Do we really need constant COMING UP NEXT spoilers? It felt like after you cut out the commercials, and COMING UP NEXT crap you were left with 25 minutes of actual show.

One reason The Restaurant UK is such a superior show is the freedom of an hour with no commercials (real BBC), no need to constantly try and HOLD the audience over a commercial break with cheezy COMING UP NEXT spoilers. The Restaurant UK instead builds carefully, you don't know everything before it happens, you get genuine surprises and suspense.

i will watch it every damn week. i don't have cable, so no food network/top chef for me, and marco is so damn dreamy. i'm in, who's with me?!

I enjoyed it. I like MPW - he comes off with a kind of Vincent Price vibe to me, gentle, civilized, yet quietly menacing. I don't think he means it, but if you picture him as a horror-movie icon you might have more fun watching the show. I mean him no offense; as far as I know, he's earned his culinary reputation. But that voice, that delivery, belongs, it seems to me, in old horror films, and I mean that in a good way!

No. People need to be watching quality programming like Dollhouse.

i don't have cable either, so i was hoping it'd be great, but it was pretty boring. i'd recommend reading his books though!