I love food shows. From high brow styles to Netflix‘s Chef’s Table to Food Network reruns of Chopped and almost everything from Anthony BourdainTV repertoire (even the underrated ABC competition series The Taste), it’s a sure bet that if programs like this, I stop watching everything.

I have to admit, though, food shows – for the most part – can be a formula for the mind. On one side of the spectrum, you’ll find a host who travels to exotic places to explore a country’s culture and cuisine. On the other side, amateur cooks compete for a prize while a table of judges waits to decide their fate.

I’m always on the lookout for something that disrupts the status quo and requires major changes. Hoo golly, have I discovered a cooking show that ticks all the boxes, and then some?

Just a Dash started in 2019 as a YouTube cooking show hosted by Matty Matheson. Before he became known as an Emmy-winning producer of The Bearwhere he also stars as the lovable underdog Neil Fak, he’s made a name for himself as the internet’s gonzo chef.

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Matheson’s unique cooking series operates on a simple premise in its first two seasons: Matty stands in his small kitchen behind a small, but powerful kitchen island and makes food in a “throw everything in a pot and see what happens” style. Remember, the person has experience to back up this instinctive approach. He was the executive chef at Toronto’s Parks & Labor restaurant before launching his own restaurants, Matty’s Patty’s Burger Club and Prime Seafood Palace.

When the Bear took off, Just a Dash entered a long hiatus. Now, the show is back with a bigger budget, and in season 3, it’s turned into a messy cooking roadshow. It’s a deliciously whimsical culinary program that feels more like avant-garde performance art than anything educational.

Each episode is roughly 15 minutes long. I enjoyed the whole season in one afternoon.

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There’s a simple Jackass-style reality show vibe to the series. The opening episode finds Matheson in his new home, arguing with his wife, Trish, while the production crew shoots everything from a distance. He refused to let them in to cause trouble. So, they stayed outside, catching everything through the open window, while Matty made a giant – and I mean, humongous – breakfast burrito.

Operating on the basis of Trish, Matty takes his crew and Bear partner Ricky Staffieri (he plays Theodore Fak in the series) on the road, where he cooks meals in the most dangerous and funny situations. One episode finds him in a moving RV cooking steak and shrimp with a trailer oven — something you should never do, for various safety reasons. And another, aptly titled Claw and Order, has him, producer Michelle Rabin and Staffieri playing overworked detectives in a smoke-filled police precinct.

The police drama unfolds in a silly way, as Mattheson cooks crab risotto for the camera.

Mattheson’s goofy, good-natured, f-bomb-dropping persona keeps the show charming, though I admit it’s an acquired taste, especially for those unfamiliar with the Canadian chef-turned-Emmy winner. As such, the dynamic between him and Staffieri continues the comedic fun they first established together in the kitchen scenes of The Bear.

In fact, Mattheson’s interactions with everyone involved in the production are delightful, and you can see that, through all the performative dysfunctions, he really cares about what he’s doing and the people he’s doing. His side looked at the camera, giving me big Andy Dwyer vibesjust wrapped up in his lovable man-child demeanor.

The added will-they, won’t-they between him and Rabin adds a surprisingly heartfelt line to these episodes that keep it going.

Just a Dash is not a show that should teach you how to make a recipe, unless you want to try to connect a hot plate to the tray in front of you on a plane with the intention of cooking deviled eggs and bacon. I suggest you don’t; that’s illegal. That being said, if you put a camera in front of a culinary maverick hellbent on doing that exact thing, I guarantee you I’ll look at the finished product.

Only One Dash continues to surprise me with its mix of cringe comedy and cinema-verité drama, and the only thing I’m disappointed about is that there aren’t any new episodes to hide. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating: Food movies are my proverbial comfort food, and I’m happy to say I’ve found a new favorite.