Video: ‘No Kitchen Required’ In New Zealand, ‘When Maori Attack’

Here at Gadling, we’ve been keeping tabs on the new BBC America reality show “No Kitchen Required,” which is taking cooking competitions to new highs (and lows). Battling for fame and glory are award-winning chef Michael Psilakis of New York’s Fish Tag and Kefi; private executive chef Kayne Raymond; and former “Chopped” champ Madison Cowan.

The chefs hunt and gather ingredients to prepare regional cuisine in various locations, including Dominica, Belize, Fiji, Thailand, South Africa, Hawaii, New Mexico and Louisiana. The show is a cross between “Survivor” and “Top Chef,” with a dash of over-the-top, Bear Grylls-style drama thrown in, but it’s all in good fun and provides a fascinating cultural and culinary tour of little known destinations and cuisines.

Here, we have a teaser clip from New Zealand that features the chefs watching a haka, or traditional Maori warrior dance, prior to having the local community judge their respective meals. Here’s hoping they didn’t give anyone food poisoning.


Mark Burnett casting for new adventure travel show

Mark Burnett, the famous television producer responsible for such reality shows as Survivor and The Apprentice, is looking for teams of contestants to compete in a new race that will send them to remote places, where they’ll solve problems and compete in various challenges.

The new show is entitled Expedition Impossible and seems to resemble The Amazing Race, at least on a cursory level. The program will pit teams of three against one another as they race through deserts, up mountains, and across rivers. In all, there will be ten legs to the race, with a new one being revealed each week, as the contestants battle it out for the, as of yet, undisclosed prize.

The casting notice can be read in full by clicking here, but in a nutshell, the three people on each team will need to have the entire month of April free to compete in this race. All competitors must also be 18 years of age or older, be a resident of the United States and hold a valid U.S. passport that is good through the end of 2011.

To be considered for the show, teams will need to send the following information to David 
Polanzak 
at 
dpo.casting@gmail.com:

•
Name,
age,
location 
and 
contact 
info 
for
 all 
three 
(3) 
team 
members

•
Recent 
photo 
of 
all 
3 
team 
members

•
Level 
of 
individual 
and 
team’s 
experience 
with 
competitions/races, 
etc.

•
Brief 
description 
of 
why 
your 
team
 is
 great 
for
 this 
competition 
and 
why
 you 
will
 win

•
Anything 
else 
that 
makes 
your 
team 
memorable 
and 
unique


Expedition Impossible sounds a bit like a project that Burnett produced back in the mid-1990’s called Eco-Challenge, which saw teams of four racing non-stop against one another through a remote course in some of the most challenging environments on the planet. It’s doubtful that this new show will come anywhere close to being as challenging as that race, but it sounds interesting for adventurous travelers looking to compete in a reality television show. I can’t wait to hear more details about the race.

Still traveling on $5-a-day budget, but switch dollars for euros

Back in September of 2005, Adrienne wrote about Leon Logothetis, the ultimate frugal traveler who travels on $5 a day and the kindness of strangers for his show Amazing Adventures of a Nobody. Three and a half years later, he’s still at it, but he traded the $5 dollars for 5 euros for his journey from Paris to Moscow.

In this New York Times Q & A article, Logothetis, talks about his experiences and offers tips.

If reading that it’s possible to travel on just $5 a day gets you feeling excited and ready to sling on a backpack, consider Logothetis’s answer to what you can do on such a modest amount.

“Nothing.”

At least you can’t without help. Logothetis recounts how he has been given places to stay, been fed and offered rides. He’s found Americans particularly generous.

One tip he has for anyone who is relying on others is to not be upset if someone says “no.”

Reading about Leon’s experiences reminded me of my trip to Mali with a Peace Corps friend. We had very little money and wanted to budget most of our cash for the journey to Timbuktu. One night in Mopti, we slept at a guest house on a sheet covered mattress out on the balcony. Even that cost $1.50 or so, and that was years ago. I remember shining my flashlight of the bathroom, just big enough for the toilet, in order to get the roaches to scurry away. There was a certain thrill from seeing just how little we could spend and how much frugality we could stand. It was kind of fun in a sick sort of way.

The new season of Amazing Adventures of a Nobody airs on Fox Reality Channel starting on January 25.