The 12 Best New Cooking Shows Of 2024, Ranked

Trends come and go, but food and cooking shows will never go out of style. For those of us who love nothing more than watching someone cook delicious food on TV, there's plenty to choose from. From reality cooking competitions and home cooking shows to eye-opening documentaries about noodles and high school regional barbeque competitions, 2024 was an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the newly debuted programs.

Once you've cozied up on the couch with your go-to TV-watching snack, read this guide to the best new cooking shows of 2024 and watch whatever sounds the most delicious. The good news? No matter the type of cooking show you're into, there's bound to be something that will satisfy your craving for beautiful food and binge-worthy television. I can only hope that 2025 comes with more episodes and seasons of these newest shows, or that something completely new and exciting is still to come.

As the queen of the 30-minute meal, it seems only fitting that Rachael Ray would continue sharing her best cooking tips by launching yet another show that shows off her quick and easy recipe style. "Rachael Ray's Meals in Minutes" is filmed in her home kitchen rather than in a studio, making for a more casual and unpolished setting. Each episode shows off two recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare, some even in the single digits.  

Despite this more laid-back approach, one thing that does stand out in each episode is the level of chaos. Looking a tad disheveled, Ray flits about the kitchen while mixing, chopping, and stirring seemingly all at once. Her husband, John M. Cusimano, sits just off camera, waiting for her to ask for his help, or to mix up the end-of-episode cocktail. One Reddit user wrote, "Her cluttered counters are giving me anxiety. I love RR and will watch any of her shows but that kitchen is crazy." Another user noted that her seemingly "simple" meals require several specialty ingredients and spices, which from a time and cost perspective, can really add up.

This show is another great example of Ray's expertise in the weeknight meal space, but it seems to lack any sense of structure, which is why it gets the last-place ranking on this list.

Netflix has essentially taken the popularity of "The Great British Baking Show" and made it Americana, taking the tent out of the lush grounds of Welford Park and dropping it into a Midwest state fair. While nothing quite comes close to the love and admiration we all feel for the Brits in the tent, "Blue Ribbon Baking Championship" is a notable step in that direction.

Hosted by actor Jason Biggs — an almost too-perfect choice — and judged by chef Sandra Lee, baker Bryan Ford, and pastry chef Bill Yosses, "Blue Ribbon Baking Championship" recognizes the artistry of classic fair foods across the country and the home chefs who create them. Each episode has two challenges, with the first one earning the top baker a Judges' Choice ribbon. While this is a fantastic distinction for a baker to earn, it doesn't really seem to help them in the main challenge, which seems rather nonsensical. 

One Reddit user asked, "What's the point of the first challenge if it does nothing to help save you or help you in the main challenge?" I have to agree with this. Why reward a baker for winning a challenge, only to leave them on an equal playing field with the contestants they just beat? Despite this slightly confusing aspect, it's nice to see state fair food getting some well-deserved recognition.

"24 in 24: Last Chef Standing" brings together 24 chefs with the prompt that over the next 24 hours, they will be cooking non-stop. During that time, there will be 24 challenges, and each one comes with a judging session and the potential for elimination. 

This show is a great example of what chef life is really like — a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week job that involves so much more than just standing over a stove. There's a little bit of downtime to take a rest and sip on a cup of coffee, but overall, these chefs are constantly cooking and testing their skills. At the end, one chef walks away with $50,000. Talk about a successful day at work!

This show does come with a lot of chaos and the occasional nail-biting moment, but overall, it's a fun watch. The hosts, chefs Michael Symon and Esther Choi, are great at explaining each challenge and giving the viewer a real behind-the-scenes look at how the show is being created. Additionally, each challenge has a different theme, showing all the different and important elements of chef life. If this is an example of what's to come from Food Network in the future, lovers of cooking shows and high-stakes competition have some great content to look forward to.

We get a lot of cooking shows that take place in restaurants, stadiums, and homes. But do we ever see any in hotel restaurant kitchens? In "Last Bite Hotel," eight chef contestants are brought to a mysterious hotel, taking on challenges in a rather cramped kitchen space. Each chef is allowed to bring any 13 ingredients they can fit into a suitcase trunk. At first, these are the only ingredients the chefs can use; however, as contestants are eliminated, the eliminated chefs' ingredients are made available to those still in the game.

Spookily hosted by Tituss Burgess of "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" fame, "Last Bite Hotel" is a humorous and suspenseful look into a cooking setting that we typically don't get to see. Celebrity chefs "check in" to the hotel as mysterious VIP guests in each episode to judge each cooking challenge, adding an extra layer of surprise.

