America's Test Kitchen

Adam Reid, who we always suspected, has come out as gay.

Dan Souza, Keith Dresser, and Bryan Roof - who we wish were gay - aren’t.

Oh, and, Jack Bishop, who sets off everyone's gaydar, is straight. Ostensibly.

Does Adam have Meth Mouths?

Those teefs...

r1

that shocked me the most I think

What about Julia and Bridget?

Julia and Bridget are both married with kids, for whatever that's worth.

Julia pings a little, but I think it's her personality rather than her sexuality.

Toni Tipton-Martin is generally charming, but I've grown tired of her role of applying the mandatory spin on every food item being linked to "the African American culture" or some notation of black slavery times. Jesus, enough already. You literally cannot escape this stuff anymore. I love both shows, ATK and Cook's Country, but can we please enjoy at least one thing were somebody's not trying to "educate" us?!?

R6 - When the let Julia & Bridget take over the show, I laughed for the entire first season at the clown makeup they suddenly had on. They went from totally natural and relatable when they were merely sidekicks of the old queen who used to run the show. Then the reboot came and suddenly, they were painted-up like the harlots of Covent Gardens. LOL! Julia looked especially ridiculous. Fortunately they've toned it down a bit.

Why do they make the gay, (Adam) do the segments with all the kitchen tchotchkes and gadgets? Why doesn't he ever get to cook? Is it because they're afraid he'll "get something" in one of the dishes?

Seriously, he graduated from some culinary program. Let the man bake a cake or something, JULIA!

Dan Souza broke my gaydar, then!

Adam sez:

[quote]My start in equipment testing was more by circumstance than design. Not long after I started at Cook’s Illustrated, a freelancer who was supposed to test roasting racks bowed out in the eleventh hour. I said I’d like to give it a shot, and the editors were desperate enough to allow it. Apparently it went well, because from that point forward I kept on testing.

I wonder how much Kimball cock had to be sucked to get rid of him in the ATK Uprising.

Did they cash his odious, bony ass, out?

Milk Street SUCKS salty balls.

I do like Julia & Bridget in false eyelashes and a little lipstick and blush.

It was jarring at first, but I like it now.

Our Bridget needs a neck suck and lift, though.

She is my Bacon Goddess!

I like hearing them giggle when one says something and you know they're sharing an inside joke or making a double entendre that isn't supposed to be obvious.

I think that the finest shared female orgasm in the history of TV was Julia and Bridget tasting the Sticky Buns they had just made. I am glad they are shot from the waist up. The moaning paroxysms of synchronized gustatory bliss were amazing.

Possibly my favorite episode.

R12

Kimball chose to leave; he was not pushed out by ATK. There was (is still?) a lawsuit alleging that he put his new show and career together when he was still being employed and being paid by ATK. That's the simple version.

And once Kimball was gone, all the dirt was spilled about what an egotistical asshole he was.

And, Indeed, Milk Street is a waste. How he got so many good professionals to work for him (and I'm looking at you, too, Sara Moulton) is a wonder, based on his rep.

Is Adam Ried really gay? Or are you confusing him with Adam Reid, the gay pornstar?

ATK was sold recently. Before that, they shifted away from their very traditional focus (another “new” perfect pie dough recipe, another “best” roast chicken). They have a much broader, international focus now. Cook’s Illustrated is still my favorite cooking magazine, but I don’t cook from it as much anymore.

[quote] Julia pings a little, but I think it's her personality rather than her sexuality.

Whoever does hair and makeup on Julia and Bridget is a magician.

Julia pings a LOT, not a little.

My speculated back story: Julia and Bridget both hated Chris Kimball and were thrilled when he got booted out. Before the boot-out, J&B traveled together for work, formed a work alliance (both hating Kimball), got drunk, and had sex in a hotel room. Julia is the lesbian, but Bridget will play along to keep the alliance strong.

R17

I can not find a video of it, but on an anniversary show illustrating favorite recipes - or a show approximating that - Adam clearly mentioned "his boyfriend."

