Popular Grocery Chain Hy-Vee Is Filming a Dating Show, and I Honestly Can’t Wait to Watch
People claim the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach, and for Hy-Vee, the goal is to prove that.
The West Des Moines-based grocery store chain has started to film a dating show series for its digital streaming platform, Helpful Smiles TV network (HSTV). Entitled Love at First Bite, the first season will include eight 10-minute episodes that give different couples a chance to meet, cook, and maybe fall in love. To get there though, they first have to tackle food shopping together.
Consider this a date with a to-do list. Couples go on a blind date, during which they must shop for Hy-Vee groceries. And with their haul, they’ll prepare a meal together. “It brings the dating show concept to a new playing field with the grocery store,” Sara Canady, vice president of HSTV, told the Des Moines Register. “Participants will meet at Hy-Vee for the first time, they’ll shop for groceries together, make a meal, and we’ll be able to experience what that connection looks like.”
Like most relationships, HSTV hopes this one will last. For the time being, the plan is for new dating shows to air a few seasons per year, but with the show boasting a stellar production team (the first season’s producer — Kristian Day — worked on the production team for The Bachelor), HSTV is also considering follow-up episodes of couples who stayed together or contestants’ dating lives post-show.
Love at First Bite joins 12 other web-based shows on the HSTV platform, including the popular Cake This! series showcasing Hy-Vee cake designers and popular The Beard Behind the Bar, with Des Moines mixologist Jeff Naples. This year, the network is also adding the Decadent Dishes on a Dime series with Tamara Day (host of HGTV’s Bargain Mansions, as well as a new HSTV show in February that features Italian cooking with celebrity chef Fabio Viviani of Top Chef fame.
Thinking you may want to cook along with your favorite love matches on Love at First Bite when it airs? Some of the recipes that contestants will be tasked with cooking come from Hy-Vee’s Seasons Magazine and will be available on hy-vee.com.
If you’re looking to spend quality time with your own special someone before you can test out their recipes, try cooking this Butternut Squash Ravioli together during date night — perfect for sharing with a bottle of Italian wine. That’s amore.