January 22, 2013 (2013-01-22) – January 22, 2015 (2015-01-22)
The Taste is an American cooking-themed reality competition series on ABC.[2] It aired from January 22, 2013, through January 22, 2015.[3] On May 7, 2015, ABC canceled The Taste after three seasons.[4]
Format
The Taste season begins with blind auditions of both professional and amateur cooks during which four judges, who double as mentors, taste one spoonful of food from each contestant without knowing who cooked it or what all the ingredients were.[3][5][6][7] Each judge decides whether or not they would like the contestant on his or her team by pressing a button (green for yes or red for no); the buttons are hidden from the other judges (although some decisions are revealed to the home audience).[8][9] The four then meet the contestant and press a button to reveal their votes. If exactly one judge votes yes, that contestant automatically joins that judge's four-member team.[5][6] If more than one judge votes yes, the contestant chooses among them.[6]
Once the 16 contestants are chosen, each episode consists of team and individual challenges on a weekly theme.[10]
In the team challenge, the contestants work for one hour with coaching from their mentors. Each mentor selects one dish to represent his or her team, which is tasted by a guest judge. The team with the best taste is rewarded with a private session with the guest judge, while the mentor of team who places last in the challenge must eliminate one of their contestants.
In the individual challenge, the contestants work without assistance for one hour. Each episode ends with the mentors tasting all the competitors' dishes without knowing what it is, how it was prepared, who created it, or whom they will be eliminating,[10] awarding a gold star to the dish they liked the most and a red star to the dish they liked the least. The contestant or contestants with the worst bite of food is eliminated from the competition in the first two seasons.[11][12]
Starting in the third season, the two contestants who receive the highest number of red stars in the individual challenge compete in a 40 minute, sudden-death taste-off. The mentors are not allowed to touch the contestants' food in this challenge. The competitor who has the best bite of food in the taste-off advances to the next stage of the competition, while the other competitor is eliminated.
Other aspects of the team and individual challenges vary by season. See season breakdowns for details.
Michelin Guide chef David Kinch was a guest judge on episode 4 of season one, titled "Daring Pairings".[13][14] Chef José Andrés was a guest judge on the season one finale, "The Taste Finale: Triple Threat".[15][16]
The contestants are challenged to create "comfort" dishes. Lauren of Team Nigella wins the first team challenge, giving her team an advantage during the individual task. Lauren, Micah, Renatta, and Shawn find themselves in the bottom four, as the four judges have given them all one red star, declaring them as the creators of the four worst dishes of the round. Khristianne and Sarah both receive one gold star, meaning that they created one of the judges' favorite dishes, while Diane receives two gold stars. Lauren is automatically safe, as she had won immunity for herself by winning the team challenger earlier. Shawn is spared and Micah and Renatta are the first cooks sent home.
The contestants are challenged to create any dish they want and pair it with a wine of their choice. Gregg wins the team challenge for Team Ludo. Erica, Huda, Sarah, and Shawn each receive a red star after the individual taste tests. Meanwhile, Khristianne and Ninamarie each receive two gold stars. The judges choose to keep Huda and Sarah in the competition, eliminating Erica and Shawn.
The contestants have to create unique sandwiches. Gregg wins the team challenge for the second time for Team Ludo. The judges are not impressed with his second dish, however, and he is placed into the bottom four with Diane, Mia, and Huda. Jeff receives two gold stars, while Lauren and Ninamarie each receive one. Gregg is declared safe, as he held immunity. Mia defends her sandwich, as she thought it was unfair of the judges to criticize her homemade bread, as most of the other contestants didn't bother to make theirs from scratch. Ultimately, the judges decide to send Mia home, along with Huda.
The contestants must create dishes using unusual edible body parts of an animal, such as cow tongues and sweetbread. Gregg of Team Ludo wins the team challenge for the third straight week in a row. During the prep period for the individual tastings, Gregg slices his finger. The judges select Adam, Gregg, Lauren, Ninamarie, and Uno. Uno became the first person in the competition to receive both a gold star and a red star, meaning that she wasn't safe. Jeff received one star and Khristianne received two gold stars. Gregg is declared safe due to getting immunity. Adam is the first one sent home, followed by Ninamarie. The judges have a hard time choosing between Uno, who had been consistent up until this challenge, and Lauren, who has been unpredictable. Nigella's rallying works, as her last team member is spared from elimination and Uno is sent home.