"Last Bite Hotel" has made the competition not just about the dishes themselves, but also building alliances and friendships in the kitchen. These alliances will end up helping chefs out as eliminations happen and trunk ingredients are put up for grabs. It's an exciting show with just the right level of silliness, yet it still manages to show off the skills of these impressive chefs in an unexpected setting.

If you're not into horror movies, gore, or generally horrific things, "Killer Cakes" may be a bit of a tough watch. Brilliantly hosted by actor Matthew Lillard, one of the (killer) faces of one of the most famous horror movie franchises, this cooking show is a frightening showcase of fantastic and creative cakes and the bakers who specialize in these nightmarish creations. At the end of each competition, the winning team walks away with $20,000 and the Golden Knife trophy. The cakes may look terrifying as they spurt blood and guts, but they are also beyond impressive to watch come to life. 

As an added bonus, the bakers are assisted with the construction of their horror effects by two artists in the field, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Ashley Levy. Judged by Danielle Harris, a horror movie actress, and Nikk Alcaraz, who specializes in peculiar foods and oddities, "Killer Cakes" is a fascinating look at how to combine baking with a specific and unique type of art and engineering. It's also a great example of the fact that not all baked goods are covered in flowers and sunshine. 

"Killer Cakes" ends up being a rather comical juxtaposition between delicious sweet treats and truly disgusting and oozy special effects. And it's one of the many things that make this show such a joy — albeit a gross one — to watch.

Global soul food may not be a cuisine you're familiar with yet, but after watching one episode of "Global Soul Kitchen" with chef Deborah VanTrece, you'll want to know more. VanTrece is a best-selling author who, before getting into cooking, was a flight attendant. Her background in travel combined with her love for cooking makes her culinary insight truly fascinating, and as a result, she combines traditional Southern soul food with influences from around the world. Her dishes are simple and approachable, and combined with her wonderful personality on camera, each episode is a legitimate joy to watch.

One of the best parts of "Global Soul Kitchen" is the pop-up bubbles that happen throughout each dish preparation. While VanTrece goes through the amount of each ingredient and what's happening with that ingredient as she's going, a brightly colored pop-up comes onto the screen in case you may have missed what she said. This not only makes the cooking show more accessible, but it also makes it easy to follow along with VanTrece, whether you're a casual viewer or genuinely trying to cook along with her.

For those in the know, Jake Cohen is a bit of a dinner party celebrity. As a chef and cookbook author (who I also want to be best friends with), "Jake Makes It Easy" is a delight to watch from start to finish. In each episode, Cohen goes through each stage of cooking up a main course and dessert pairing that go well together, whether you're cooking for yourself, a small group, or a dinner party. 

Unlike most cooking shows, Cohen prepares the dishes in the order he believes they should be made, rather than the order they should be served. For example, he starts his first episode by preparing dessert, a beautiful and simple baklava, that can be prepped and baked before guests even show up. Then he moves on to the main dish of spinach and feta boreka rolls that only require a handful of ingredients and are a breeze to throw together.

The best part of "Jake Makes It Easy" is the approachability of it all. Each dish feels elevated without any level of stuffiness or over-complication. As a host, Cohen's personality is bubbly and upbeat and all-around wonderful. He shares important information for the casual home chef, and each episode feels like the viewer is sitting on the other side of his kitchen island, watching him cook while having a chat.

Netflix has leaned all the way into its live broadcasts in 2024, and "Dinner Time Live with David Chang" is one of the more successful fruits of that labor. Hosted by chef and restaurateur David Chang, each live episode features two guests who get to sit across the kitchen counter from Chang as he prepares and cooks a multi-course meal for them. 

The themes and dishes change each week, meaning no two episodes are alike. It almost feels like watching three friends chop it up over a delicious meal that just so happens to be on live TV. The guests really vary, from Chang's celebrity friends to stars he's just meeting for the first time. Because each episode is live, there's a level of excitement throughout. 

Chris Ying, Chang's co-host, sits just off-camera in front of a laptop, chiming in every so often with questions and comments from viewers on social media. While this may seem distracting, it actually ends up being entertaining. As Chang is busy cooking and chatting with his guests, he isn't always talking about the meal, so these moments tend to put the ship back on course. Chang's humorous banter with Ying and his guests keeps things light and interesting, and no matter the level of distraction, the beautiful meal is always the star of the show.

Nadia Caterina Munno, aka "The Pasta Queen," is magnetic. As an Italian-born chef and star on TikTok, Munno has a passion for all things pasta, and it's hard to look away as she smiles, laughs, and "mamma mia's!" her way through the season. During each 30-minute episode, Munno prepares Italian dishes in her home kitchen, going through each ingredient before starting, to ensure you know what goes into each dish. Visually, the show is remarkable, and as far as Munno as a host goes, she's a delight. Humorous and personable, each episode makes you wish you were sitting at her kitchen counter, smelling and tasting every meal she creates.

