This is a good show, but my main issue with it (at least the first season) is that the contestants have no consistency in what level of strategy they are playing with. I assume this is because they did not know this was going to be a game with a strategic element. Perhaps going forward if the contestants are aware of what they are heading into we may see this change.

The result of this was that sometimes there was strategic gameplay, which renders the show frustrating for cooking show fans and that at other times there is a complete lack of strategy, which renders the show frustrating for strategy show fans. As a member of the latter, watching some contestants make decisions that were actively against their best interest because they were trying to be "fair" in a game that has already demonstrated itself not to be fair was incredibly frustrating.

I do think this is a good show, but I think it needs to figure out which side of pure talent vs. strategy show it wants to fall on, because as of now it is sitting in the middle too much to fully appeal to fans of either side. I don't begrudge the show this fully, as the contestants are just put into the format and can play the game however they want. I think the casting department should take careful effort in future seasons to mold the way the game is going to be played.