Ciao House - General Discussion

[Pandora]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

My recollection is that the HHI episode featured more shots of the villa than the entire season of Ciao House.

I don't recall them ever showing the bedrooms, which were rather nice IIRC on the HHI episode.

Instead they showed landscape shots of Tuscany and city shots of Florence.  The villa was near Florence but I think they even showed shots of Val d'Orcia, which is about an hour south.

I wonder if they were cooking every day or they had some time of their own.  They might want to shoot as often as possible so that they don't pay the camera and production crew over a longer stretch of days.  But maybe before or after the shooting schedule they had some time.

Or maybe once they got eliminated, those other chefs were chilling in other parts of the villa or going sightseeing or just hanging out by the pool so that is why they didn't show those different parts of the villa.

I think they showed the bedrooms once, when the baby-purée guy had his back problem and had to leave. But yeah, otherwise, not one shot that I can recall. What a waste of money and resources.
 

I’m thinking they probably did the landscape and Florence shots pre- or post production, when they had more time but didn’t have access to the expensive villa. Which after the House Hunters lead-in, seemed like a natural star of the show.

Honestly looking back at the whole show I can’t figure out what was actually on screen for an hour per show. We saw almost no background of the cheftestants, little of their interaction outside of the game, and little of the villa interior. I guess that leaves the actual cooking along with Alex and said cheftestants tasting food and snarking.
 

It may sound weird but they focused too much on the cooking imo. Especially since the dishes were usually substandard. I’d would’ve liked to see more interactions outside the kitchen, maybe I would have cared about the cheftestants. And more nonnas and local food producers! Those people were awesome!
 

I agree with everybody else, this show could have been great but they really missed the mark. What a shame. It was great to hate-watch, though.

[seacliffsal]

I was one of the viewers who watched this show specifically because of the HHI episode and so was disappointed they didn't show more of the villa.  I think that even in the HHI episode they said the kitchen was really lacking for a competitive kitchen but that they would make appropriate changes to the kitchen to accommodate the contestants-and it didn't seem like they did.  Just a mess of a show.

[40Love]

7 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

  Just a mess of a show.

Perfect description! I hated the whole Survivor/Big Brother vibe of the show. Everything was so arbitrary: "Oh, we're going to do something a little different..." Their shenanigans sometimes unfairly tilted the scale in favor of one team or the other . Ugh! 

The whole capo (sp?) idea was stupid to me. Just let them make their own dishes. 

It's a cooking show... but sure let's allow the weaker chefs to move forward with a little scheming and strategy., rather than skill 

Personally, I didn't care for either of Preston or Cory, but  they shouldn't have been kicked off like they were. 

Natalie's win came out of the blue. But, I'm happy Saba didn't win. She came off as really unlikable. 

 

[candall]

I liked Saba very much.  She was a competent professional.  I thought she was every bit as talented as the Alpha Boys, but she was immediately reduced to sous chef status along with all the other women.

The judging was so manufactured and arbitrary.  They could easily have channeled Saba into the "Superior" stream the same way they did Cory and Preston, with all that capo bullshit.  They just chose not to.

[Passing Strange]

This show had great promise and ended up being a big disappointment. It was criminal not to showcase the natural beauty of the region, the bounty of fresh ingredients, the local experts, and the historic villa. Then there was the ridiculous format that forced people to cook in teams, giving one team the advantage of extra planning time plus the ability to taste and critique their competitors' food. I read an interview in which Natalia said the contestants had been told no one would be eliminated until the end. They only found out the final format when they got to Tuscany. And we never got any details about the prize, like where the winner would travel and what would happen while she was there. Posters here were right, production was making this up as they went along. What a waste of a terrific concept.

7 hours ago, candall said:

The judging was so manufactured and arbitrary.  They could easily have channeled Saba into the "Superior" stream the same way they did Cory and Preston, with all that capo bullshit.  They just chose not to.

I agree about the favoritism toward the Alpha Boys. There have been times when I thought the decision of cooking contest judges didn't jibe with their critiques, but I've never suspected judges of flat out lying. That changed with this show. I think there were times when Alex and Gabe really wanted to do a Gordon Ramsey style spit. Instead they had to pick through an awful dish to find something, anything, good to say just so a favorite would advance. 

[Gramto6]

The only way this show could have been at all fair would have been if only the judges tasted the food at presentation and it was a "blind" tasting. Then after judging they could all have a communal meal with all chefs tasting all the food together. Though that may have been a problem as we don't know the real time-line between cooks/tastes and judgements. But couldn't they have re done any food that didn't hold over?

IDK, something better/fairer could have been done judgement wise...

[seacliffsal]

10 hours ago, candall said:

I liked Saba very much.  She was a competent professional.  I thought she was every bit as talented as the Alpha Boys, but she was immediately reduced to sous chef status along with all the other women.

The judging was so manufactured and arbitrary.  They could easily have channeled Saba into the "Superior" stream the same way they did Cory and Preston, with all that capo bullshit.  They just chose not to.

This so much-the judges kept putting the men in as the 'capos' more often than the women thus putting them in charge of the teams and relegating the others to sous chefs/line cooks.  They did put some of the women in as 'capos' but tapped the men twice (didn't Matt have to do back to back?) with some of them not being a 'capo' at all.  It also put the 'capos' in the spotlight more for elimination the way it was structured.  

[Pine]

Goodness, another watcher due to House Hunters International. 

First time ever watching Food Network, CiaoCiao may be a first and last for me.  What a mess.

