Steve Marron

We're really only echoing what everyone has said so far, but this is a great concept, and it's the home cooks that we've watched that make the show. But the presenters/judges and the peanut gallery of the "line" when those individuals aren't cooking destroy it. Blind tasting should be blind, not coached with "oh, you'll like this one", "Did you know this chef made this-or-that from scratch", "Don't you think this is a little large/untraditional/undercooked/small/different" - it's pathetic, quite frankly. And the coaching from the restaurant cooks for their colleagues - on the Chinese series, the line chef didn't know how long to set his timer for on his fish, couldn't find his ingredients without help from his "coaches" and forgot his rice until the judges told him to go back for it before time was up. The home cooks are each on their own and I applaud them. Also, the judge should be able to put personal preconceptions and preferences aside and taste on merit, not on some arbitrary standard of their own personal tastes. Maybe you don't like spicy food, maybe you don't think you should cook a certain pork dish with a different cut, but check your biases at the door and judge with an open mind. The condescension from the presenters/judges is palpable. We watch to see the home cook win and shut the "experts" up. We'll be watching the end of the current season to keep rooting for the underdogs, but I doubt we'll be back if this show is renewed without major changes in approach and people.