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Snack vs Chef, Netflix's latest cooking competition, will see 12 chefs going head-to-head to recreate and reinvent classic, widely-loved snacks. Be it whipping up originals or recreating popular snacks, by the end, the chef who comes out on top will walk away with the grand prize of $50,000.
Comedians Megan Stalter and Hari Kondabolu will serve as the hosts for the upcoming show. Stalter is an American comedian who was deemed "sketch comedy's newest star" by the New York Times in 2020.
Hari Kondabolu, Stalter's co-host, is a 35-year-old Indian-American comedian, writer, and podcaster who made a name for himself by bringing attention to political issues in America.
Kondabolu and Stalter will be seen hosting Snack vs Chef, which is all set to arrive on Netflix on November 30, 2022. The official synopsis for the same reads:
"Hosted by comedians Megan Stalter and Hari Kondabolu, this new food competition sees 12 chefs go head-to-head in the ultimate snack showdown. Not only must they recreate some of the world's most iconic snacks, they'll also be challenged to invent their own original snacks inspired by beloved classics. Only one will prevail and claim the $50,000 prize."
Meet Hari Kondabolu, the political comic set to host Snack vs Chef
The host of Snack vs Chef was born to Telugu parents and graduated from Bowdoin College with a Bachelor’s degree in Comparative Politics. He later earned a Master's degree in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2008.
Kondabolu credits Seattle's Bumbershoot Music and Arts Festival his "big break." In 2006, he worked for the festival as a booker for HBO's Comedy Festival.
He has since appeared as a stand-up comic on numerous television shows, key among them being Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2007, Conan in 2012, The Late Show with David Letterman in 2014, and John Oliver's New York Stand-Up Show in 2010 and 2012. He also had his own special on a 2011 episode of Comedy Central Presents.
Kondabolu's 2018 Netflix special, Warn Your Relatives, was called "incisively funny" and “formally adventurous” by the New York Times. The special reflects on the comedian's refusal to tone down his ideology and beliefs.
In it, the Snack vs Chef host spoke about his culture and heritage, and covered issues such as racial profiling, terrorism, and mass shootings in America.
The show was filmed in front of a live audience of 800 people and was included in “The Best” list of many publications including Time, Paste Magazine, Cosmopolitan, E! Online, and Mashable.
His 2017 documentary, The Problem with Apu, called out the problematic representation of South Asians in the long-running show, The Simpsons.
The documentary saw inputs from various South Asian artists such as Kal Penn, Aziz Ansari, and Aasif Mandvi, who spoke of the lack of representation in the industry. As a result of the documentary, Hank Azaria, the voice of Apu, was willing to take a step back from the role to allow it to be more inclusive.
Hari is also a part of The Untitled Kondabulu Brothers podcast, which features his younger brother Ashok. He also co-hosted Politically Reactive with W. Kamau Bell.
The Snack vs Chef host has released two comedy albums so far - Waiting for 2042, and Mainstream American Comic, with indie rock label Rock Stars.
He was deemed “one of the most exciting political comics in stand up today" by the NY Times. Despite his acclaim as a political comic, however, Kondabolu does not believe that his jokes are politically driven, and claims that he has "always hated being called political, because it separates the things that I’m talking about from everyday things."
Hari is now set to serve as one of the hosts of Snack vs Chef alongside fellow comedian Megan Stalter, who hails from Ohio.
Tune in on Wednesday, November 30 to see what happens when the cooking competition airs on Netflix.
