The ninth season of the food reality television series Man v. Food premiered on December 28, 2021, at 9PM ET on the Cooking Channel, and is also the show's second season to air on the network. It is the fifth season of the show to be hosted by actor and food enthusiast Casey Webb, who took over hosting duties upon the show's revival in 2017; Webb became the show's longest-serving host with this season, surpassing original host Adam Richman, who had hosted for four seasons.
Filming for season 9 began in the fall of 2021. Like all previous seasons, Webb travels to various local eateries in different cities before taking on a pre-existing food challenge in each city.
The final season tally was 7 wins for Man and 3 wins for Food.
Episodes
Episode Episode Number Original Air Date Winner Delaware Beaches 1 (156) December 28, 2021 Man Casey Webb's fifth season at the helm of Man v. Food begins with the show's first-ever visit to the state of Delaware, America's first state, where he visits several Atlantic coastal towns and beaches. First he heads to Dickey's Frozen Custard on the boardwalk in Bethany Beach where he tries the "Dickster", a milkshake combining pureed fresh peaches with homemade frozen custard, blended together and garnished with sliced fresh peaches. Next he heads to Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach where he gets a taste of the "McLaine Mac & Cheese", homemade hot-sauce pasta (using semolina flour mixed with wheat gluten, baking soda, water and Frank's RedHot sauce) drenched in a beer cheese sauce (combining cream, milk, melted mascarpone and Philadelphia cream cheeses, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, and the brewery's "90-minute IPA"), mixed with shredded chicken, topped with micro celery and crumbled blue cheese, and accompanied by three buffalo wings. For this episode's challenge, Casey heads back to Bethany Beach where he visits Heidaway, facing off there with the "Delmarva Surf & Turf Challenge", a 3.5-pound dish consisting of a giant 2-pound crab cake (lump crab and crab claw meat mixed with lemon aioli, Old Bay Seasoning, egg yolks, and Old Bay butter-toasted crackers), a 1-pound marinated beef short rib (drenched in its own juices), and a half-pound of Old Bay-seasoned French fries, all of which he had to consume in 30 minutes or less; this challenge was undefeated prior to Casey's attempt. Casey started off by digging into the crab cake, squirting it with lemon as he went, but struggled with its heaviness (as well as that of the short rib). He pushed on, but as he neared the end of the challenge, he started to slow down. Cutting it close, he ultimately pushed himself to finish the entire platter with only 53 seconds remaining, becoming the challenge's first-ever winner. For his victory, Casey earned a free t-shirt (as well as a giant glass of Pinot grigio wine which was purchased for him by a customer at the restaurant). Newark, NJ 2 (157) January 4, 2022 Man Casey heads back to his home state of New Jersey to taste the best dishes in Newark, which features many globally influenced restaurants. His first stop is Jimmy Buff's in nearby West Orange where he tries the restaurant's culinary claim to fame, the Italian hot dog. Opened in 1932, Jimmy Buff's cooks the all beef Italian hot dogs, sausages, pepper, onions and potatoes all in oil at the same time on the grill. Casey tries a double, featuring two deep-fried hot dogs along with fried peppers, onions and potatoes, all loaded into an Italian-style bun and slathered with mustard and ketchup. This segment features an appearance by Robert D. Parisi, the mayor of West Orange. Next up, Casey travels to No Pão! in Newark's Ironbound. No Pão is Portuguese for "on bread" and the restaurant is known for unique takes on traditional flavors like the PorkTugese with three types of pork, pickles, Serrinha cheese and a spicy paprika sauce and the Francescina with five layers of meat, melted cheese and a fried egg smothered in a braising broth. Casey tries the Bifana sandwich, thinly sliced Boston pork butt marinated for 12 hours in a mix of paprika, red chili flakes, salt, pepper, bay leaves, white wine and garlic, then cooked in a sauce of olive oil, lard, more garlic, mustard, more white wine and more paprika, and loaded into a Portuguese bico roll which is dipped in the same sauce. The challenge this week was at Tito's Burritos & Wings in nearby South Orange where Casey went up against the "Fat Amy Challenge": two large tacos featuring 12-inch tortillas deep-fried and filled with tempura-fried chicken tenders, French fries, shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, and chipotle sauce, altogether totaling 4 pounds. Casey had 30 minutes to complete this challenge, which nobody before him had ever even attempted. Casey took some big bites to start the challenge, but struggled as the tortilla shell started to break apart. Despite this, he finished the first taco in 13 minutes. But, he met