[lavenderblue]

First time posting in this thread but I hate-watched the whole season as it happened. It felt obvious with the redemption cookoff that they wanted Preston and Corey for that finale; after that round, it was even more weirdly clear that they really wanted it to be Corey for some reason. I couldn't stand Preston, but based on the critiques his dish seemed to be the only one they really couldn't fault, and it entirely showcased the zucchini. To overlook Corey's flaw (focusing too much on pasta), they could have equally done the same with the cherry tomato garnish or the missing fried eggplant.

So Corey winning out in the head to head, after more arbitrary critiques -- Preston after all could only cook cabbage in the limited time he was given, and Corey's dish once again didn't really focus on his ingredient that well -- made me fear they had plans for his ultimate triumph. The final outcome was confusing from that perspective, unless they're trying to groom him to be a personality which.....good luck with that.

I would also like to note that chef expert superior Corey pronounced bain-marie as "BAYNE-marie."

Anyway, this show was a disaster. Either woman winning would've been okay but my investment was purely "who has annoyed me less than others this season."

 

[buttersister]

Happy First Sunday with no Ciao House for the rest of time!😹

[Westiepeach]

I just read they are filming season 2.

[Salacious Kitty]

7 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

I just read they are filming season 2.

You're kidding. Don't the FN execs look at more than how many people DVRed this? No way this should have been greenlighted for another season. 

[Gramto6]

7 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

I just read they are filming season 2.

Oh no!  Please spare us!  I won't be watching if it is anything like the first season!

[MerBearHou]

19 minutes ago, Westiepeach said:

I just read they are filming season 2.

That sure sounds like competitor-to-the-max Alex G refusing to admit that this show and its concept were a sh*tshow.  She has so much sway with the network that they capitulated to a season two.  Only thing I can figure…

Edited June 11, 2023 by MerBearHou

[aghst]

Well season 1 may have taken place over a couple of weeks, depending on how often they shot.

So maybe they planned to shoot at least a couple of seasons over however long they leased that villa.

[buttersister]

It's Food Network. Went off the rails some time ago.

[Soapy Goddess]

Hopefully, now that season one is over...and maybe they know how much it sucked, they've seen the error of their ways and make some much needed changes.  Alex, if you want to be a judge, then judge!  Don't ask the cheftestants to judge themselves. That never works well towards your ultimate goal/plan.

[Gramto6]

Yeah, the whole "Big Brother" style theme of the show has really got to go! Either the judges judge and eliminate a contestant weekly like the baking shows, or the "cheftestants" all stay and learn and accrue points then the highest at the end are the finalists.

Something different has to be done!

[seacliffsal]

And get a kitchen that works for the number of contestants in the show!

[eclectcmoi]

Yep... for better or for worse, it's been renewed.

 Ciao House Renewed for Season 2

[Gramto6]

20 minutes ago, eclectcmoi said:

Yep... for better or for worse, it's been renewed.

 Ciao House Renewed for Season 2

Well, it sounds like the same format etc..  I won't be watching that is for sure!

Edited June 13, 2023 by Gramto6

[MerBearHou]

Ciao House appears a couple of times on the “worst” options for voting in the PrimeTimer Awards.  It got my vote every time.

[seacliffsal]

If they're keeping the same format, then I hope that all of the contestants are of similar ability levels so there won't be the focused elimination of who is perceived to be stronger cooks.  The Pasta Heiress stayed way too long so that they could vote out tougher competition.

[Cheezwiz]

I am stunned this got renewed. They seriously need to re-vamp the whole concept of the show. As others above have mentioned, either make it like the baking shows, where one contestant is eliminated weekly, or School of Chocolate where everyone stays, but there are finalists at the end. They should NOT be doing the Big Brother thing.They also need a more talented pool of contestants that the audience can care about and root for.

 I really don't want to see Alex back on this series either. I haven't minded her on other cooking shows, but she was an absolute bitch on wheels during this one. Total turn-off.

See y'all in Season 2 for a group hate-watch, I guess! If nothing else I enjoyed the funny commentary from everyone on here.

 

[Gramto6]

Sadly, I have a feeling that Season 2 is already in the can. Probably filmed back to back with Season 1. I can't believe FN would hold on to that estate for more than several months at most. So most likely the same format was followed...ugh!

Not sure I can force myself to actually. watch, but I will be reading the snark here for sure!

[chessiegal]

It wouldn't surprise me if they filmed 2 seasons in a month. How many episodes were there?

[lgandkihei]

Add me to the list of those who think that season two was done back to back with season one.  Logistically, since they rented the villa and had to set up all the assorted technical equipment and such, it makes sense.  Otherwise, I really don't think they'd go through it all over again for what had to be piss-poor ratings.

We can only just hope that the batch of contestants they rounded up for take two weren't nearly as annoying as the first ones. 

And yes, I'm pathetic, but I suppose I'll watch.  Bitching all the while, mind you....😏

[buttersister]

+1 to the double season filming (trying to recall how long Gabe rented the villa for on HHI). So the bad news is they had no viewer feedback and HGTV execs have no taste. I expect the same Alex. Gabe thinking he's hit it big. Random cooks hired for drama. Will not be watching, barely watched any of season 1--anything I did see was awful and made me feel like I was wasting my time. And that's saying something because I watch a lot of TV. But not as much as I did before I discovered YT videos. 😃

[chessiegal]

10 hours ago, buttersister said:

(trying to recall how long Gabe rented the villa for on HHI).

I don't think they said specifically, just that their budget was $50-100K per month. So, once they rented it, they had it for a minimum of 1 month.