Where do tiny marshmallows come from? How are onion rings made? How did my bubble gum get wrapped so perfectly? Do questions like these keep you up at night? Then you were most likely a fan of Food Network's hit show Unwrapped. Unwrapped uncovered all the secrets of classic American food.
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Unwrapped debuted on The Food Network in June of 2001. This June will be the 20th anniversary of this show that ran for 10 years. Hosted by Marc Summers, this popular show took us behind the scenes in cupcake factories and foodie dives where all our favorite munchies were made. The episodes always had a theme like super-sized food, birthday party treats, or all things spicy.
Fans of Unwrapped learned more than they ever wanted to know about the history and production of potato chips, onion rings, candy canes, breakfast cereal, Cracker Jacks, and TV dinners. From peanut butter to southern biscuits, every possible munchie was tackled.
There were three different production locations including Hershey PA, Orlando FL, and Pueblo CO. The cool retro diner where Marc began every show was actually just a set, not a real place.
There was even a game show version spin-off called Trivia Unwrapped, also hosted by Marc Summers. Fans wanted Unwrapped back on tv after it ended in 2011. Thankfully, Food Network listened. In February 2015, Unwrapped 2.0 began airing hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro.
Unwrapped was in good company on the Food Network leading up to and after the new millennium. My theory is with the Y2K frenzy, everyone was stress eating. So instead of news, we wanted to watch food. There was Good Eats, Iron Chef, 30 Minute Meals With Rachael Ray, East Meets West With Ming Tsai, and Unwrapped. Later came Giada At Home and The Pioneer Woman.
While Marc Summers is not a chef, his IMDB is loaded with foodie shows. Your kids may recognize him from Nickelodeon's Double Dare, he's also known for producing shows like The Grill Dads, Kitchen Ambush, Restaurant Impossible, and Food Feuds.
Unwrapped was unique for Food Network because it wasn't a traditional cooking or cook-off show. The series ran for 10 years before Food Network pulled the plug.
If you're a youngin' and you missed Unwrapped the first time around on Food Network, it's finally available to watch on Amazon Prime Video. Or Amazon has a great boxed set (Volume 1) of the show in a three-DVD set. Get it here.
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