The contestants must create "sexy," seductive dishes. Sarah wins the team challenge for Team Ludo and instead of being offered immunity this week, she received a cookware set similar to the ones used in the show's kitchens. For the individual tastings, each cook must pair their dishes with a fine beverage. Diane, Jeff, Lauren, and Paul are in the bottom four, with three of them going home. Jeff receives both a red and a gold star. Khristianne receives a record three stars for her dish. Lauren, Jeff, and Paul are all eliminated. Diane, Gregg, Khristianne, and Sarah move onto the Season 1 finals.
The last four remaining contestants (Diane, Gregg, Khristianne, and Sarah) have a team challenge to make tapas using mozzarella cheese, Iberico ham and spot prawns for Spanish chef José Andrés. One contestant is to be eliminated after Andrés does the judging. The mentors help their team to try to ensure their placement in the final three. Andrés eliminates Gregg from the competition, leaving Diane, Khristianne, and Sarah as the top three. The last three make their final dishes for the show, and Andrés serves as a mentor for them. In the end, Khristianne is declared the winner of The Taste.
Season 2 (2014)
Format
In the team challenge, the mentor of the team which created the worst dish must eliminate a member of his team.
In the individual challenge, the contestant who created the worst dish is eliminated.
Finalists
Cooks are organized into four "Kitchen" groups, each with a mentor.
The cook was eliminated in the individual challenge.
The cook was eliminated in the team challenge.
★ The cook received the indicated number of gold stars.
★ The cook received the indicated number of red stars.
^ Because Jacquelyn quit during the judging of the team challenge, Marcus was not required to eliminate a member of his team even though his team lost the challenge.
Season 3 of The Taste premiered on December 4, 2014 with Ludo, Nigella, Marcus, and Anthony as the judges.[36] The first episode received 3.33 million viewers.[37]
Chefs audition for a chance to compete, and sixteen are selected. In the team challenge, guest judge Stephanie Izard critiques the judges' selections based on the theme of Childhood. She selects Tristen's dish as the best, with Mia's as the worst. Therefore, Nigella has to eliminate one contestant from her team, and she selects Renee.
In the team challenge, guest judge Eric Ripert selected the best seafood dish from the teams. He selected Gabe's as the best dish, and P.K.'s as the worst. Nigella, having lost the challenge, selected Lindsey to be eliminated. Jen and Jake were chosen for the Taste-Off over Natasha and Mia. Anthony, Nigella, and Eric Ripert chose Jake's dish as the worst, causing him to be eliminated.
In the team challenge, guest judge Naomi Pomeroy selected the best holiday dish. Anthony, Ludo, and Marcus chose fowl for their dishes, while Nigella selected gingerbread. Ultimately, Pomeroy chose Dan's dish as the best, and Mia's as the worst. Nigella subsequently eliminated Mia, leaving her with only one contestant, P.K. In the Taste-Off, Jen squared off against Joe, with Joe being selected for elimination by Anthony, Nigella, and Pomeroy.
In the team challenge, guest judge Michael Symon judged dishes based on New Year's. He selected Eric's dish as the best, and P.K.'s dish as the worst. Since P.K. was Nigella's last remaining contestant, she was eliminated. Tarik and Natasha were sent to the Taste-Off over Dan, and Natasha was eliminated by Nigella, Marcus, and Symon.
In the team challenge, guest judge Javier Plascencia judged the best Latin-flavored dish. He selected Gabe's dish as the best, and Ben's as the worst. Ludo eliminated Dan after he volunteered for elimination. Eric and Tom were selected for the Taste-Off over Vanessa, and Tom was eliminated by Nigella, Marcus, Ludo, and Plascencia.
Frank Rosin (1–) Alexander Herrmann (1–) Léa Linster (1–2) Tim Mälzer (1–3) Cornelia Polletto (3–6) Roland Trettl (4–6) Maria Gross (7) Tim Raue (7–) Alexander Kumptner (8–)
