New hosts for America's Test Kitchen announced
March 3, 2016 10:54 AM   Subscribe

As foretold by comments in this previous thread, CCO Jack Bishop announced today that Julia Collin Davison and Bridget Lancaster are the new hosts of America's Test Kitchen.

If you're looking for him, ousted taskmaster Chris Kimball will be hanging out at the Ask This Old House barn.
posted by ndg (50 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
Hey, they're both great! The shtick on the show was always those two were the experts and Chris was just the tolerated goofy host, so it seems like an OK transition. The Boston Globe article has a photo if you can't remember who is who.
posted by Nelson at 10:56 AM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]


They have a barn? Niiiiiice.

Those two seem to get along well with other on-camera talent; I wish them all the best in the seasons ahead.
posted by wenestvedt at 10:57 AM on March 3, 2016


I must protest. Neither of them is staring slightly askance at a point just away from the camera, anxiously keeping watch for Old Henry as echoes of eldritch horrors flicker in the depths of their eyes.
posted by Mayor West at 11:02 AM on March 3, 2016 [15 favorites]


Arise, Julia, ARRRIIISE!!!
posted by Think_Long at 11:03 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yay! Love these two. And disappointed, of course, to see the shade thrown their way on the ATK Facebook and Instagram pages.
posted by killy willy at 11:06 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


My wife can't stand Julia Collin Davison because she won't take off her rings to cook. It drives her batty.

She has no opinion with regards to Bridget.
posted by infinitewindow at 11:07 AM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]


I must protest. Neither of them is staring slightly askance at a point just away from the camera, anxiously keeping watch for Old Henry as echoes of eldritch horrors flicker in the depths of their eyes.

Who will they pay Old Henry what’s due to him when he comes striding up the walk some fine autumn morning?

Are their hands strong enough to hold the tithe?!
posted by leotrotsky at 11:11 AM on March 3, 2016 [16 favorites]


I love the food from ATK, hate that their website is one of those 'sign up online with a credit card, but you have to call during business hours to cancel' dark pattern traps.

It's pretty hard to erase the goodwill gained from countless good meals, but somehow they found a way.
posted by sp160n at 11:16 AM on March 3, 2016 [7 favorites]


I assume they will wear bow ties.
posted by Going To Maine at 11:19 AM on March 3, 2016


Yessssssssss their sssssssupremacy isssssss at hannnnnnnnd

All will love them and dessssssssssspaaaaaaaiiiiiiirrrrrr
posted by middleclasstool at 11:22 AM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


hate that their website is one of those 'sign up online with a credit card, but you have to call during business hours to cancel' dark pattern traps.

Yeah, I may have ranted in previous discussions about how I signed up for the free account on their website which was supposed to get me access to the show's recipes (turns out only partially), and they offered a free magazine issue. Which was followed by an invoice for a subscription I had NOT agreed to. (which of course I did not pay, in fact that guaranteed they'll never see a dime of my money.)

I won't miss Kimball at all. In fact it's annoying that according to the announcement the Kimball-less shows won't appear until next year. Bridget and Julia are delightful, the show will be great with them.

Also please keep Daniel Souza and Bryan Roof around. (They're the ones I have crushes on, personally...)
posted by dnash at 11:24 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


In order to fulfill the Primal HorFreudean trope initiated by offing Chis Campbell, they must develop an appropriately symbolic and disguised way first of consuming him, and then of deifying and worshipping him.

I'm looking forward to it!
posted by jamjam at 11:25 AM on March 3, 2016


Interesting, I just happened to start DVRing this show a few months ago. It's really unparalleled in cooking shows. I feel like most other cooking shows is just some schmutz showing you how to prepare a recipe. And, well, thanks, I guess?, but I can follow some directions just like anyone else. I'm really enjoying the unbiased testing methods and learning the science and other "why"s behind different cooking techniques.
posted by lock sock and barrel at 11:26 AM on March 3, 2016


When the Globe said they had to go through an extensive audition process, all I could think of was this scene from The Wedding Singer. Scampi my ass.

I like them both, but on some level am worried that Kimball's eccentricity was the secret ingredient that made the whole thing work.
posted by Diablevert at 11:33 AM on March 3, 2016


This is the best news, because Julia and Bridget are the best, but ...

on some level am worried that Kimball's eccentricity was the secret ingredient that made the whole thing work.

