Food Network doesn’t like to reinvent the wheel, which explains its newest show Chopped Canada. Obviously, the show’s Chopped with Canadians. There’s nothing wrong with that. Canada deserves programming it can call its own and Americans should have the opportunity to enjoy it as well. (Seriously, Food Network should import more shows from its Canada and the United Kingdom branches.) However, after watching the Chopped Canada‘s American premiere, I’m not sure if the show is meant for Canadians or Americans with a very narrow view of Canada.

Since the show’s contestants and most of the judges are Canadian, everyone is super nice, except for the egotistical loner chef and the Indian judge with really high standards. While the judges are nice, they aren’t afraid to call the chefs out on their crap. Chef Matt, who was the loner and could’ve been told to act like that, was called out for stealing Chinese noodles from another chef’s station. No one approves of the person that shows poor sportsmanship, but technically doesn’t violate any rules.

The judges also provide the contestants with genuine criticism. For the most part, Chopped Canada‘s judges aren’t different from American Chopped‘s judges. Vikram Vij isn’t mean. He’s just a lot like Scott Conant, which makes him unlikable at times. Then again, competition shows need a person that notices minor flaws because it helps in determining a winner. Sooner or later, Anne Yarymowich, Vikram Vij, and Michael Smith along with the rest of Chopped Canada‘s judges will be household names across both the United States and Canada. They’re different enough from their American counterparts to make the show worth watching.

As with the original Chopped, the Canadian version uses weird ingredients in upscale dishes to throw the chefs off. The premiere challenged the contestants with strawberry milk powder and the ungodly creation called macaroni loaf, which is processed meat with chunks of macaroni. It’s nice to see that everyone finds the same foods gross. There’s also nothing unusual in the kitchen. The kitchen is almost identical to the American one. The only difference is that the Canadian set has a warmer color scheme, which I actually prefer.

The strangest part of Chopped Canada is that Dean McDermott hosts the show, but once you get past the fact that the man best known for being Tori Spelling’s husband hosts the show, you’ll realize that Dean does a good job. He’s not Ted Allen and probably doesn’t have Ted’s knowledge of food, but the man knows how to host a show and isn’t a stranger to the Food Network kitchens. Dean won the second season of Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off.

Food Network tried to make Chopped Canada a carbon copy of Chopped, but, fortunately, it failed, which is what makes the show enjoyable. Either way, I can’t wait until the inevitable crossover between the two versions. It’s something to look forward to.