TV: The Taste

I am enjoying The Taste on Tuesday nights on ABC. It's a twist from the typical cooking competitions. There are four judges - Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Brian Malarkey. Each judge selects four chefs for their kitchen. Whatever the challenge may be, each cook prepares just a bite, or taste. The judging is blind so the judges don't know if they're voting off one of their own people. I like that. It's all about The Taste.

Of course, the entire world knows Anthony Bourdain. He's my favorite chef. I hope his team wins even though my favorite contestant is not on Team Anthony. More about that later..... I am aware of who Nigella Lawson is, but I've never seen her TV show or read her books. I have no idea who Ludo Lefebvre or Brian Malarkey are, but I'm cheering for Ludo instead of Malarkey. It's a personality thing. Malarkey shouts just for the sake of shouting. That drives me nuts. Ludo is a classically trained French chef so I understand him and what he wants in his kitchen.

You just have to make it past the first two episodes - the auditions - and then the show gets interesting. This week was Episode 5: Sandwiches. I t-o-t-a-l-l-y understand that challenge. Making a good sandwich is actually difficult. One slip up and it can go from awesome to awful. My Dad loved sandwiches. He was always putting different combinations together. And, that's why I like diners. You can always get a good sandwich at a diner.

Khristianne Uy

My favorite chef-contestant is Khristianne Uy (Team Malarkey). She is one cool chick. She creates dishes that even my picking tastebuds would try, and I like her stories. My least favorite is Gregg Drusinsky (Ludo Team). Too arrogant, yet a crybaby. Annoying.

We're halfway thru its short season, so we'll know who the winner is soon. I hope you'll give The Taste a try. I'm enjoying the show.