Glutton for Punishment

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Glutton for Punishment
GenreFood reality television
Created byBob Blumer
Aynsley Vogel
Presented byBob Blumer
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes59
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companyPaperny Films
Original release
NetworkFood Network
Release10 July 2007 (2007-07-10) –
14 February 2011 (2011-02-14)

Glutton for Punishment is a program on Food Network hosted by Bob Blumer[1] and produced by Paperny Entertainment. The show features the host competing in various daunting, food-related challenges. He is given five days to become proficient enough in the episode's featured specialty, then his newly acquired skills are put to the test by matching him up against champions and experts in the field. In several competitions, Bob Blumer surprises by qualifying ahead of many pros—and he sometimes even wins. When he is not doing so well, he acknowledges the difficulty he has, often with self-deprecating humour. Bob recently broke the Guinness world record for the largest bowl of salsa at the Jacksonville, Texas, 26th Tomato Fest on June 12, 2010. The final bowl weighed in at 2,672 pounds. The feat was filmed for Season 5 of "Glutton," during which Bob attempted to break six world's records.[2]

Episodes[edit]

Season 1[edit]

# Title: Description:
01 "NYC Waiters' Race" Bob Blumer gets a crash course in waiting tables at a busy brasserie in New York City.
02 "Flair bartending" Bob Blumer trains in the dazzling art of flair bartending.
03 "Médoc Marathon" Bob Blumer participates in the Médoc Marathon in France's Bordeaux region.
04 "Oyster Shuck-Off" Bob Blumer learns the technique of oyster shucking and travels to the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Virginia to enter the Oyster Shucking Competition. His challenge is to crash the world of elite shuckers and become a contender in just one week.
05 "Benihana Chef" Bob Blumer takes the heat as he trains to become a full-fledged teppanyaki chef at Toronto's Benihana restaurant.
06 "Barista Competition" Bob Blumer's challenge is to immerse himself in the world of coffee by entering the Canadian National Barista Championships.
07 "Hatch chile Festival" Bob Blumer's challenge is to prove that he can really take the heat by entering the Hatch, N.M. hot chile eating contest.
08 "Tour de France" Bob Blumer trains with a veteran of the Tour de France and will attempt to conquer one of the most mythical and challenging sections of the Tour.
09 "Kansas City BBQ Competition" Bob Blumer's challenge is to lead his own team in the Open Competition at a Kansas City BBQ Cookoff.
10 "Riesling Harvest" Bob Blumer's challenge is assisting in the harvest of 17 acres (69,000 m2) of precious grapes, for a maker of fine German Rieslings.
11 "Guinness Diet" Bob Blumer travels to Dublin, where his challenge is to live on Guinness alone for 5 full days.
12 "Noodle Pulling" Bob Blumer faces his toughest challenge yet: mastering the lost art of making hand-pulled noodles. He will have just one week to learn this complex technique, which most chefs take years to master.
13 "Breakfast Line Cook" Bob Blumer's challenge is to make it into the tight knit ranks of the kitchen as a breakfast line cook.

Season 2[edit]

# Title: Description:
01 "Haggis Hurling" Bob Blumer's challenge is to travel to Scotland and try his hand at haggis hurling.
02 "Honey Bee" Bob Blumer travels to Oregon to learn the art of beekeeping. At the end of the week, he has to show what he has learned when he enters the Beekeepers Games.
03 "Cheese Rolling" Bob Blumer's challenge is to travel to Gloucester, England to compete in the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake competition.
04 "Okie Noodling" Bob Blumer's challenge is to travel to Oklahoma to catch catfish with his bare hands.
05 "Fried Egg/Sidewalk Chef" Bob Blumer's challenge is to travel to the Mojave Desert where he has 15 minutes to cook an egg using only solar power.
06 "Garlic Braiding" Bob Blumer is off to Arleux, France, garlic capital of the world, to enter in a garlic-braiding contest.
07 "Watermelon Seed Spitting" Bob Blumer's challenge is to travel to Hope, Arkansas and challenge past champions at spitting watermelon seeds on the back of a flatbed truck.
08 "New York Street Vendor" Bob Blumer attempts to master the cooking duties before taking over a food cart business at the busy New York City intersection of 40th Street and 8th Avenue for a grueling 12-hour shift.
09 "Pike's Market" Bob Blumer takes part in tossing salmon with the fishmongers at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle.
10 "Pumpkin Regatta" Bob Blumer takes part in a race to paddle a hollowed-out, giant pumpkin across a lake.
11 "Corn Husking" Bob Blumer heads to Dell Rapids, South Dakota to compete against America's best cornhuskers at the National Cornhusking Competition.
12 "Perfect Steak" Bob Blumer's challenge is to learn how to cook the perfect steak, then become the head grill master at Bohanan's Prime Steaks & Seafood in San Antonio.
13 "Fugu (Fish)" Bob Blumer travels to Osaka, Japan to prepare and eat his own Fugu.

