America's Test Kitchen

This is my first watch. I am not a reality show of any type person, but I stumbled onto this late one night and watched. It wasn't bad. I hate to be critical ,but some of the judges seem to have an over inflated ego. A little power goes to the head. I was appalled that some of the women cooking didn't pull their hair up. I felt sorry for some of the contestants because they seem to try so hard to appease the cooking judge gods ,but it is the way these shows go.

I did enjoy seeing the variety of dishes. I find these types of shows judgmental since taste depends on the person. What I would find delicious, someone else may not.

The kitchen is nice and I like the fact that it is a.working test kitchen. The show does try to keep a sense of humor which keeps the atmosphere light.

While Chris Kimball irritated me when I first started watching ATK, I've really come to enjoy him on the show. At first he seemed like a hovering, critical presence - until I realized his outlook towards food and life are so similar to my own Yankee soul. And he's not just a host, he's a bona fide cooking expert. Without him now starting with the 17th season, it's lacking some seasoning. A steak without salt, you might say.

ATK used to be for serious cooks. I don't know - are ratings down? Is it an improvement to have everyone congratulating themselves all the time. To me the bits that they seem to think are an improvement (literally everything they are including in the ads) is the very worst of the changes and serve fror me as annoying filler.

I greatly miss Christopher Kimball. He was the main reason that I watched and everyone else was just a wonderful bonus. He had such a chill presence. Always cool, calm, and unflappable. He was also an incredible treasure trove of general knowledge and steered the show perfectly! I admired his confidence. Since he has left the show I cannot seem to take a consistent interest in the revised version. It still has many of the same great chefs/personalities and the recipes seem good. Julia and Bridget are still wonderful co-hosts and are very witty! I have tried, but regardless, I think it's still a great show and I hope it continues on successfully. I'm thrilled Christopher has returned to television on the Roku Channel.

This is my opinion. I have always liked this show. It is fun, informative, and enjoyable. However, I never liked Mr. Kimball. He always seemed pompous, he always wanted to be right. The other cast members are fun and they have a sense of humor.