Ty Pennington and Chef Emeril Lagasse as seen in “On the Menu”

How many times have you sat on the couch watching your favorite show featuring amateur home cooks -- whether it be Fox's "MasterChef," ABC's "The Taste" or any of the many others on the menu -- and longed (and I mean really longed) to try out some of the beautiful dishes being served up?

Just how torturous is it to watch Gordon Ramsay gush about the party going on in his mouth, to listen to Anthony Bourdain wax on about the succulent aromas assaulting his nose, while all that we poor, suffering TV watchers get is a brightly lit view of the dish in question? Why, I say it's high time we foodies rose up and demanded that we, too, should get to taste these supposedly amazing foods.

Well, lucky for us, two famous folks are on our side. Ty Pennington of "Trading Spaces" and "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" fame and Chef Emeril Lagasse, host of "Emeril's Florida" and "Top Chef" judge, are teaming up with TNT to bring a tasty new twist to the genre -- a twist that we can all sink our teeth into.

"On the Menu," which premieres Friday, Oct. 3, on TNT, is the first cooking competition show that lets us, the viewers, taste the winning dishes after each and every episode. Much like many of these cooking competitions, each episode will feature four passionate home cooks cooking their way through a series of culinary challenges, all with the end goal of getting featured in a national eatery.

How's that work? Well, 10 restaurant chains have signed on to be featured on the program, and each weekly episode will focus on one of them. That week's contestants will have to develop their own signature dish that will feel right at home in that restaurant, and the winning dish will be featured in that eatery's menu across the nation.

Hungry viewers won't even have to wait to try out the winning plates either -- they'll be popping up on the menus the very day after their featured episode airs.

With national institutions, such as Chili's, Denny's, Outback Steakhouse and The Cheesecake Factory all being featured, there'll be food to please all sorts of palates.

For far too long, cooking shows have taunted us viewers with their picture-perfect dishes and gushing judges. "On the Menu" won't be any different in that regard, but at least we'll get to see -- and taste -- what all the fuss is about. "On the Menu" premieres Friday, Oct. 3, on TNT.