Parents' Guide to

The Taste

By Joyce Slaton, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Mashup of cooking competitions with lots of bleeped cursing.

TV ABC Reality TV 2013
The Taste Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.

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age 11+

Based on 1 parent review

smq1
smq1 Adult
January 20, 2014
age 11+

An addictive taste!

The competitive element which comes from the Voice and the Apprentice format makes it quite watchable and addictive. I enjoy the fact that not all of the contestants are professional chefs- like the bake off this has you gunning for the underdog. I also like the fact that it is taste not looks that count. Of course it is important to set up some friction between characters and the fact that the judges cannot see the contestants does add to the drama, where you are judging people on something other than physical first impressions. Perfectly watchable and quite addictive in the same way that once you start watching the Apprentice or the Bake off it is hard to stop. Nigella does come across as being a bit haughty but that just adds to the drama.I suspect that her unfortunate private life has spilled over into these reviews. My teenage daughter enjoys rooting for the contestants.It shows her that you can win in life due to your merit and hard work which to me is a good role modelling!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
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What's the Story?

On ABC's hour-long reality competition THE TASTE, four culinary judges, Anthony Bourdain, Brian Malarkey, Nigella Lawson, and Ludo Lefebvre, gather teams of four contestants, some of whom are professional chefs, others who are home cooks. Each judge mentors and works with their team, helping each team to create one dish that is distilled into a single spoonful tasted by the judges. There are also individual competitions that whittle down the contestants one by one until the last one standing wins the competition.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (1):

With so many cooking shows and reality competitions on the air, The Taste has a hard job distinguishing itself from its brethren. What The Taste has going for it: The four judges are charming and funny food professionals, and it's interesting to watch them deconstruct dishes and talk about why they work or don't. In addition, everyone roots for the underdog, and watching talented home cooks make better food than even seasoned professionals is a kick.

On the other hand, The Taste judges sometimes mock contestants and their skills unkindly, which can be really hard to watch, particularly if the contestant has just finished a voiceover explaining why winning this competition is so important to them. Having non-professionals on the show is thus both a cool variation and a little bit painful. Parents who love cooking shows may want to check this one out, with or without the kids. Unless said kids are really into cooking, they probably won't be watching along with parents; there's not enough here to interest them unless food and flavors do the job alone.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Why do you think the makers of The Taste mandated that contestants can be non-professionals? What does this add to the show? Is it interesting to watch professionals taking on talented amateurs? Are viewers supposed to root for the amateurs or the professionals? What makes you draw this conclusion?

  • Watch a few other televised cooking competitions, such as Top Chef or Chopped. How is The Taste like or unlike these shows? It it more or less dramatic? More or less funny?

  • Why are cooking shows so popular on television, given that viewers are barred from tasting the food that is cooked? What is interesting about cooking, or about chefs that make this such a popular reality genre?

TV Details

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