Snackmasters (2019– ) User Reviews

I like Fred and the concept

[johan-hillnas · 7/10 · 7 April 2022]

Only seen first episode yet, so this review will be updated later... Fred is an old favorite with his wondeful energy and french accent. Nobody can say "wafer pattern" like him :D

The Kit Kat challenge was fun :)

The so called comedian girl was totally bland though, shame when England have so much wit otherwise.

Squandered Potential

[smetin · 6/10 · 24 April 2021]

The idea of this show is great - for big-time chefs to try and mimic the foods we see everyday in fast food outlets and the supermarkets. However, it is let down by a combination of the incorrect casting of a presenter and the general format. The presenter is likable but it seems like he is forced to saw/do a lot of the things and it just does not feel natural.

On the topic of the format, the first 10 minutes of the show is the 'big reveal' of the week's item to replicate. 10 minutes. That is 20% of the show's entire runtime. This should have been 4-5 mins of content, but it feels dragged out. The next 25mins are where we see the chefs try to replicate the item in their kitchen. I enjoyed this part, but it is ruined again by the presenter making visits that again do not feel natural. It just felt so artificial. Interweaved in this, we see how the items are actualy made in the factories/kitchens and I loved this insight. This was the better parts of the show. The presenter here felt more in-place and she was very relatable. Good job here. I just wish it had more showtime, which could have been resolved by shaving the first 10mins of the episode.

The final part of the episode is where we see the chefs replicate the item and present it to the judges, who are industry experts that we have seen throughout the episode. This is the best part, but rather than it being an 'all-round' winner, I think something along the lines of points (e.g. Look, texture, taste etc.) would have given us a better understanding as to why the winning chef wins. A couple of episodes gave a real surprise as to the winner, since the judges gave a real leaning towards a chef who subsenquently lost.

All in all, a great concept. However, a combination of poor casting and organisation means that the execution was less than ideal.

Fascinating insight

[beverleyhunniford · 9/10 · 11 April 2021]

It's a shame they only run 3 episodes at a time. I've only seen the first 3, but loved them.

The programme has two elements. There is the challenge delivered to two professional chefs to reproduce the episodes featured snack. While the chefs and their kitchens work out the recipe and method, we are shown the actual manufacturing processes behind the snacks, although the recipes lack the details of the guarded secret ingredients.

It's very entertaining to see professional chefs try to reproduce our favourite snack foods, they are so competitive, the lengths they'll go to to win the challenge. I will now go on the hunt for the episodes I didn't know existed.

An interesting premise ruined by an interfering host

[Michael-96 · 4/10 · 11 January 2021]

The basic premise of this program is good, but the execution is pretty awful. Not only is it plagued by the constant repetition to pad for time that's common of its ilk, and prone to wildly overhyping the mildest of "dramatic" moments, but the guest chefs by and large aren't allowed to stray far from the actual recipe, let alone to fail. If they differ from the recipe and one chef takes a lead over the other, the busybody host Fred Sirieix will immediately dive in to correct them.

Realistically, he might just as well hand them the recipes at the start of each episode. And this trend is at its worst in the Domino's Pizza episode, where immediately before cooking their final efforts, the chefs are directly shown what the actual techniques are *prior* to cooking their versions, and allowed to integrate that information -- right down to the exact oven temperatures -- into their own efforts. The net result is that this show ends up being a relatively boring, predictable waste of time. Disappointing.

Ok, but ruined by the 'presenter'

[ianay-92589 · 5/10 · 27 April 2021]

The first 15 mins of these shows should be 5 mins maximum, introducing the chefs and what they are going to attempt to 'recreate' then add to that the fact that the presenters English need subtitles to decipher what he's actually saying. A good idea but far too drawn out and get rid of that presenter, he comes close to ruining it entirely.

A glorified advert...

[michbissy-79037 · 1/10 · 12 December 2022]

...For each of the junk food creations.

Terrible execution too. I watched one all the way through and that was enough. It wasn't even properly blind tasted.

Just a glorified junk food advert...For each of the junk food creations.

Terrible execution too. I watched one all the way through and that was enough. It wasn't even properly blind tasted.

Just a glorified junk food advert...For each of the junk food creations.

Terrible execution too. I watched one all the way through and that was enough. It wasn't even properly blind tasted.

Just a glorified junk food advert...For each of the junk food creations.

Terrible execution too. I watched one all the way through and that was enough. It wasn't even properly blind tasted.

Great show great concept ruined by fred

[chrisrowexxx · 4/10 · 14 May 2021]

Greer show, concept and really interesting but ruined by the awful Jayde and Fred who is only tolerable in small doses. His quest to make fake tension like these successful chefs value a trophy is ludicrous, get a better host and fact finder and this would be good tv.

Presentation ruins it

[Undutchable1939 · 2/10 · 12 May 2021]

Great idea for a show, it's fascinating and fun to see chefs try and recreate snacks.

But the presentation just totally ruins it and makes it unwatchable, for me anyway.

The presenter is not very interesting, funny or charming, the comedian is horribly unfunny and the script is just painful.

If you cut all that out of the show you end up with 20 minutes of something really interesting and amusing.