Review of Ctrl-Alt-Chicken

It seems like you can’t have an online cooking show without a clear gimmick. You have to either be a child, take adventurous e-mail cooking requests, or be a pauper chef to reach even moderate success on the net, and Ctrl-Alt-Chicken is no different.

As one of the Revision3 network’s online shows, CAC has had multiple, albeit short, seasons since its start in early 2006. Heather Stewart and Alex Albrecht host the cooking comedy show where neither of the two can cook. Heather was a new addition to Revision3’s lineup, but Alex has been co-hosting the channel’s most popular show, Diggnation, since its inception in July 2005.

With how-to videos featuring scripted skits, graphics, and even the occasional animation, Ctrl-Alt-Chicken ranks among the best-edited cooking shows on the web. The purpose of CAC is to show that anyone can follow a recipe if he or she tries, so sometimes

the hosts hit their mark and sometimes they don’t.

Episodes often last 15 to 20 minutes, range from beefstew to Baked Alaska, and consist of the two hosts acting in a variety of short skits, taking e-mail requests, making a few jokes, and getting down to business.   Recipes and directions are also laid out in writing with each episode in case you want to give it a shot at home.

One of the best parts about the shows are the scripted skits, and one of the best scripted skits is in the Manicotti episode. In the “lab,” “Karen” details the history of the tube shaped pasta dish, while the “doctor” recounts his brief stint as an obscure professional diver, which “Karen” suddenly finds incredibly interesting.