He's also switched the band he wore on his right hand to his left hand, where it seems more "wedding band", but that's just a guess.

No love for Lisa McManus? Lawman Johnson?

Did anyone else watch that competition show (which I assume was something to do with the new ownership)? It was sort of like Food Network Star. The winner was supposed to get a job at ATK, and at the end of the show they showed her doing a segment on ATK, but I've never seen it on the actual show.

I have noticed that they seem to have made it a lot harder to get the recipes and watch the episodes without paying for an online subscription. I've subscribed to both magazines for YEARS and I refuse to pay for another subscription. It also seems like ATK (the TV show) no longer has a regular presence on my local public TV stations. You can find it here and there, and it's on CREATE, but a weekly broadcast of each new episode no longer happens.

I could turn Dan Souza. I know I could.

R20, I LOVE Lisa McManus and her casual disgust at failing kitchen products.

I thought the TV show was very gay and pretty good, but suffered from an aggressively positive host and too much complication in the challenges. Candidates could draw a terrible recipe or set of ingredients, while others sailed just on luck. I was fine with the winner, but haven’t seen her on the show either. A number of recipes from each episode are on the website.

I saw an episode where Jack Bishop got all Mary about using, gasp, an *electric* stove. He said he just could not use electric. How does one turn the heat down? He was forced to -- gasp -- take his pot off the burner!

Considering that a huge percentage of Americans use electric stove, I thought that was ridiculous.

They do use electric (mostly induction) stoves on the show.

Funny I find Bridget gives more dyke vibes than Julia. I find Bridget rather abrasive and condescending.

I noticed Dan Souza's mouth seems to be partially paralyzed. Is this a result of repressed homosexual urges, or did he suffer a stroke (due to repressed homosexual urges)?

I was curious, so I checked: the lawsuits and counter suits have been settled. The article is from 2019.

[quote]A clash between a Boston-based cooking empire and the man who created it has come to an end. America’s Test Kitchen, home to several popular cooking shows and magazines, has reached a settlement with Christopher Kimball, the man who founded and then left the company to start his own food-media enterprise across town.

r12 I agree that Milk Street sucks. And "Milk Street" is a very disgusting combination of words. It's everything people hate about foodie culture. Zero fun, takes itself too serious and highly pretentious.

I think Milk Street is ok but a little Chris Kimball goes a very long way. I feel like I actually get to know a bit about the food culture of focus each episode. I find America’s Test Kitchen a mixed bag. Some of the practical tips are helpful but the presenters are pretty basic and the recipes are often so as well.

R15 - I think I need that sticky bun recipe!

Dan Souza’s lip must drop an inch a Month. I swear it’s lower every time I see him. It’s eventually gonna be nipple level while he uses a spatter screen to keep the flys out his mouth.

I will watch any segment of the show when Elle Simone is presenting. I like her recipes.

Elle was a real bitch to the gay guy from Cape Cod, who I think should have won. She should eat Taco Bell daily for the rest of her life.

[quote]Elle was a real bitch to the gay guy from Cape Cod, who I think should have won.

Wait -- GREG was on the show?

Chris Kimball was known to dislike spicy foods. He would cough and clutch his pearls if something was "too hot" for him. I notice that Bridget stated emphatically that she loves hot and spicy food.

Elle has a nice personality, IMO, but what do I know. I like Becky. She's bubbly without being obnoxious.

Becky's voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard to me -- can't watch! And her inflections!

How about the Asian Amazon Lan Lam?

If I am not watching MSNBC I am watching

Pluto Food:

ATK, ATK Presents, Cooks Country, and Julia at Home. It's a whole franchise.

Julia is a rolly-polly blonde German Frau, married to husband Ian Davison, whom she met at ATK chipping a frozen turkey, and they have a daughter Marta who hates condiments.

[quote] Wait -- GREG was on the show?

Shhhh….

r37, Lan Lam is awesome. She speaks in that Asian breathiness that belies superiority.

She is perfect.

Ultimately, I want to blow Dan while Keith pounds me raw.

America's Test Kitchen's finest Spit Pork Roast.

