Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Tuesday at 8|7c on ABC"





A few weeks ago I came across to starting the "first-ever interacting entertainment program in Influenster! The even greater thing it is open to all Influensters members. This  program revolves around a show on ABC called "The Taste." It is about an intense one-hour cooking competition with 16 competitors who have to create a dish according to what the challenge is about. The competitors are picked based on one mouthful of their dish and divided by 4 teams. Each team has a professional chef that mentors them through the competition. At the end, the team must decide one dish to represent them and show it to the judges...the chef experts.  

               

Watch the most recent episode:  "Nose To Tail"

Watch everything from the start:  


I think it is a brilliant idea that appearance has nothing to do with this show because all that matters is how the food taste. Auditions Part 1 and 2 are very entertaining to watch because it shows the story behind each contestant of their passion for food, who they are, and why they want to be the best chef and win. I personally was moved by some of the stories the competitors shared of their life and also loved to see the confidence and passion of everyone before preparing their best dish. The judges final decision on auditions part 1 and 2 were filled with humor and drama when Ludo and Malarkey go head to head three times when choosing the same contestant to join their kitchen. It was also fun to wait and see when one contestant was chosen by more that one mentor. When this happened, it was completely up to competitor and final call to choose who they like better to join the competition. 


 



                             

Comfort food episode is when the competition actually begins. The team taste test of this episode is about choosing one spoonful using at least one of the three ingredients: bacon, egg, and cheese. The team that wins will have the benefit to be helped later by the invited chef on the show and the one who made the spoon to represent the team wins immunity. After the first test, each team goes unto making another dish but this time their mentors aren't there to guide them because it is a solo test. I think this is the part where the show is more exciting because the mentors don't know who cooked the dish and what is it. At this point in the show anybody can have their mentor sent them home.

Chicken Stew was one of the winning dishes on 'The Taste' Episode 3: #ComfortFood. Now we want to find the recipe!

"Chicken Stew made by Lauren was one of the winning dishes on 'The Taste' Episode 3: Comfort Food."

Episode 4 team taste test is about dairing pairings which is about choosing the right combination of food and wine. As usual, the team that wins gets helped for their next dish and whoever made the winning dish gets immunity. The contestant must create a dish involving at least one of 5 secret ingredients that were selected by the chef mentor for their individual team. This test is very challenging for most of the cooks because some of the ingredients they have to work with are new to them. After the team test is done, the solo test on this episode is about creating food and wine pairing involving 1 of 4 wine styles which are: German Riesling, California Chardonnay, French Cotes Du Rhone, and Italian Barolo. Competitors also realize that they must step it up and win the best spoon because this time not one but two will be sent home. 

          

The Art of the Sandwish episode is very self explanatory and simple...well not so simple for the remaining cooks. This challenge may be about making a sandwish but once again the taste reminds us that with every passing episode this competition is about going far and beyond. Many may wonder why would they pick a sandwish as a challenge now? Well, it makes sense because if you call yourself a professional cook or home cook but can't make one then like Khristianne said: what the hell kind of chef are you? My favorite team to watch and support the most is Anthony Bourdain's kitchen. From the beginning I knew he was going to be my favorite chef on the show because of his remarkable cultural knowledge on his popular Travel Channel series, No Reservations. Since I'm more familiar to Bourdain's culinary experience from watching him taste the world's most exotic dishes on his show, to me he stands the most and the reason his kitchen is my favorite...besides, those girls look pretty tough in the kitchen too. To me this episode was very intriguing and didn't go the way I expected at all. First, on the team test challenge Ludo's kitchen wins again and so far always picks Greg's dishes to represent the team...everyone's reaction after that is funny because everyone is in complete disapproval. Finally, at the end I was sad to watch a contestant go home from Anthony's Kitchen because I really believed everyone in his kitchen had potential but I'm glad Diane stayed. She is one of my favorite in the show along with Ninamaria, Uno, and Lauren.
     
                                           

 Ninamaria Bojekian's Sandwich on 'The Taste' Episode 5: 
The Art of the Sandwich
     
         
Lauren's sandwich on 'The Taste' Episode 5: The Art of the Sandwich