''Check, Please!'' is a multi-Emmy Award winning restaurant review program that began on

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

member station

WTTW WTTW (channel 11) is a PBS member television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by not-for-profit broadcaster Window to the World Communications, Inc., it is sister to commercial classical music radio station WFMT (98.7 FM). ...

in 2001. The format of the show is simple: three people sit down with a host to discuss three local eating establishments, one favorite chosen by each guest. Before the program is taped, each person chooses a favorite restaurant, and everyone in the group is required to visit each person's selection. Afterwards, everyone describes their eating experiences. Although many participants select trendy, upscale restaurants, just about any eating establishment is fair game including

hot dog A hot dog is a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term ''hot dog'' can also refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener ( Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter ( Frankfurter Würs ...

stands and "neighborhood joints". More than 35,000 people have applied to be guests on ''Check, Please!'' in Chicago alone. The show's initial popularity in Chicago inspired

spin-offs Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

in several other markets. A

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

version of the show, ''Check, Please! Bay Area'', began its first season in 2005, airing on KQED. A

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

and Palm Beach version for WPBS and

WPBT WPBT (channel 2) is a PBS member television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It serves as the flagship station of South Florida PBS, which also owns Boynton Beach–licensed fellow PBS member WXEL-TV (channel 42, serving the West Pal ...

, ''Check, Please! South Florida'', debuted in January 2008. ''Check, Please! Kansas City'' then began airing on

KCPT KCPT (channel 19), branded as Kansas City PBS or KC PBS, is a PBS member television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. It is owned by Public Television 19, Inc., alongside adult album alternative radio station KTBG (90.9 FM) and ...

in 2009, and ''Check, Please! Arizona'' on Phoenix's

KAET KAET (channel 8), branded Arizona PBS, is a PBS member television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, owned by Arizona State University and operated by ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. KAET's studios ar ...

made its debut in 2010. A Seattle version, ''Check, Please! Northwest'', began airing on

KCTS KCTS-TV (channel 9), branded Cascade PBS, is a PBS member television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, owned by Cascade Public Media. The station's studios are located at Broadway and Boren Avenue in Seattle's First Hill neighbor ...

in 2012. A Philadelphia version, ''Check, Please! Philly'', debuted in January 2020 on

WHYY-TV WHYY-TV (channel 12) is a television station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware, United States, serving as the primary PBS member station for the Philadelphia area. It is owned by WHYY, Inc., alongside NPR member WHYY-FM (90.9). WHYY-TV and WH ...

Hosts

The first two seasons of the show in Chicago were hosted by Amanda Puck, who is

Wolfgang Puck Wolfgang Johannes Puck (born July 8, 1949) is an Austrian chef and restaurateur. Early life Puck was born in Sankt Veit an der Glan, Austria. He learned cooking from his mother, who was a pastry chef. He took the surname of his stepfather, Jos ...

's former sister-in-law. In October 2003, Amanda Puck was replaced with Alpana Singh, who has worked as a

sommelier A ''sommelier'' ( , , ), ''chef de vin'' or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, normally working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food pairing. The role of the ''s ...

at Chicago's Everest restaurant and as the Director of Wine and Spirits for

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc. (LEYE) is a restaurant group currently comprising 120 or more restaurants mainly located in the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded by Rich Melman and Jerry A. Orzoff in 1971. History The first res ...

. In 2013, Singh stepped down and was replaced by Catherine De Orio, a food writer and former lawyer. In 2018, Singh returned as the show and replaced De Orio as the host. The Chicago version ended in 2021. The San Francisco version is hosted by wine consultant and author Leslie Sbrocco. The Miami version is hosted by chef Michelle Bernstein. The Kansas City version is hosted by wine consultant and author Doug Frost. The Phoenix version was hosted by chef Robert McGrath, who was then replaced by chef Mark Tarbell in 2017. The Seattle version is hosted by urban gardener Amy Pennington. The Philadelphia version is hosted by food and travel writer Kae Lani Palmisano who received a 2020 Mid-Atlantic Emmy for Talent - Program Host/Moderator for hosting Check, Please! Philly in the show's first year.

Producers

The concept was created by David Manilow and developed by Manilow and Joel Cohen. The executive producers are Manilow and V.J. McAleer. Manilow also oversees all operations of the show and the brand. According to Manilow, the inspiration for creating the show came from a weekly dining club that he started and included Cohen and film director Joe Angio. The three would rotate selecting restaurants to visit, and each would try to outdo each other in selecting wild or exotic places.

Lost episode

On January 16, 2009, a previously unaired August 2001 episode (Dixie Kitchen), which featured the then

Illinois state senator The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under th ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, premiered on WTTW, days before his presidential inauguration.

References

{{reflist

External links

Official website of ''Check, Please!''WTTW Sponsored website of ''Check, Please!''Official website of ''Check, Please! Bay Area''Official website of ''Check, Please! South Florida''Official website of ''Check, Please! Kansas City''Official website of ''Check, Please! Arizona''Official website of ''Check, Please! Northwest''Official website of ''Check, Please! Philly''
Food and drink television series Television series by WTTW 2001 American television series debuts