Since each side had to prepare food for eight people (seven guests and the winning host, in the event of a complete 7-0 victory (later 9 portions for seven guests, the winning host, and the assistant for the winning kitchen) and typically fewer than that number would actually get to eat, any food left over after the winners had eaten was usually consumed by the show's crew. Since each show usually took hours to film, the hunger expressed by the losing guests at the end was genuine.