Glutton for Punishment is a discontinued 2007–2011 television program on Food Network hosted by Bob Blumer and produced by Paperny Entertainment. The show features the host competing in various daunting, food-related challenges. He is given five days to become proficient enough in the episode's featured specialty, then his newly acquired skills are put to the test by matching him up against champions and experts in the field. In several competitions, Bob Blumer surprises by qualifying ahead of many pros—and he sometimes even wins. When he is not doing so well, he acknowledges the difficulty he has, often with self-deprecating humour.
World record stunt The show features Blumer breaking the Guinness world record for the largest bowl of salsa at the Jacksonville, Texas, 26th Tomato Fest on June 12, 2010. The final bowl weighed in at 2,672 pounds. The feat was filmed for Season 5 of "Glutton", during which Bob attempted to break six world's records.
Episodes
Season 1 # Title: Description:01"NYC Waiters' Race" Blumer waits tables at a busy brasserie in New York City02"Flair bartending"Blumer trains in the art of flair bartending03"Médoc Marathon"Blumer participates in the Médoc Marathon in France's Bordeaux region04"Oyster Shuck-Off" Blumer learns the technique of oyster shucking and travels to the Urbanna Oyster Festival in Virginia to enter the Oyster Shucking Competition05"Benihana Chef" Blumer trains to become a full-fledged teppanyaki chef at Toronto's Benihana restaurant06"Barista Competition" Blumer enters the Canadian National Barista Championships07"Hatch chile Festival" Blumer enters the Hatch, New Mexico, hot chile eating contest08"Tour de France" Blumer trains with a veteran of the Tour de France and attempts to conquer one of the most challenging sections of the Tour09"Kansas City BBQ Competition" Blumer leads his own team in the Open Competition at a Kansas City BBQ Cookoff10"Riesling Harvest" Blumer assists in the harvest of of grapes for a maker of fine German Riesling wines11"Guinness Diet" Blumer travels to Dublin, where tries to live on Guinness alone for five full days12"Noodle Pulling" Blumer tries to master the lost art of making hand-pulled noodles13"Breakfast Line Cook" Blumer works as a breakfast line cook
Season 2 # Title: Description:01"Haggis Hurling" Blumer's travels to Scotland to try haggis hurling02"Honey Bee" Blumer travels to Oregon to learn the art of beekeeping; at the end of the week, he has to show what he enters the Beekeepers Games03"Cheese Rolling" Blumer's travels to Gloucester, England, to compete in the Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake competition04"Okie Noodling" Blumer's travels to Oklahoma to catch catfish with his bare hands05"Fried Egg/Sidewalk Chef" Blumer's travels to the Mojave Desert where he has 15 minutes to cook an egg using only solar power06"Garlic Braiding" Blumer goes to Arleux, France, "garlic capital of the world", to enter in a garlic-braiding contest07"Watermelon Seed Spitting" Blumer's travels to Hope, Arkansas, and challenges past champions at spitting watermelon seeds on the back of a flatbed truck08"New York Street Vendor" Blumer takes over a food cart business at a busy New York City intersection for a 12-hour shift09"Pike's Market" Blumer takes part in tossing salmon with the fishmongers at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, Washington10"Pumpkin Regatta" Blumer takes part in a race to paddle a hollowed-out, giant pumpkin across a lake11"Corn Husking" Blumer heads to Dell Rapids, South Dakota, to compete against America's best cornhuskers at the National Cornhusking Competition12"Perfect Steak" Blumer's tries to learn how to cook the perfect steak, then become the head grill master at Bohanan's Prime Steaks & Seafood in San Antonio, Texas13"Fugu (Fish)" Blumer travels to Osaka, Japan, to prepare and eat his own fugu
