MUST-WATCH! Netflix’s new series Best Leftovers Ever!: cooking TV that will make you HUNGRY
After a few months of lockdown, you’ve probably seen all the culinary shows on Netflix by now, perhaps even twice. Luckily, Netflix has something new: Best Leftovers Ever! Is it any good? We checked it out for you.
As an avid Netflix watcher, I’ve discovered that all those talent shows contain more or less the same ingredients. A slightly hysterical presenter, contestants who pour their heart and soul into glassblowing, fashion design, baking cupcakes or—in this case—cooking, and a jury that finds all the contestants equally sweet, nice and talented. Everything you’d expect from it is also in Best Leftovers Ever!.
Divine mini taco
In the first episode, the contestants have to turn leftovers into healthy comfort food. Not easy, because cauliflower rice has little to do with comforting your stomach, and nobody is truly happy about yesterday’s avocado stuffed with cottage cheese either. The three aren’t deterred and cheerfully get to work. What does it produce? An Indian curry, a Greek filo pastry filled with all sorts of things, and a mini taco stacked high with all sorts of toppings. Contestant 1 doesn’t get it: his mini taco is divine, but far too small, while comfort food surely means that you eat your fill, at the very least.
https://youtu.be/ynDUVobcieU
Chicken nuggets with gnocchi
The second challenge is spectacular: what can you make with yesterday’s fast food? To begin with, who gets hamburgers, has one left over, and then decides to keep it in the fridge until tomorrow—a highly unrealistic situation. But the contestants aren’t distracted by such details and get to work energetically. The fish fillet sandwich becomes gnocchi with a sauce, the hamburger transforms into pierogi and the chicken nuggets become a sort of crispy topping on—once again—gnocchi.
Weighing the options
Who wins? The jury has to weigh things up extensively, but that mainly consists of listing all the advantages of all three contestants. So it’s completely unclear why Jonathan, the mini-taco man, becomes the winner. But nobody cares, and before you know it, you’re already watching episode two. Final verdict: a perfectly decent series to fall asleep to, or to kill half an hour of spare time with, but don’t expect an exciting No Reservations-style cooking television experience. And just eat your hamburger—don’t try to turn it into pierogi.
