American Chef Idol is a fictional TV show seen in Muffy's daydream in "What's Cooking?". It features Ming Tsai portraying a more gruff nature of Simon Cowell, who criticized Muffy about her quiche. The second judge is far more encouraging. It is a parody of American Idol and also parodies the conventions of reality-cooking shows, particularly those hosted by Gordon Ramsay, known for his often harsh on-air personality, and also aired on FOX, the same network as American Idol.