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I’m a sucker for food shows. One of the styles of high eyebrows NetflixChef’s Table to Food Network is bringing back Chopped and just about everything Anthony BourdainTV repertoire (even ABC’s competition series The Taste), it’s a sure bet that if programs like this came on, I’d stop everything to watch them.
I will admit, though, that food shows – for the most part – can be mind-numbingly formulaic. On one side of the spectrum, you’ll find a host traveling to exotic locations to explore the country’s culture and cuisine. On the other side, amateur chefs compete for a prize while the judges’ table waits to decide their fate.
I’m always looking for something that disrupts the status quo and shakes things up. Oh my goodness, have you discovered a cooking show that meets all of these requirements, and then some?
Just a Dash started in 2019 as a YouTube cooking show hosted by Matty Matheson. Before he was known as an Emmy Award-winning producer Bearin which he also plays lovable underdog Neil Vack, and has been making a name for himself as a gonzo internet chef.
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Matty Matheson and his crew, in the kitchen, behind the scenes of Just a Dash on Netflix.
Matheson’s unique cooking series operated on a simple premise for its first two seasons: Matty stood in his tiny kitchen behind a small but sturdy kitchen island and prepared food in a “throw everything in a pot and see what happens” style. Be careful, the man has the experience to back up this instinctive approach. He was executive chef at Parks and Labor in Toronto before reviving his own restaurants, Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club and Prime Seafood Palace.
As The Bear took off, Just a Dash entered an extended gap. Now, the show is back with a bigger budget, and in season three, it has evolved into a messy cooking show. It’s a strange and delicious cooking show that feels more like avant-garde performance art than anything educational.
Each episode is approximately 15 minutes long. I ruined the entire season in one afternoon.
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There is a primitive Jackass-style reality show style to the series. The opening episode finds Matheson in his new home arguing with his wife, Trish, while the production crew films everything from afar. She refuses to let them in to cause chaos. So, they stay outside, catching it all through an open window, while Matty prepares a giant — and I mean HUGE — breakfast burrito.
Acting on Trish’s side, Matty takes his crew and Bear co-star Ricky Stavieri (who plays Theodore Vack in the series) on the road, cooking meals in the most dangerous and ridiculous situations. One episode finds him in the RV cooking steaks and shrimp with the trailer’s oven — something you should never do, for several safety reasons. In another film, Claw and Order, he and producer Michelle Rabin and Stafieri play exhausted detectives in a smoke-filled police station.
The absurd police drama unfolds as Matheson prepares crab risotto for the camera.
Matheson’s goofy, good-natured character who drops bombs on the series keeps the show appealing, though I admit it can be an acquired taste, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the Canadian chef turned Emmy winner. However, the dynamic between him and Staffieri continues the comedic fun they first established together in the kitchen scenes in The Bear.
In fact, Matheson’s interactions with everyone involved in the production were a delight, and you could see that through all the performative dysfunction, he truly cared about what he was doing and the people he was doing it with. He glanced sideways at the camera, which she gave me Big Andy Dwyer vibesjust summed up his adorable behavior as a man and a child.
The “will-they-won’t-they” between him and Rabin adds a surprisingly heartfelt line to these episodes that keeps them grounded.
Just a Dash isn’t a program that’s necessarily going to teach you how to make a recipe, unless you really want to try to deliver a hot dish to the tray in front of you on a plane with the goal of cooking eggs and bacon. I suggest you don’t do that; This is illegal. However, if I put a camera in front of a maverick chef determined to do exactly that thing, I guarantee I would see the finished product.
Just a Dash has consistently surprised me with its mix of disturbing comedy and realistic cinematic drama, and the only thing I’m disappointed about is the lack of more new episodes to complete. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: food shows are my proverbial comfort food, and I’m happy to say I’ve found a new favorite.