Season 3 # Title: Description:01"Guinness Book of Records" At the Calgary Stampede in Calgary, Alberta, Blumer tries to break the Guinness World Record for the most pancakes made in one hour02"One-Man Band" In Paris, Blumer tries to run an entire 16-seat restaurant by himself03"Lobster Banding" At the Pictou County Lobster Carnival in Pictou, Nova Scotia, Blumer competes the Lobster Banding Contest04"World Pizza Cup" In Naples, Blumer competes for the title of World's Best Pizza-Tosser05"Morel Mushrooms" In a burnt forest in northern British Columbia, Blumer competes to pick the heaviest load of morel mushrooms06"Deep Fried Competition" At the L.A. County Fair, Blumer competes in the Fair's Deep Fry Contest07"Sea Urchins" On Vancouver Island, Blumer competes in a sea urchin harvesting race08"Hot Sauce Judging" At the Austin Hot Sauce Festival in Austin, Texas, Blumer becomes one of the official judges09"Pie Baking" Blumer competes in the Shelburne Orchard's Annual Apple Pie Baking contest in Vermont10"Pasta Cook" Blumer works on the line on a busy Friday night at the Mia Francesca restaurant in Chicago11"Grape Stomp" At the Sonoma County Harvest Fair in Santa Rosa, California, Blumer competes in the World Grape Stomp12"Coffee Picking" In Kona, Hawaii, Blumer competes in the annual Coffee Picking Contest13"Navy Head Cook" Blumer works in the galley of a Navy ship
Season 4 # Title: Description: Air Date:01"Kung-Fu Tea Challenge" Blumer's tries to master a special Kung-fu tea ceremony and then perform it for a tough panel of judges at the Tai Ji Tea House in Hangzhou, China 2010-01-18 January 18, 201002"Nettle Eating" Blumer participates in the Stinging Nettle Eating Competition in Dorset, England 2010-01-04 January 4, 201003"Sushi Masters" Blumer goes head-to-head against a seasoned group of sushi chefs in the Sushi Masters Competition in San Diego 2010-02-01 February 1, 201004"Goat Milking" Blumer competes at the Mason-Dixon Fair's goat milking competition in Delta, Pennsylvania 2010-01-11 January 11, 201005"Slice and Dice" Blumer competes against culinary professionals in a Knife Skills Competition at Kendall Culinary College in Chicago 2010-02-08 February 8, 201006"Ice Cream Making" At the Austin Ice Cream Festival, Blumer competes in the homemade ice cream making contest 2010-01-25 January 25, 201007"Potato Peeling" Blumer strives to be the fastest at the annual Potato Days Peeling Contest in Barnesville, Minnesota 2010-02-22 February 22, 201008"Chinese Dumpling" Blumer goes head-to-head against dim sum pros in a dumpling making competition at the Night Market in Richmond, BC 2010-03-01 March 1, 201009"Bagel Roll-off" Blumer takes part in a challenge to hand-roll 44 perfect bagels in five minutes at the St-Viateur Bagel Bakery in Montreal 2010-02-15 February 15, 201010"Coconut Husking" Blumer competes in the 13th Annual Coconut Festival in Kapaa, Hawaii 2010-03-08 March 8, 201011"Gumbo Cook-off" Blumer participates in the Gumbo cook-off in New Iberia, Louisiana 2010-03-22 March 22, 201012"Edible Car" Blumer is pitted against elite engineering students in the Edible Car Competition at Brown University in Rhode Island 2010-03-15 March 15, 201013"Chocolate Fashion Show" Blumer enters his unique wearable chocolate creation into a Chocolate Hat Fashion Show in the Salon Passion Chocolat & de la Gourmandise in Montreal 2010-03-29 March 29, 2010
Season 5 (Record-Breaking Edition) Bob attempts to break Guinness World Records. # Title: Location: Guinness World Record Attempt: Air Date:01"Pizza Making Record"Toronto Most 12-inch pizzas stretched, sauced, cheesed and fired in one hour 2011-01-03 January 3, 201102"Rice Eating Record"Taipei Most rice grains eaten one by one with chopsticks in 3 minutes 2011-01-10 January 10, 201103"Largest Bowl of Salsa"Jacksonville, Texas Largest bowl of salsa 2011-01-17 January 17, 201104"Egg Cracking Record"Granby, Quebec Most eggs cracked with one hand in one hour 2011-01-24 January 24, 201105"Caesar Salad Record"Yuma, Arizona Most table-side Caesar salads made in one hour 2011-01-31 January 31, 201106"Onion Peeling Record"Walla Walla, Washington Fastest time to peel 50 pounds of onions 2011-02-14 February 14, 201107"The Best Of"n/aHighlights from the previous five seasons 2011-02-21 February 14, 2011
References
External links The Official Food Network Site The Official Food Network Canada Site The Official Glutton For Punishment Site Review of the show Production website