I wonder who got custody of the orange Le Cruset Dutch Oven? They moved on to blue...

Lan Lam seems like she’s going to scold someone any second.

I had an obsession with Dan Souza for a short period, so I looked at ever video and IG post, but he's still just an unavailable straight guy to me.

Straight or not -- I'll bet he'd still let you toss his salad

I ahwedy thaid I don’ like guythz!

I kind of can't watch it much anymore. It's become the frau-iest frau cooking show out there in frau-dom. The 2 blonde ladies -- they couldn't be more insincere and chintzy if they tried.

Can't stand Elle. She's a little too much for me.

I like the pragmatic approach to the show. Kimball was too creepy for me to watch for long periods. Recipes are generally good, though.

R45, thank you, thank you, thank you. When Kimball left the empire that is ATK/Cook's Country (and yes, it's an empire, with 2 magazine's, appearances on QVC with David V and more) the two programs did indeed become the FRAU-iest of FRAU programs. I like Bridget, think she's got an attitude that producers keep under control, but Julia? Oof she is hard to take, especially when she makes "yummy" noises over and about food and good things smell or taste. Stop it please.

BTW - if you google search Kimball's departure from the show/company, you'll find it was nasty (for public TV) and he's not a nice guy. I think he's livin life with wife #3 who had been his personal ass't. at ATK?

I know someone who works on ATK and Cook's Country -- any questions? Yes, Adam is gay; no, Dan is not, nor is Joe, his little science elf who Dan is mean to on air. My friend tells me Joe is going to be one of the segment presenters in the new season.

Kimball had the fawning gay assistant who made Cacio e pepe, then disappeared.

Dan has Joe, and Joe will also disappear.

It is a stupid position to have. The CO2 episode with Joe looking for the stream to drench himself and the Oobleck episode with Joe running on cornstarch solution was equally stupid. This tortured Dobby would never sell if it were a girl they were torturing.

[quote]No love for Lisa McManus? Lawman Johnson?

I love Lawman too! He's gotten a bit beefy recently, but you can tell Bridgette & Julia love him. I like emphasis on regional recipes on Cooks Country, but I put Toni what's her face on mute. I think they can give a little summary of where the recipe came from without her little speeches.

R51, it's 2023... there's no way ATK or Cook's Country cold have those two White chicks talk about food the was Toni does, because food in America would not be what it is without the contribution of Africans brought to the U.S. in chains. I can't believe I typed that, I know how it sounds, but it's how I have come to see her segments within the programs.

I get your point R52, though (and I hate to say this because I sound like my Fox News loving mother), whenever I see those segments, my immediate thought is "this is some woke bullshit!" I get the importance of talking about the origins of food- in watching the show, I never realized how many dishes we love had origins in immigrants trying to recreate the food from the old country (not just the obvious stuff, like Italian food) or food that out of whatever they could forage. But it just comes across in a heavy handed way that seems unnecessary.

I like Toni's segments. She is a pretty presenter with interesting tidbits of American history. Very likable.

My only complaint about Toni is that she is clearly reading from a teleprompter. Surely her segments are short enough to memorize or film in a couple of takes.

I also wish Cook's Country would get rid of the studio audience for the tasting segments (if they haven't already). I have to laugh/roll my eyes at the religio-ethnic melting pot of people they find.

I like Julia at Home better than when she's on the ATK set. She's more relaxed and genuine. And she's just effortlessly skilled with that knife.

You mean the Federer $525 8" K tip?

[quote]I like Julia at Home better than when she's on the ATK set. She's more relaxed and genuine. And she's just effortlessly skilled with that knife.

I'm lucky I still have my balls.

Adam is a friend of a friend and I’ve been introduced to him and he remembered me on our subsequent meetings. Very kind, genuine, zero ego about being on television, but happy to talk about his expertise. I’ve known a few celebrities (or maybe just “known” people) and you learn that you can’t fawn or ask about dirt. Hang out for a few drinks and everyone ends up talking about work.

