This morning comes news that network television is joining the ever-expanding (like with our waistlines) genre of food reality TV. Reuters reports that CBS has ordered Beat the Chefs, with Tom Forman (Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Find My Family). The pilot would be the first in the genre for the network, which apparently thinks that some chefs with knives will look good next to their NCIS lineup. (Hey, give Mark Harmon a toque and let Peter Greenaway direct an episode.) The new show would feature amateur cooks preparing family recipes with a staff of family and friends, while professional chefs make their own versions of the same dish. Add judges and a cash prize and you get the picture.

Other networks are joining in too, with NBC's America's Next Great Restaurant coming, as well as MasterChef from Fox. Okay, how about Glenn Beck with a brûlée torch? I'd pay money to hear Padma tell him to pack his knives and go home.

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