No Taste Like Home badly wants to be the foodie version of Who Do You Think You Are? It's actually a sound idea, and it should have worked better than it does. The problem is this production has been produced by clueless Americans for clueless Americans, which is likely to leave everyone else non-plussed by everyone making a big deal of such bog-standard everyday fare as shepherd's pie and Yorkshire pudding. On the plus side, Antoni Porowski is a cute and engaging host, and he delivers the historical backgrounds of his guests with aplomb. But linking the history to the food is often a stretch, or so general and obvious, or so random, as to bring no significant meaning. I mean, you could probably link "afternoon tea" and "Victoria Sponge" and "Sunday roast" to absolutely any guest of British origin. So it's not like those choices reveal anything at all about the guests. And one last minor quibble: if you're purporting to take food seriously and you're endlessly banging on about food bringing family together, then maybe don't eat standing around the kitchen as if you're on the run. And don't eat Yorkshire pudding with your fingers.