There's a different vibe about the show since Chris Kimball left and I don't like it. Yes, he's a dick, but it made the other chefs look better in comparison and they always put him in his place. Now, it's Julia drooling over whatever food they're cooking like she hasn't eaten in days. And Bridget always seems like she's afraid she's going to say something non P.C. and offend one of the diverse cast of chefs.

Lol @ the inevitability of DL hating the fact that women pretty much run and set the tone for ATC now that CK is gone.

R60, spot on, "Now, it's Julia drooling over whatever food they're cooking like she hasn't eaten in days. And Bridget always seems like she's afraid she's going to say something non P.C. and offend one of the diverse cast of chefs."

And R61, I don't hate that Bridget and Julia rule the roost, I don't like how frau-y the show has become and honestly, the "diversity" factor feels shoehorned into what was, a quiet show with a few talented cooks/chefs who knew how to convey cooking skills.

[quote]I don't like how frau-y the show has become and honestly, the "diversity" factor feels shoehorned into what was, a quiet show with a few talented cooks/chefs who knew how to convey cooking skills.

I don't know; I think they do a pretty good job of weeding out the chefs that just don't work, regardless of the diversity. A couple of years ago they had woman named Natalie that appeared to be middle eastern, but lord, what a vocal fry that woman had. Cooking segments with Bridget looked like a sulky young woman talking to her less than impressed mom.

I guess I don't see it as frau-y - more sort of a collection of cooking nerds, frequently spotlighting Dan - a gold star cooking nerd

I always thoyght Julia looked like the Mom from the vintage Fisher-Price sets.

Natalie was the one with all the trashy tattoos, right?

They did two episodes with the cringy Chinese son and his father.

Crispy Orange Peel Beef and Shrimp Fried Rice.

The Crispy Orange Peel Beef is the old recipe at PF Chang's before they batter fried everything.

I watch it before I make it.

[quote]Natalie was the one with all the trashy tattoos, right?

Yes, the sleeve tats on Lawman looked kind of hot, but trashy & distracting on Natalie, like she needed to wash her hands to get something off

You're so right, R66, the Chinese guys are entirely forced and cringy.

I know scheduling at PBS stations around the US varies widely, but the new season of ATK starts this week in the Bay Area. I believe we'll be seeing at least one ATKer in a new role.

The new season of ATK is on! "It's all about Dan" as Dan muscles his way in between Julia & Bridget with a cameo by Erin, the OCD baker who bakes rye bread!

I haven't seen anyone new. What happened to that woman who won the ATK competition show?

I always enjoy Christie Morrison, and I watch her prepare recipes I would not actually make for myself.

I think Cook’s Country is slightly downmarket from America’s Test Kitchen.

I like most of the presenters and I think the production format (short strumming guitar interlude, compact historical introduction, then straight to the recipe) maintains a sense of order and “comfort” in viewing the segments.

I watch on YouTube and mercifully they don’t jackhammer you with advertisements.

Bryan's not wearing a wedding ring anymore ...

[quote]I always enjoy Christie Morrison, and I watch her prepare recipes I would not actually make for myself.

I like her too; never trust a thin cook. CC has kind of grown on me, even though I'm not a fan of Toni Tipton Martin. I kind of like the emphasis on regional recipes and what makes them unique. Aside from Toni, most of the presenters are very good cooks, though Morgan's got a grating vocal fry.

Toni Tipton Martin seems like a nice woman, but she also seems more than a bit uncomfortable on camera. I much prefer her doing the short historical segments (although I wish she could memorize her brief scripts rather than using a teleprompter) than working on air with the test chefs. I realize she's new to that role and that presenters like Julia and Bridget have many years of experience, but TTM just seems so... tentative. If CC wants to give Julia and Bridge the occasional break then let Christie present the test chefs and their recipes once in awhile.

Dan Souza must have got a new silent Oompa-Loompa to torture for his ATK science segments as his former O-L Joe has now moved up to presenter. Well done, sir! You seem lovely. (I have a friend who works on the show, so I knew Joe was English.)

R75 I'd just dump those historical segments altogether. The show tries to be too much to too many.