the same problems with the second taco as that shell also broke into pieces. With under eight minutes left, he finished the second taco, but he still had to eat the filling that had fallen onto his plate. He gathered all the scraps together and ultimately finished the challenge with five minutes and 40 seconds left. For winning, Casey got a free t-shirt and a free order of the restaurant's cookie dough empanadas. Richmond, VA 3 (158) January 11, 2022 Food Casey heads to Richmond, the capital of Virginia, to taste its most delicious eats. First he heads to Proper Pie Co., which specializes in New Zealand-style meat pies, where he tries a "pork chile verde" pie, featuring a buttered homemade puff pastry (made from flour, grated butter, water and lemon juice) filled with chunks of pork butt (marinated in a mix of oregano, minced garlic, cumin, diced onions and water, braised in the oven at 325 degrees F for 3–4 hours and strained), homemade salsa verde (made with green chiles, cilantro, onions, garlic, and pork drippings) and shredded cheddar cheese, all cooked in the oven for 30 minutes, also at 325 degrees F. After this, Casey heads to Perly's to try the "Benny Goodman", an eggs Benedict dish featuring two deep-fried latkes (grated Russet potatoes soaked in water and mixed with green and white onions, along with juice from the potato starch) and chive sour cream topped with smoked salmon, poached eggs, homemade hollandaise sauce, and salmon roe, along with a side of spring mix. For his challenge, Casey traveled to Station 2 to take on the "Ladder Burger Challenge", a triple-stacked burger (featuring one patty on a bun topped with melted mozzarella cheese and homemade potato chips, then layered with another patty on a bun topped with melted pepper jack cheese and crispy onion straws, and one more patty on a bun topped with melted cheddar cheese and bacon, along with the top bun which is slathered with garlic aioli) plus sides of French fries, chips, and sweet potato tater tots; Casey had 15 minutes to finish this 3.5-pound challenge which only 1 in 10 people complete, and if he could emerge victorious, he would win a free t-shirt and a free dessert. At the start, Casey dug into the top patty, and his enjoyment of the flavor allowed him to take bigger bites, but it wasn't long before he started to struggle, at which point he started in on the various potato sides. As hard as he fought, however, the amount of carbs in the potatoes slowed his progress down, and Casey's time ultimately ran out with one patty and about half of the potatoes to go. Virginia Beach, VA 4 (159) January 18, 2022 Man Casey heads to Virginia's southeast coast in this episode to taste the best dishes in Virginia Beach. First up, he visits Union Alehouse to try the "Elote Burger", a chargrilled burger patty topped with homemade queso fundido (a mix of Monterey Jack cheese sauce, crumbled chorizo, and a red pepper pico de gallo) along with a spicy Mexican street corn fritter (combining corn kernels with cayenne, garlic and onion powders, cilantro, green onions, grated parmesan cheese, flour, eggs, sour cream, lime juice, and the restaurant's "Savage Sauce" - a combination of habanero, Trinidad scorpion, and Carolina Reaper peppers), smothered with more queso fundido and topped with more pico de gallo. After enjoying this spicy dish, Casey travels to May's Parlor to sample its specialty, the cruffin (a croissant-muffin hybrid); he tries this week's special, a mocha meringue cruffin, featuring croissant dough (flour, cold water, sugar, salt, yeast and butter) mixed twice, folded with butter, laminated, chilled, then shaped into muffin form before being proofed and baked, after which it gets filled with homemade espresso cream, dipped in meringue (which gets toasted with a blowtorch), drizzled with chocolate ganache, and sprinkled with crushed chocolate espresso beans. For his challenge, Casey goes to The Egg Bistro to do battle with the 3.5-pound "Corned Beef Omelet Challenge", a 12-egg omelet loaded with one pound of corned beef (from brisket marinated in mirepoix, mustard, pickling spices, peppercorns and water), sauerkraut, and ten slices of Swiss cheese, then topped with more corned beef and sauerkraut, and drizzled with Thousand Island dressing, and also served with a half-pound side of corned beef hash; Casey had 30 minutes to defeat this challenge, which no one had even tried prior to him. Casey got off to a strong start on the omelet, while deciding to leave the hash for later, but at about 10 minutes in, he started to struggle with the richness of the corned beef. The crowd then encouraged Casey to start shoveling the food into his mouth, which allowed him to make it to the halfway point at about 16 minutes in. Casey kept on eating (while fighting back the meat sweats) and despite his struggles, he managed to finish the challenge with only 1 minute and 13 seconds to go. For winning, Casey earned a free "keep calm and egg on" t-shirt.