New Dating Show With Iowans Is All About the Glory of Grub

Will you accept this...salad?

Now we might know why they needed to hire those security guards. Wink, wink.

"Supermarket Sweep" meets "The Bachelor" as Hy-Vee is creating a dating show--set at the grocery store. In fact, "Bachelor" producers are part of the project.

The Des Moines Register describes the contest as such:

contestants go on a blind date, and they must shop for Hy-Vee groceries before preparing a meal together.

Helpful Smiles TV (HSTV...yes, Hy-Vee now even has its own online television network) will carry the show online. Unfortunately, the producers say casting for "Love at First Bite" (that's the title...awesome) is closed and they are currently sifting through applicants, the majority of whom are from Iowa with a few others from around the midwest.

The first season's eight episodes will each be around 10 minutes long, with a different couple cast for each. (There's no prize for being able to finish grocery shopping in ten minutes, but there should be.)

If it goes well, there will be follow-up episodes with the couples who stayed together. (You could say they're looking for people who are in it all for the Glory of...Grub?)

You'll also get to peep the recipes made by the couples on the show, either in the Hy-Vee "Seasons" print magazine or online at their website. A Hy-Vee spokesperson says they know their venture is not big enough for the major streaming services but they are unashamedly milking the popularity of Netflix, YouTube, and others, hoping to replicate it with their own version. Oh yes, and the opportunity for extra advertising for Hy-Vee.

HSTV, meanwhile, has 12 other series in the pipeline, including two called "Cake This!", spotlighting the delectable creations of Hy-Vee cake designers and "The Beard Behind the Bar" featuring tips and tricks from popular Des Moines mixologist Jeff Naples, who, as you might expect, also has a somewhat legendary beard.