"Chef Academy" Review: One Cooking Show Too Many?

You guys know I have nothing but love for everything Bravo. But even my beloved network can occasionally bring us a dud…

“Chef Academy” follows Jean Cristophe Novelli as he brings his chef academy to the US. The first half-hour or so of the show focuses on his tough interview process to find his students. It’s interesting to watch the group get put through their paces. And Novelli is just as charming as his press suggests.

But then the academy begins and things start to fall apart a little as we have to sit through each student making their dish individually. And after dish three it starts to get old…

And without an element of competition you just don’t feel the need to care what they’re putting in their dish.

It looks like future episodes will turn up the heat and I hope that’s the case. But for now I can’t help but wonder if this is just one cooking show too many…

“Chef Academy” premieres Monday, November 16th at 11 p.m. on Bravo…