Top Chef begins its Las Vegas season on Wednesday as the reigning king of food TV. It combines an interesting competition element with judging that usually seems fair and a creative process that really lets viewers relate to what is going on. But of course, cooking on television goes far beyond Top Chef, with how-to shows, series that are more cultural and educational in nature, and even other competition programs. Here's a quick look at some of the top food shows currently airing.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations: Bourdain is a gifted writer and a decent cook, but it's hard not to sense that he has truly found his element in hosting this series, which takes him around the world to sample local cuisines. It helps that Bourdain is a true bon vivant who hurls himself into the fun part of travel (this is easily the most picturesque food show out there). He understands how a culture's food helps to explain the people who live there, and gladly eats things that would have most of us trying to find a polite way to leave the table.

Chopped: A cross between Iron Chef America and Survivor, this series brings four chefs together to create dishes based on the offbeat ingredients provided, and then eliminates one after each of three rounds: appetizer, main course, and dessert. I don't know that Ted Allen made the correct decision in leaving Top Chef to host this clearly less prestigious show, but it can be great fun to see how the chefs solve what seem to be impossible problems incorporating their ingredients.

Hell's Kitchen: Like any series after six seasons, it has begun to repeat itself, but more people watch it than any cooking show on cable, even Top Chef. Its biggest strength as a reality show is probably its biggest weakness as a food show: in casting "big" personalities who in many cases come across as totally incompetent in a kitchen, Hell's Kitchen has a way of diminishing everyone associated with it, even the person who gets hired at the end. But Gordon Ramsay has certainly taught me lots of interesting new words.

30 Minute Meals: Yes, it's Rachael Ray. But as big a multimedia pest as she has become, this series takes viewers back to the time when she was still a humble graduate from New York cable access, coming up with ways to for us to feed ourselves in a half hour with a minimum of fuss. This is a food show for the masses, not the elite, and Ray's gushiness and slang work to sell both her and the meals. Best of all: it's not an hour long like her daytime show. You couldn't really take this for 60 minutes.

Cake Boss: This seems like a Bravo show, in that it's as much about the personalities involved as the work. The series follows a huge Italian family that runs a New Jersey bakery. Watching the family members relate to each other, it's hard to ignore the sense that we've seen all of this before, but the way these seemingly regular joes whip up enormous and clever pastries can be fascinating to watch, even if it has you making a guilty trip to the fridge before it's all over.

Big Daddy's House: The Food Network has so far done a good job keeping all the winners of The Next Food Network Star busy (it's a bit too soon to see how the latest winner, Melissa D'Arabian, will fare). Aaron McCargo, who won in 2008, has been entertaining ever since with his takes on creating comfort food. McCargo has a lot less polish than the Food Network typically likes to see in its hosts, but his relatively untrained approach to both cooking and presentation might be appealing to those intimidated by four-star chefs.

Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives: True, host Guy Fieri is a bit much to take -- I've been to diners in rural America, and most of them would lock their doors if they saw someone who looked like Fieri coming up the sidewalk. But this tribute to the joys of regional American cooking and quirky eateries is always watchable. You keep thinking that in this increasingly homogenized America, they're going to have to run out of new places to visit eventually, but it's a very big country. Fortunately.

Iron Chef America: It's still about the most fun you can have on the Food Network, although there's still a pang of regret that it can't match up to the impossibly silly Japanese original -- calling it "Kitchen Stadium" does not make it so! But you still have to love the occasional judge from out of left field, the ingenuity of the chefs as they deal with having to work an offbeat ingredient into all their courses, and the hosting skills of Alton Brown. And you have to love Morimoto and Bobby Flay...right?

Giada at Home: Yes, it's the food show that gets your mouth watering before you've seen a single thing that's edible. For all the attention Giada De Laurentiis gets for her appearance and her famous name, she really does know her stuff, and viewers pick up nice little details on how one can add some European flair to their everyday lives. She's so good, in fact, that I keep thinking she should be added to other shows, or given her own network, or come to the Midwest to be my personal chef. And then I wake up.

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