Season 3[edit]

# Title: Description:
01 "Guinness Book of Records" At the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Bob Blumer's challenge is to break the Guinness World Record for the most pancakes made in one hour.
02 "One-Man Band" In Paris, Bob Blumer's challenge is to run an entire 16-seat restaurant by himself.
03 "Lobster Banding" At the Pictou County Lobster Carnival in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Bob Blumer's challenge is to win the Lobster Banding Contest.
04 "World Pizza Cup" In Naples, Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete for the coveted title of World's Best Pizza-Tosser.
05 "Morel Mushrooms" In a burnt forest in northern British Columbia, Bob Blumer's challenge is to pick the heaviest load of morel mushrooms in a friendly competition.
06 "Deep Fried Competition" At the L.A. County Fair, Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete in the Fair's Deep Fry Contest.
07 "Sea Urchins" On Vancouver Island, Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete in a sea urchin harvesting race.
08 "Hot Sauce Judging" At the Austin Hot Sauce Festival in Austin, Texas, Bob Blumer will become one of the official judges.
09 "Pie Baking" Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete in the Shelburne Orchard's Annual Apple Pie Baking contest in Vermont.
10 "Pasta Cook" Bob Blumer's challenge is to survive on the line on a busy Friday night at the Mia Francesca restaurant in Chicago.
11 "Grape Stomp" At the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in Santa Rosa, California, Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete in the World Grape Stomp.
12 "Coffee Picking" In Kona, Hawaii, Bob Blumer's challenge is to compete in the annual Coffee Picking Contest.
13 "Navy Head Cook" Bob Blumer's challenge is to work in the galley of a Navy ship.

Season 4[edit]

# Title: Description: Air Date:
01 "Kung-Fu Tea Challenge" Bob Blumer's challenge is to master a special Kung-fu tea ceremony and then perform it for a tough panel of judges at the Tai Ji Tea House in Hangzhou, China. 2010-01-18 January 18, 2010
02 "Nettle Eating" Bob Blumer participates in the Stinging Nettle Eating Competition in Dorset, England. 2010-01-04 January 4, 2010
03 "Sushi Masters" Bob Blumer will go head-to-head against a seasoned group of sushi chefs in the Sushi Masters Competition in San Diego. 2010-02-01 February 1, 2010
04 "Goat Milking" Bob Blumer competes at the Mason-Dixon Fair's goat milking competition in Delta, Pennsylvania. 2010-01-11 January 11, 2010
05 "Slice and Dice" Bob Blumer competes against culinary professionals in a Knife Skills Competition at Kendall Culinary College in Chicago. 2010-02-08 February 8, 2010
06 "Ice Cream Making" At the Austin Ice Cream Festival, Bob Blumer competes in the homemade ice cream making contest. 2010-01-25 January 25, 2010
07 "Potato Peeling" Bob Blumer strives to be the fastest at the annual Potato Days Peeling Contest in Barnesville, Minnesota. 2010-02-22 February 22, 2010
08 "Chinese Dumpling" Bob Blumer goes head-to-head against Dim Sum Pros in a Dumpling Making Competition at the Night Market in Richmond, BC. 2010-03-01 March 1, 2010
09 "Bagel Roll-off" Bob Blumer takes part in a challenge to hand-roll 44 perfect bagels in just five short minutes at the famous St-Viateur Bagel Bakery in Montreal. 2010-02-15 February 15, 2010
10 "Coconut Husking" Bob Blumer competes in the 13th Annual Coconut Festival in Kapaa, Hawaii. 2010-03-08 March 8, 2010
11 "Gumbo Cook-off" Bob Blumer is put to the test to see if he has what it takes to win the Gumbo cook-off in New Iberia, Louisiana. 2010-03-22 March 22, 2010
12 "Edible Car" Bob Blumer is pitted against elite engineering students in the Edible Car Competition at Brown University in Rhode Island. 2010-03-15 March 15, 2010
13 "Chocolate Fashion Show" Bob Blumer enters his unique wearable chocolate creation into a Chocolate Hat Fashion Show in the Salon Passion Chocolat & de la Gourmandise in Montreal. 2010-03-29 March 29, 2010

Season 5 (Record-Breaking Edition)[edit]

Bob will attempt to break Guinness World Records.

# Title: Location: Guinness World Record Attempt: Air Date:
01 "Pizza Making Record" Toronto Most 12-inch pizzas stretched, sauced, cheesed and fired in one hour. 2011-01-03 January 3, 2011
02 "Rice Eating Record" Taipei Most rice grains eaten one by one with chopsticks in 3 minutes. 2011-01-10 January 10, 2011
03 "Largest Bowl of Salsa" Jacksonville, Texas Largest bowl of salsa. 2011-01-17 January 17, 2011
04 "Egg Cracking Record" Granby, Quebec Most eggs cracked with one hand in one hour. 2011-01-24 January 24, 2011
05 "Caesar Salad Record" Yuma, Arizona Most table-side Caesar salads made in one hour. 2011-01-31 January 31, 2011
06 "Onion Peeling Record" Walla Walla, Washington Fastest time to peel 50 pounds of onions. 2011-02-14 February 14, 2011
07 "The Best Of" n/a Highlights from the previous five seasons. 2011-02-21 February 14, 2011

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ahearn, Victoria (April 24, 2009). "A glutton for punishment; Television Food Network host risks limbs and life in third season of show". Telegraph-Journal. Saint John, New Brunswick. p. D.13. ProQuest 423328788.
  2. ^ LaFleur, Lauren; Jones, Kevin (June 12, 2010). "'Salsaville' breaks record". Jacksonville Daily Progress. Retrieved September 14, 2017.

External links[edit]