Your State’s Favorite Food/Cooking Show (Map)

What foodie fare does your state love to binge-watch? Let’s find out.

Craving a little foodie TV? You’re not alone. The entire nation has a taste for shows that cook up all manner of fare from the sweet and savory to the strange and scientific. Come take a culinary tour of America that shows the true flavors of each state with our map of favorite food shows. We ascertained each state’s favorite indulgence by analyzing the top 100 food and cooking shows and cross-referencing it with data from Google Trends from the past year. Our team stirred the numbers, baked them at 350, and pulled out a range of delicious data on all things foodie, state by state.

State	Top Show
Alabama	Food Fighters
Alaska	Cutthroat Kitchen
Arizona	Bar Rescue
Arkansas	Top Chef Masters
California	Made in Spain
Colorado	Emeril Green
Connecticut	Barefoot Contessa
Delaware	Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution
District of Columbia	DC Cupcakes
Florida	Top Secret Recipe
Georgia	Food Detectives
Hawaii	Diners, Drive-ins and Dives
Idaho	Next Great Baker
Illinois	Mexico: One Plate At A Time
Indiana	Unwrapped
Iowa	Martha Bakes
Kansas	My Kitchen Rules
Kentucky	Unwrapped
Louisiana	Emeril Live
Maine	Kitchen Nightmares
Maryland	Spain … On the Road Again
Massachusetts	America’s Test Kitchen
Michigan	The F Word
Minnesota	Hell’s Kitchen
Mississippi	30 Minute Meals
Missouri	Cook Yourself Thin
Montana	The Wild Within
Nebraska	BBQ Pitmasters
Nevada	Man v. Food
New Hampshire	The Chew
New Jersey	Cake Boss
New Mexico	Giada at Home
New York	Baking with Julia
North Carolina	Martha Bakes
North Dakota	The Next Iron Chef
Ohio	The F Word
Oklahoma	The Pioneer Woman
Oregon	Come Dine with Me
Pennsylvania	Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares
Rhode Island	America’s Test Kitchen
South Carolina	The Next Food Network Star
South Dakota	Chopped
Tennessee	The Next Food Network Star
Texas	Top Secret Recipe
Utah	Cupcake Wars
Vermont	Ace of Cakes
Virginia	The F Word
Washington	The Layover
West Virginia	Hotel Hell
Wisconsin	Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre World
Wyoming	Worst Cooks in America

 

Taste of Home

You’ll notice that folks love to serve up a side of TV that reflects their hometown. Whether it’s because we enjoy hearing homespun accents or seeing places we recognize, it’s obvious many states have a taste for the familiar:

• Connecticut natives adore Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten, who whips up meals for her husband Jeffrey in their house in the Hamptons.
• Louisianans welcome Cajun cuisine with a kick from their hometown hero, Emeril Lagasse, who hosted Emeril Live.
• Locals in Massachusetts and Rhode Island both prefer fare whipped up in America’s Test Kitchen, filmed just outside of Boston.
• District of Columbia residents satisfy their sweet tooths by watching DC Cupcakes, starring sisters from Georgetown.
• New Jersey faithfuls bake it like a boss with Buddy Valastro, a New Jersey native who hosts the reality show Cake Boss.
• Folks in Indiana devour facts about junk food on Unwrapped, hosted by native Hoosier Marc Summers.

Regional Flavor

Some regions of the United States lean toward certain types of cuisine when it comes to their favorite cooking shows. These states have viewing habits that partner together to create regional trends of foodie flavor.

The Mountainous West

Idaho and Utah have a sweet tooth that can only be satisfied by the Next Great Baker and Cupcake Wars.

The Gulf Coast

Florida and Texas like to mimic each other with Top Secret Recipes, a show that cooks up copycat recipes from some of our favorite restaurant eats.

North Atlantic

Maine and Pennsylvania are caught in Kitchen Nightmares together, where chef Gordon Ramsay presides over a reality shows designed to rescue failing restaurants.

The Midwest

Kentucky and Indiana like to chow down on the facts behind junk food on Unwrapped, a show that blends science, food, and an unbearable craving for French fries.

The South

South Carolina and Tennessee are obsessed with discovering the next Food Network Star, a reality show that has put forth icons of future foodie fame like Guy Fieri and Nathan Lyon.

Cooking up a Cliché

A few states have definitely crossed into stereotype territory with their favorite TV fodder. Cooking TV in these locales seems to sum up a regional cliché:

• Alaskans’ taste for Cutthroat Kitchen reminds us that in the wilderness, it’s all about survival of the fittest.
• Circle up the wagons round the TV! Oklahoma locals get folksy flavor with The Pioneer Woman.
• Montanans have discovered a craving for The Wild Within that mirrors the wide, open spaces of this home state.
• Locals in California’s wine country gets inspiration from the wine, travel and tapas featured on Made in Spain.
• Missouri is one of the top 10 states for obesity in America, so it’s no surprise residents there are binging on Cook Yourself Thin.
• Does Wyoming have the Worst Cooks in America? Several major publications agree the state is at the bottom of the barrel when it comes to quality cuisine.

Curious to find out your state’s other favorite TV shows? Check out your state’s favorite TV show and your state’s favorite reality TV show.