NBC Cancels One of Its Priciest Reality Shows

It's last orders for Yes Chef!, the cooking competition series hosted by Martha Stewart and José Andrés, which has been cancelled after just one season by NBC.

The network has revealed its official summer slate for shows, including fellow reality shows like American Idol and American Ninja Warrior, but the competition series will not be among them. The first — and now only — season of the show aired from April to June last year.

Yes Chef! "blends the high-stakes thrill of a cooking competition with the raw emotion of personal transformation as it delves into the powerful personalities attracted to the chaotic culinary lifestyle," according to the show's official description. The series sees 12 "highly skilled yet rebellious chefs, who have been nominated by their bosses, co-workers, friends and even family, through the ultimate test and challenges designed to push their pressure points."

Emily Brubaker, a California-based chef, won the grand prize of $250,000 during the series finale, provided by granola brand Purely Elizabeth.  

Deadline, which was the first to report on the series cancellation, stated the show had received stable viewing figures throughout its run. The premiere episode averaged 1.5M, per Nielsen’s live+same day ratings, with a 0.14 in the demo. The series remained relatively consistent across its 10-episode season, per the outlet.

Yes Chef! received pretty pessimistic reviews from viewers and critics, who cited the lack of drama and confusing challenges as hardly edge-of-your-seat entertainment. Additionally, high production costs, with judges Martha Stewart and José Andrés failing to provide star power to the series, proved little profit for the network. With so many cooking shows out there, such as Chopped, Hell's Kitchen, or Masterchef US already in existence and highly popular with viewers, Yes Chef! failed to cook up something special in the kitchen to impress the real judges at home — the audience.