The hubby and I went to see “CHEFS – A Sizzling Kitchen Showdown” last night with 2 of my co-workers. We weren’t originally planning to go, but they kind of coerced me into getting tickets and going with them. We had very low expectations, but figured it would be a night out and silly fun. Turns out it was as we expected: a thinly veiled amateur strip show with no real cooking or food prep. All of it was staged, high school humor aimed at middle-aged housewives who get out of the house once in a blue moon, with their gal pals, for a night of overpriced drinks and mild titillation. Still, it was 5 toned men gyrating in bikinis 20 feet from our seats, so we enjoyed it none the less.  The audience was 95% women (no surprise), including a contingent from The Red Hat Society, but there were also 4 other men in the audience that we assumed were gay, bi or heteroflexible, and another 4 men that appeared to be there as accommodating companions for their female partners. There was a lot of audience participation and, although it was a show clearly meant to appeal to women attracted to men,  it was a pleasant surprise that the cast was inclusive and brought a gay man to the stage to participate in one of the “sexually charged” contests, during which he was flirted with, teased and danced with, by one of the strippers/chefs, just like the women were.

While it was not a show I would have to see again, we enjoyed it more than we thought we would, laughed a lot and had a good time. I’m glad we went.