Plot Synopsis

Sixteen pro chefs and home cooks compete against each other in a series of elimination challenges, as their culinary creations are judged in a blind taste test by four celebrity chef judges. The sixteen competitors are split into four teams, with each of the judges mentoring four competing pro and amateur cooks chosen from a nationwide casting call. In each episode, the groups face team and individual challenges with a variety of culinary themes through several elimination rounds. At the end of each episode, the mentors judge the competitors' dishes blind, with no knowledge of whose creation they're sampling, what they're eating, how it was prepared or whom they could be sending home. Season 1, won by Khristianne Uy, featured these four judges: no-holds barred chef Anthony Bourdain; British food star Nigella Lawson; expert chef/author Ludo Lefebvre; and chef/restaurateur Brian Malarkey. THE TASTE returned for its second season on Thursday, January 2, 2014 at 8pm ET/PT on ABC, with Marcus Samuelsson joining returning judges Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, and Ludo Lefebvre. Season 2 featured a new two-hour format.Season 3 of THE TASTE premiered on Thursday, December 4, 2014 from 8-10pm ET/PT on ABC, with all four mentors -- Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Ludo Lefebvre and Marcus Samuelsson -- returning to train cooks for another season. In the season opener, "Auditions & Childhood," home cooks and professional chefs from across the country battle it out in kitchen by creating their most delicious dishes. In a surprising new premiere episode twist, one competitor is sent home immediately after an intense childhood-inspired challenge. And at the end of the night, 16 cooks will be given a place on the mentors' teams. Chef Stephanie Izard of Chicago's Girl & The Goat Restaurant is guest judge.