Up here in Canada (eh?), we too are subjected to the likes of Emeril and such, however there are a few shows that I'm not sure are available in the good ol' U.S. of A. that I find interesting:
1. OPENING SOON - documents the building of a restaurant from whatever it was before, to um, a restaurant. It's rather cool when it's a local site.
2. MADE TO ORDER - this show takes place in one of Toronto's finer eateries (RAIN), whereby the owners are asked to go way beyond the call of duty in order to 'seal that deal' or please 'please my wife'. My personal favorite is the latter, where hubby walks up to the owner and says 'Sunday is my anniversary and I had promised my wife a trip to Greece, but I can't leave work...ya gotta help me'. The owners decide to open up for him on a day that the restaurant is closed, with full wait staff and kitchen help, and deliver a package that must have cost $15,000 CA. Different courses were served at different locations in the restaurant - these guys literally had the place to themselves.
3. COOK LIKE A CHEF - hosted by various top end chefs, they wanna teach me how to cook? Good luck, but from a food standpoint, very interesting. Ultra cool background music - acid jazz, me thinks!
4. CHEF AT LARGE - a behind the scenes look at preparing gourmet food for large numbers of diners. Recently, a cruise ship, one of NYC's most exclusive large scale hotels, and Wrestlemania (the leftovers were delivered to shelters in downtown Toronto).
5. THE THIRSTY TRAVELLER - about the closest we have to a wine show. This guy used to be on Toronto's most popular after school kid's show, now he does the booze thing. Each episode is based on a particular libation - Stout, Vodka, Rioja, etc. How it's made TO what to serve it with.
All in all, we probably have a few chefs that you don't, and likewise. To a certain degree, it's the chef that makes the show (Nigella ROCKS, Rachel DON'T), but as one of our local chef-that-has-her-own-show says 'the food is the star of the show'. And Jamie Oliver is a gas! I could watch him make Tuna & Mayo sandwiches all day long.
Oh, and The Barefoot Contessa??? Please, save that till after dinner!