JUST LIKE MOM (1980 - 1985)

Mothers, kids and bizarre baking made ‘Just Like Mom’ must-see TV

Flour, sugar, chocolate chips and ketchup? If you grew up in the 80s you’ll remember such strange concoctions on “Just Like Mom.”

The Canadian television game show that ran from 1980 – 1985 on CTV featured kids and their moms teaming up and facing off against other mom and son/daughter duos in skill testing questions and baking.

Miss Canada 1978 winner Catherine Swing, who also co-hosted the show with her husband Fergie Olver from the second season on, created the show. 

The simple premise involved the hosts asking the children in seclusion a series of questions and then later asking their moms the same questions to see how many they got right (similar to The Newlywed Game format). 

But the most buzzed about and bizarre aspect of the show came in the Bake-Off Challenge.

The kids had 60 seconds to create a recipe from the Robin Hood “Just Like Mom Cookbook” using unmeasured amounts of the listed ingredients and whatever other bizarre ingredients they chose.

After the second round of questions (and the concoctions spent some time in the oven) the moms had to taste each of the three dishes to decide which one their child made. It was one of the most cringe-worthy things on TV and we ate up every moment of it.

The team that scored highest would spin the big wheel in hopes they’d land on the ultimate grand prize – a trip to Walt Disney World!

The show was rebooted in 2018 on CTV and renamed “Just Like Mom and Dad.”