The first cooking show aired on BBC in 1946 during the war. At first, he had a cooking show on the radio and later had his TV show. There was no say whether the show had any background tunes and neither is there any such record of when melodies became a part of the cooking show industry. All we know is that music is a huge part of any cooking show or event.
When talking about shows, the music is often found to be fairly calm and light. You will not find a party genre or any of the other different genres being played at the back. The aim is to give a background music that shows how easy and light the cooking is.
Styles such as Smooth Jazz, Soft Rock, R&B, Melodic Rock, Pop, Light Ambient or Electronica is used as background music. These styles are easy going which help in setting the environment of the show.
In cooking events, the music is usually chosen according to the event being held. If it is a contest, the music is mostly chosen accordingly. For example, an upbeat song can be played at the contest to symbolise competition and energetic contestants.
For cooking videos, people more than often choose smooth jazz or melodic or soft rock. This helps in keeping the mood light. Another key point is that background music might even help in attracting viewers. The correct ambience might get you a whole bunch of viewers.
TV shows like Top Chef and Master Chef have music accordingly. If we talk about the music background on Master Chef, it varies accordingly. During a time-limited task the music is upbeat indicating speed and the time limit. It goes perfectly along with the event of the moment. While the judges taste the food, the music is either light or nerve-wracking indicating nervousness.
The music for cooking shows, events or videos can either pull or push away viewers. It is better to have music according to the task or event at hand than having rock music to a baking show!