Das Perfekte Dinner: German Reality Television Show

Cafe Society
1

Friends just sent me a copy of the recent episodes of a German reality show that is actually kind of interesting.

The concept is simple: They pick five strangers, each a “hobby cook” and they invite the others to their homes and prepare a three course dinner for their guests. At the end of the evening, the guests secretly cast a vote (from 1 to 10) on how the dinner went and the winner, at the end of the five episodes, gets a relatively small (1500 Euros) prize.

They show the menu, how it is prepared, how they set the table and how they greet their guests. Prior to the actual dinner, the guests are interviews and shown trying to figure out what the menu might be, and comment on how they think the house/apartment is designed where that contestant lives.

While at the dinner, between courses, the guests amble through the home and comment on the decoration and snoop through the hosts drawers and look at personal items. In the recent series, two women looked through the male hosts pictures, whispered that they thought he might be Gay, and in a later episode, actually asked if he was (and he admitted he was, but was somewhat surprised to be “outed” during the show.)

The series has lots of catty remarks and their personalities start to show…but the main focus is on the dinner and how they prepare it…they show them buying the ingredients, cooking in their kitchens and then serving it to their guests. Not all courses are big hits…the veal tartar (uncooked, ground veal with a raw egg and some onion and spices added) was not a huge hit with all the guests.

Still - it was fun to watch and kind of surprised they haven’t stolen this idea for a reality show in the US, what with the writer’s strike and all…

2

There’s a British version of this show (or the original, I don’t know) that they show sometimes. Sounds pretty much the same thing. I can’t remember what it’s called, though.

Half the fun is the cattiness, especially with some of the people who are very competitive. But it’s a pretty good show, and I pretty much hate all foodie shows.

3

The British version is “Come Dine With Me”
It’s quite entertaining.

4

I beelieve, that there is also an American version of this show. I forget what it is called, but I believe it is already in syndication or reruns.

5

I like that show! However, I mainly watch the “celebrity” version (“celebrity” as these are back-of-the-alphabet-listed celebrities). With the regular version, they have one contestant per day, and I usually miss one or two or the judging which makes it less fun.

The celebrity version is on every Sunday and they only have four contestants, but show them all in one extended show, with the judging at the very end. Plus, you get to see how much being an Z-list celebrity pays by checking out their apartments (though there was a rumor that one broke celebrity got their “house” given to them by the producers as their real apartment was too small).