ABC’s “The Taste” Review – Great Cooks and Picky Judges

I was looking forward to watching the new highly marketed ABC show “The Taste.” It’s food network meets The Voice. The premise is four judges (Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre, and Brian Malarkey) blind-taste a one-bite morsel and decide if that cook belongs on their team of four.

Only after the judges decide yes or no, is the cook revealed. (S)he could be a home cook or a professional chef.

Judge Tony Bourdain was actually sweet, contrary to how he usually is. I’m surprised they didn’t go for more ratings with making him more Simon Cowell-ish. Nigella was wishy-washy most of the time, which was very disappointing because I love her! Ludo was barely understandable when he spoke and I don’t even know (or care) who Brian Malarkey is! Ha!

By the end of the 2 hours, I was bored, paying more attention to my cookbooks from the library.

There was hardly any actual cooking shown and per usual in prime time, the show was painfully slow. During the first half hour, only a mere four bites were tasted!

Over and over, the judges enjoyed the taste of the dish but declined to say yes. It was frustrating to see a lot of interesting, unique cooks be dismissed. Even stranger, the judges repeatedly expressed remorse, but then the same thing would happen with the next cook. It was getting frustrating because By the time they chose a cook for their team, it seemed like they were picking out of desperation, making some of their choices uninspired and dull.

Another peeve was the judges repeatedly told the home cooks not to apologize for being a non-professional. It was as if they were supposed to feel shame about being a lowly home cook!

But the worst part of the show was the excessive use of dramatic props. Clunky game show buttons, blinking lights, special effects screens, and sliding doors looked silly and wasted time that could have been used to show more detailed recipes. But then I guess most viewers probably would be bored too much complicated cooking.

So yeah, i was not happy with the show. But Surprise! Yes, I will probably keep watching, as long as nothing else was on. I am intrigued by Sarah the food blogger and Lauren, the Mississippi girl living in the trailer park.

Next week will be part 2 of auditions and going forward, they’ll start the actual competition. I’ll give it a little more time and see if it’ll perk up my interest.