... yeah, me too.
posted by uncleozzy at 11:34 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


My wife can't stand Julia Collin Davison because she won't take off her rings to cook.

I personally don't understand the appeal of wearing anything (rings, watches, bracelets) on your hands or wrists ever, but it especially bugs me when I see TV chefs or bakers preparing food while wearing that stuff. I mean, the thought of that junk clattering around on your hands all day is bad enough, but add to that the possibility they might also be all gunked up with butter or flour or tomato sauce? Unacceptable.

Anyway, good luck to Bridget and Julia and good riddance to the bitter pill in the bow tie.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:34 AM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


I have serious concerns that Lidia Bastianich's metal bangles may be North America's major salmonella vector.
posted by Think_Long at 11:37 AM on March 3, 2016 [8 favorites]


Chris Kimball obviously -- can I blame that on auto-correct? or do I have to resort to some lame mumble about soup?
posted by jamjam at 11:40 AM on March 3, 2016


I have serious concerns that Lidia Bastianich's metal bangles may be North America's major salmonella vector.

It still wouldn't be the worst toxin she's unleashed upon the world.
posted by Atom Eyes at 11:42 AM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


on some level am worried that Kimball's eccentricity was the secret ingredient that made the whole thing work.

It is nearly a fact that all "making stuff" shows, other than Julia Child's, eventually eliminate all personality. Building, renovating, quilting, cooking...I figure ATK won't be able to escape this. Pepin of course is the exception, but even look at the one with Hubert Keller. Naptime. Lidia is much duller now, too. The one with the woman who looks kind of like Jaques Pepin's daughter and has all the cute college women on it: like watching a training session at a bank.
posted by rhizome at 11:44 AM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


It is nearly a fact that all "making stuff" shows, other than Julia Child's, eventually eliminate all personality.

This is why we prefer not to watch them on tv, but on youtube and other places. Some of the best cooking, woodworking and car vids I seen are now, none of them, on TV.
posted by bonehead at 11:52 AM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


I've been very critical of Kimball in the past, but I've been catching reruns of ATK on PBS Create, and his persona really does tie the show together. The show is one big "Well, actually..." and I don't think it will be as charming without a crotchety curmudgeon to bear the brunt of the know-it-alls. But I am ready and willing to be pleasantly surprised.
posted by muddgirl at 12:18 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


I didn't mind Kimball at all, but these two have been my favorite part of the show, and I think they're going to be fantastic hosts. I hope they get the opportunity to really put their own mark on it rather than trying to conform to some expectation of "how it's supposed to be."
posted by gimli at 12:44 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


Huh. I only know Bishop from the tv show, as the even goofier guy doing the taste tests. I had no idea he was a co-founder of the whole enterprise.

I won't miss Kimball. It's not that I didn't like him, per se, but I always found him distracting and more-or-less unnecessary.
posted by Thorzdad at 12:54 PM on March 3, 2016


They need to give a bigger role to the lady who tests kitchen ware and gadgets. She can cook, too, right?
posted by parmanparman at 1:00 PM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


When I first heard that Kimball was leaving, my reaction was, "Oh! That's too bad!" But literally as the words left my mouth, I realized I didn't actually feel that way. As I'm writing this comment, i was trying to find the words to describe my feelings and see that Thorzdad and I had a mind meld:

I won't miss Kimball. It's not that I didn't like him, per se, but I always found him distracting and more-or-less unnecessary.

Yes. That's exactly it. And I even live in southern VT, a fairly short drive from him; his commentary is supposed to make me feel at home.

I quite like both Bridget and Julia. They both seem to buy in to the whole message of ATK: repeated testing and good objective evaluation of the tests. Despite Kimball being a co-founder of the ATK venture, it always seemed that he bought into a not insignificant amount of woo. I still remember the ATK Radio episode where they did a segment on biodynamic farming...
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:02 PM on March 3, 2016


Not knowing the internals, but I have a feeling the Davison and Lancaster have been running the kitchen for awhile, so I bet they already have a good rapport with the other chefs who will be called up in the new season. I think they'll be great.

Also, I have surprisingly strong opinions on PBS culinary programs, so if there's such thing as a dessert island (HA) tv lineup, I need go no further than Pepin for relaxed confidence, Bayless for charm and enthusiasm, and Martha for sheer brute competence and skill.
posted by Think_Long at 1:04 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


They need to give a bigger role to the lady who tests kitchen ware and gadgets. She can cook, too, right?

