Do you like to relax watching people bake? Is this a calming experience for you? Well, you should watch “Nailed It!” But not for those reasons.
Three amateur chefs go head-to-head in a two-round baking showdown on Netflix’s “Nailed It!” Host and comedian Nicole Buyer, accompanied by professional French pastry-chef Jacques Torres, takes viewers through the experience of attempting something that is simply too difficult. In each episode, three new chefs are tasked with replicating culinary masterpieces with nothing but the materials, recipes, and insufficient time for even a trained chef.
These tasks vary from a cake made by the famous Sylvia Weinstock to an edible scene from Dr. Seuss. Each objective is known for its decorations which would even challenge a professional. These designs then go onto a cake that is statistically unlikely to be properly baked. One woman, nicknamed “dingleberry Dana,” (by herself, on the way to the pantry searching for vodka) forgot so many cake ingredients that she opened the oven and found an omelet. Note: she had found the vodka.
“Nailed it!” shouts each contestant as their result is revealed to judges. Nine times out of 10, though, you will not be able to hear the “it!” over the cackling of Byer and company. “Hope you guys enjoyed it?” asked contestant Jason, his hopes dwindling. Promptly, he received Byer’s response. “Nobody did,” (s.2 ep.5).
I could go on and on about wacky stories like those of Dana and Jason, but you can watch and discover them yourself. I am reviewing this show because of all it offers.
It is so often that we see tense, cutthroat competitions where trained chefs scramble to achieve culinary perfection. This is not “Nailed It!” The show instead offers tense competition, yet it is not in any way serious. The participants are having fun, and the judges are too. Contestants enter this show knowing they will not do well, so there is substantially less pressure than in any other show, such as those containing Gordon Ramsay. Though we do love him, Ramsay does not need to be on every cooking show.
I also love this show because it makes everyone feel welcome. It can be hard to relate, watching “Masterchef,” for I do not know the intricacies of a raspberry soufflé. But I can tell you that one must not forget the butter if it is in the recipe. It is thusly that I feel as though I fit into the environment of “Nailed It!” It’s almost as though the kitchen has been deflated of the stuffy, anxious atmospheres of many Food Network competitions.
There is a generally hard-to-capture magic about this show, the feeling that the contestants are fully aware and okay with the fact that you will be laughing at them. Usually, I feel so bad laughing at people who have tried their best, but “Nailed It!” participants know very well that what they are doing is funny. They are inviting you to laugh at them! How rare is that today?
Finally, I write this article now because I think that a little bit of “Nailed It!” is what we could all use. The television is a tool that can be used for important stuff, and all other stuff. But recently, I have found myself glued to the important stuff, knowing that more depressing news will come along, each hour after the next.
And, while it is ideal that everyone is getting involved in the important stuff, it is draining switching from the news to a talk show (where the host urges you to become socially active) to social media, where everyone is suddenly, constantly, socially active. It is tiring trying to solve every other social issue every other day!
“Nailed It!” does not do this, nor will it ever come close. We have begun to need places where we can escape important issues, even if for an hour, even if to laugh at drunk dingleberry Dana’s omelet.
“Nailed It!” is the right show for you because it has everything you need. It transports you to a world of perfect imperfections, where mistakes are accepted and warmly expected. Watch “Nailed It!” because you need a break sometimes. We all could use this break right now.
