I’ve watched so many episodes of Delicious or Disaster Cooking Show because it’s an interesting watch. Unfortunately, ever since this YouTube cooking show premiered, it’s been the subject of endless controversy.
Having grown up watching Chef Ramsay’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, Delicious or Disaster has high stakes, drama, and all the makings of a good TV show. There is also a lot to learn; for instance, the meaning of “savoury” becomes clear to me through the show. However, the cooking hasn’t been fantastic; none of the contestants have cooked anything that has stuck out to me.
Without much ado, let’s go into the major talking points of the show. 
The Conduct of Chef T
Chef T (Tolani Tayo-Osikoya) is a beloved chef and content creator, popularly known as Diary of a Kitchen Lover. Her persona online is very friendly, but when you watch how she relates to the contestants, you can’t help but wonder why she’s so irritable towards them.
She’s not Gordon Ramsay-level mean, but she snaps at them like you would at a child who doesn’t listen. Chef T makes it known that the show is funded by her, so I wonder if that’s the cause of her irritation. Perhaps, she views the contestants as her staff members who don’t know the job.
However, she did say the show is “Africa’s most brutal cooking show.”
The Contestants and the Judges
Of course, the contestants aren’t saints; they typically forget instructions, break dishes, and reply in obnoxious ways. For example, they are asked to use an ingredient and are defiant about not using it, but snapping at them to the point of the contestant crying isn’t the way to go.
Furthermore, some of the contestants aren’t even chefs but self-proclaimed food enthusiasts, which definitely affects how they cook, interpret the tasks, and even plate the dish.
The matter of the guest judges is a serious one because some of them, especially Opeyemi Famakin and Nons Miraj, were terribly rude and condescending to the contestants.
Nons Miraj asked each contestant to say “Hello baby” to her. That’s so uncouth. She dips her hand into a mixture, wrinkles her nose, and then says it tastes horrible.
Opeyemi Famakin also acts in a similar manner; when he’s not being condescending, he’s pressing his phone. Of course, the question is what gave these people the qualification to judge. Why are skitmakers or content creators judging a cooking show? The only simple explanation is they are doing it as a favour, and Chef T is hoping their clout will attract viewership.
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The Controversy Off-Air
Off-air, many people have called Chef T out for being rude and condescending, and her reply was essentially that it’s her money and she decides how to give it out; then she went on about giving people back the same energy they give to her.
Former contestants have also taken to social media to decry ill-treatment from the producers, including not being given food all day, standing from morning until night, being locked out of the estate, and being forced to clean and mop after they are done.
Final Verdict
The show might be the disaster in this case, as it’s already ruining Chef T’s stellar image. She needs to rethink not only her choice of judges but also her choice of contestants, and no matter how irritated they are making her, she doesn’t need to lash out at them.
Chef T IS not as affable as Chef Gordon Ramsay, who once asked a contestant to put two loaves on each side of her head and call herself an “idiot sandwich”, and everyone forgave him for it.
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