The Taste Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Happy Holidays
Ashley Bissette Sumerel
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Happy Holidays! That was the theme of The Taste Season 3 Episode 3.
Happy it was, for some at least. For others, not so much.
Thankfully, the drama was kept to a minimum on this episode, with more focus on the cooking competition. Sure, there was some smack talk, but as it should be, this show understands it needs to focus more on food and less on having the cooks become enemies.
What’s more interesting than watching chefs cook with innards, duck blood, and toasted hay? Okay, truth be told, I could have done without seeing the whole duck-crushing bit. (Can you say, yuck?)
In a lot of ways, it’s hard not to feel bad for Nigella Lawson. Her team always seems to be the one to dwindle the fastest. But, in this case, I simply didn’t understand her strategy. She knew it was a risk to ask her team to do dessert, but that’s what she went with. And it cost her, because she had to send home yet another one of her cooks. I was sad to see Mia go, especially because she seemed be someone who was genuinely there to learn.
For the individual challenge, the cooks were asked to create a holiday dish representing their own traditions; past or present. There were definitely some interesting interpretations of that challenge, with everything from a simple butternut squash soup to complete meals on a spoon.
One complaint I have with the show this season is while there is a focus on the cooking competition, there isn't enough time spent on the food as it is prepared. I would love to see more detail in how some of the dishes are made, especially for the individual challenges. On the flip side of that, I like the addition of the taste-off challenge. It makes the competition more fair, and it leaves less for the judges to bicker over.
Speaking of the taste off, yet again, Jen was in the bottom, and the mentors yelling from the sidelines in the taste of were Ludo and Marcus. It was basically a repeat of last week, with Ludo screaming and cursing, and Marcus jumping up and down.
I hope Santa puts some Thorazine in Ludo's stocking.
Anthony
More and more, the language barrier for Ludo and his team is causing an issue. Jen didn't understand when Ludo was telling her to add mustard, and when he said "turtle," she thought he said, "doctor," and said she knew they saved lives every day; nice comedic moment, but talk about stress!
In the end, Jen is a fighter. She won the taste off challenge for a second time, sending Joe home this week.
Here are the teams as they currently stand:
Anthony’s Kitchen: Vanessa, Eric, Tom, Tarik
Marcus’s Kitchen: Tristen, Gabe, Joe, Jake
Nigella’s Kitchen: P.K., Mia, Renee, Lindsey
Ludo’s Kitchen: Jen, Natasha, Ben, Dan
What did you think of this week’s competition, The Taste fans? And what dish would you have made for the judges? Leave us a comment -- we want to hear your thoughts!
Can’t get enough of The Taste? Remember that you can always watch The Taste online via TV Fanatic!
Ashley Bissette Sumerel was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in September 2017. Follow her on Twitter and on Google+.
