America's Test Kitchen: The Next Generation

It's hard to believe that these were the best candidates they could find for this competition. There is constant emphasis on how the winner will be "joining the ATK family," but it's clear that most contestants are interested only in boosting their own social media presence and/or independent careers, not in working for ATK. Look at how they say they would spend the $100k winnings - generally it's on a project that would let them build a career with no relevance to working at ATK, such as opening a restaurant. None of the contestants are all that appealing, nor do they seem like the kind of dedicated food educators ATK is known for. I'm not rooting for anyone after watching four episodes. I'm very puzzled about a show called "the next generation" including a 49-year-old contestant! I think I'm done watching this show.

I love the ATK brand and everything that Julia and Bridget have done since the split with Chris, but this show is a disaster. The host is wrong on so many levels, she just does not embody the spirit of the brand. And the format of the show is so boringly predictable, I would have hoped for something more creative. Such a disappointment! There is a folksy, Everyman feel to ATK and Cook's Country, and that is absolutely missing in this awkward, forced production. I have to admit that I've only watched two episodes, but the contestants seem really weak. One person didn't know that you need to cut skirt steak across the grain!?! That's cooking 101!

ATK excels b/c of it's professionalism and trustworthiness. I trust these people. They aren't fashionable or pretty or trendy or slick. They're cooking nerds and that's why I watch.

So who did they choose to host their first competition show? IDK, (some D-list blogger?) but she's terrible. She doesn't appear to have any culinary knowledge and is about as authentic as a street corner Rolex. That's what producers think the ATK audience wants? It throws everyone at ATK's credibility out the window.

This woman has no idea what chicken tinga is, she stands right in front of competitor's stations while they're frantically working, and actually asked someone what's going inside their ricotta dumplings. Why couldn't any of the many competent, knowledgeable, and authentic ATK cooks host this show?

Examples of her comments: "That sounds bomb!", "Sounds good dude!" while strategically baring her cleavage. But hey, she can count down! That's about the only contribution she makes and that could be done by a clock on the wall. She's no Padma, that's for sure.

Also, sorry, but what is the point of this show? Seems like they're trying to knock off Top Chef. Why not shoot for something fresh and relevant to ATK? ATK is all about technique but the individual competitions have little to do with technique. How is Nonna's meatball dish going to get anyone hired as an ATK host? I don't need to know an ATK chef's culinary POV. I have no idea what Julia eats for dinner and that's fine.

And while I stopped watching, it would've been nice if after the winner is announced they show the winning dish. I'm probably not alone when I say I don't remember each contestant's dish.

Back to the drawing board, ATK.

This show has nothing to do with America's Test Kitchen. Yes, they got some of the America's Test Kitchen regulars to show up to introduce segments and judge the dishes. It appears the prospect of an easy paycheck was irresistible.

This competition format is alien to what is at the heart of the real America's Test Kitchen. The real America's Test Kitchen serves to educate America's home cooks. The cooks on the original show demonstrate recipes, provide some background information, explain the science behind the food (news alert, cooking is chemistry and physics).

And the cast of contestants are off-putting. Everyone overacts to an almost comedic extent. The fake plastic excitement is repulsive. And seriously, I don't want the lady who has never cooked a scallop teaching me how to cook scallops because "for someone who has never cooked a scallop before you did surprisingly well".

Whoever decided this show was a good idea should never be allowed near a TV show in the future. And it would probably benefit mankind if they didn't have children.

This is the unfortunate work of ATK's new Vice President of Television, Video, and Podcasts: Mark Levine. His entire Food Network career was spent stacking the slate with competition cooking shows like "Worst Cooks in America", "The Great Food Truck Race" and "Cutthroat Kitchen". He also has the inglorious honor of being the guy that thought that putting little kids in dangerous, high pressure cooking situations for TV drama was an ethical idea.

So it's no surprise that this feels very much at home with the tired, cookie-cutter content he's been churning out for well over 10 years as part of Food Network's post-instructional era. You can even see the direct lineage and combinations of ideas, concepts, and presentation taken from his earlier works.

That said, even though this is a weird, uninspired mixture of his previous programs, namely "Food Network Star" & "Cutthroat Kitchen", it doesn't work with the talent that ATK possesses and their usual on-screen personas. He's making nearly every ATK personality come off as incredibly petty and condescending; qualities that wouldn't make me vie for a job at ATK.

The contestants themselves are making the best of a weird situation but each Cutthroat-esque twist thrown their way doesn't add to the drama, it just makes things awkward as they refuse to play along with the production. I applaud them, throwing people under the bus during a job interview is never a good idea. If only the producers understood that too.

To top it all off, the promised rewards at the end of the series are confusing and make it plain that whomever wins will probably have as much lasting impact at ATK as the average Food Network Star winner had on the channel over it's 14 seasons, which is to say nearly none.

Just to drive this home, during the various confession cam segments the contestants talk not about their dreams of working under the ATK brand but what independent ventures they hope to finance using the $100K prize. I wish them the same luck that ex-ATK personalities like J. Kenji Lopez-Alt or Christopher Kimball have had after escaping ATK's clutches. Maybe they'll actually be able to win a James Beard award! :P

My advice: Stick to instructional content based around exhaustive experimentation and tough-love hardware reviews; this show is a bad look that was tired well before Mark left Food Network.