The best part of "The Pasta Queen" is how it goes so much deeper than just recipe preparation. Each dish has a story. Each ingredient has a purpose. From the simplest of dishes to the more elevated, there's more than meets the eye. That means Munno's traveling to Bari, Italy to go fishing for mussels. Or, perhaps she's sitting with a nonna on the street while she speedily makes orecchiette pasta. Munno may even be teaching her children to make pasta dough in her home kitchen. 

There's an element of tradition and family that works its way into each episode. It's these personal touches that make "The Pasta Queen" such a worthwhile show.

Documentary lovers and barbeque enthusiasts, rejoice: Max's "BBQ High" is a show we can all indulge in. The six-episode series follows teenagers across Texas as they compete in High School BBQ Inc.'s regional American barbecue competitions. The cooking show, and the competitions, culminate in the state championship with a chance to win scholarships to attend the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts. 

In addition, the series zooms in on three specific teams and the lives of a handful of teens from each, showing how barbecue has become a part of their lives as they juggle the woes of high school and teenage life while also thinking about college. Think of this as "Friday Night Lights" meets "Barbecue Showdown." The documentary style of the show allows the teens to tell their stories while also competing, and the food and cooking aspect of it all is highlighted beautifully as ribs and briskets are slow-cooked and smoked, chickens are seasoned, and desserts are baked. 

"BBQ High" is mouth-watering, but it's also a great way to highlight young culinary talent. As a regional cuisine, barbecue doesn't always get national recognition, so it's really nice to see it in this light from the perspective of teenagers who are just starting to realize their passions in life.

When "Chef's Table" originally debuted on Netflix in 2015, it was a step into the world of culinary arts in the most visually stunning way possible. Since then, "Chef's Table" has had a number of spinoffs to highlight specific cuisines — and in 2024, "Chef's Table: Noodles" graced our Netflix queues. Each episode spends time with one chef and their noodle style, from handmade pasta with Evan Funke and Xi'anese hand-pulled noodles with Guirong Wei, to dried pasta with Peppe Guida and Khmer noodles with Nite Yun.

This cooking show's documentary style pulls the viewer into the beautiful and deeply personal stories of each chef, highlighting their talents as well as their backgrounds. Throughout the episode — and at the end, as well — each dish that the chef prepares is highlighted, showing just how artistic and aesthetically pleasing a bowl of noodles can really be. 

"Chef's Table: Noodles" provides two things that I really love when it comes to series about food: hunger and an emotional response. Each episode made me positively ravenous for a giant bowl of noodles, but I also couldn't hold back my tears as Funke walked into a pasta school in Bologna and hugged his former teacher, or when Wei fed the ducks in a pond in London with her young daughter. Watch any and all episodes with your favorite bowl of noodles — and perhaps a box of tissues — at the ready.

It's rare to watch a cooking show that genuinely leaves you on the edge of your seat. With "Culinary Class Wars," Netflix has created that level of suspense and intrigue. The series is in Korean with English subtitles, which you can change to dubbing instead. However, keeping the subtitles on just made me focus on the show even more. And trust me, you won't want to miss a moment.

While not quite as fatal as "Squid Game," the show does have some pretty high stakes. 80 chefs from all walks of life enter the arena and are put into the Black Spoon Class. Then, 20 of the best chefs in Korea and the world enter as the White Spoon Class. Before you know it, only 20 of those 80 Black Spoon chefs remain, as the judges, chefs Ahn Sung-jae and Baek Jong-won, try their dishes. Throughout the 12-episode show, the chefs face off in intense battles, showing off their raw talent. Fierce competition is an understatement.

After the first episode, you're hooked. There's intensity, excitement, and beautiful food being prepared at every turn. This show reveals a hard truth — a chef's jacket and a few Michelin stars don't necessarily make you the best. A pork supplier with a penchant for butchering or a self-taught chef with a passion for comic books can have just as much skill as a fine-dining chef. That equality in the kitchen is a beautiful thing, making "Culinary Class Wars" all the more enjoyable to watch and appreciate.

To put this ranking of 2024's best new cooking shows together, I watched a lot of television. If I hadn't already enjoyed the show in its entirety, I tuned into at least three episodes to make sure I got a good idea of what I was watching and the purpose of each episode. Additionally, I read reviews about each series from online news articles and Reddit, where people have no problem telling the unfiltered truth. I weighed the enjoyment of the hosts, judges, and/or stars of each show, with the overall story and purpose to determine if this is something worth watching to the end or dropping out of after a couple episodes.