Lisa McManus! She's so delightfully geeky! And clearly not someone who got to where she is by being a smooth TV presenter.
posted by Betelgeuse at 1:07 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


he shtick on the show was always those two were the experts and Chris was just the tolerated goofy host

Well, in the sense that he was the one who glared and seethed and made weird, cold jokes at them as though they were employees who he would be having a long talk to after the show, yes, goofy.
posted by maxsparber at 1:09 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


I am so late to this party. I just started watching ATK about a month or so ago. Never found the secondary channel on my cable that played the PBS channel it was on. Anyhoo, I just read about his 'ouster' and the whole background for the show. I never knew what to make of CK. He has a sort of smirk when he uses his very very dry sense of humor. I would waiver from show to show whether or not I liked him. I am still not sure as the two latest pieces of information I got from the previous thread, that he is a task master to work for and that he plays lead guitar in a Grateful Dead cover band in his spare time have so thrown my sense of balance as I do not know what to think.

Regardless, I think Bridget and Julia will do a decent job. Just like THis Old House was Bob Villa's personality as much as the houses, I think ATK is a lot about Kimball in addition to the actual dish, but change is not bad always.
posted by AugustWest at 1:09 PM on March 3, 2016


Okay. Now someone has to do a mashup of all the times that Kimball and whoever tasted the food and went 'Mmmmmm.' Because they do it every time. I think it would be... interesting.
posted by Splunge at 1:13 PM on March 3, 2016


Okay. Now someone has to do a mashup of all the times that Kimball and whoever tasted the food and went 'Mmmmmm.' Because they do it every time. I think it would be... interesting.

There was a funny moment on the podcast a few weeks ago where Bridget called him out on it and said that if he didn't immediately go Mmmmm she knew it meant he didn't like the dish.
posted by General Malaise at 1:17 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


The way Julia says "Mmmmmmm" when she tastes the food gives my husband funny feelings. (Note: I am not complaining.)
posted by telophase at 1:18 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


Splunge: here's a supercut of "mmmm's" from Season 12. I have issues with chewing noises, so I didn't make it very far, but it's certainly...something.
posted by Ufez Jones at 1:18 PM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]


I personally would have loved if they had brought back Kenji to host, but he's got his own thing now.

That said, since he couldn't be brought back, I love that it's Julia and Bridget. I like the idea of actually seeing them together.
posted by General Malaise at 1:20 PM on March 3, 2016


I look forward to the first time Julia or Bridget have to dress up as a carrot/octopus to introduce a recipe.
posted by downtohisturtles at 1:34 PM on March 3, 2016 [2 favorites]


The show is one big "Well, actually..." and I don't think it will be as charming without a crotchety curmudgeon to bear the brunt of the know-it-alls. But I am ready and willing to be pleasantly surprised.

Yeah, my only concern here is that the back-and-forth between the person cooking and the person asking questions really really works for their format, not just for the goofy-ass banter (which I love) but it's also kind of a nice not-exactly-Socratic method for introducing the audience to some of the whys of what they're doing. Kimball wasn't exactly a stand-in for the viewer asking questions, but he really did a good job of guiding things along that "now why aren't we concerned with overmixing in this case?" path.

So really my only worry is that they'll just go to solo cooking segments and lose some of that instructional Q&A feel that's become the show's hallmark. I hope instead they'll take turns standing in for what Kimball used to do.
posted by middleclasstool at 1:53 PM on March 3, 2016 [4 favorites]


> I look forward to the first time Julia or Bridget have to dress up as a carrot/octopus to introduce a recipe.

This is ATK, not Iron Chef; I think it could be a while before anyone cooks octopus on the show.
posted by Sunburnt at 2:40 PM on March 3, 2016


I'm sure Julia and Bridget will be fine. I expect I'll keep watching for many years to come. Still, I'm still not happy about how Boston Common Press did Chris Kimball, even if they insist it was "amicable." Although, in the words of the great philosopher Jayne Cobb, "Nothing buys by-gones quicker than cash." One presumes Kimball got paid.
posted by ob1quixote at 2:53 PM on March 3, 2016


If you listen closely when Chris and whomever go to taste the dish, you can tell they goose the audio up to make sure they capture the "mmmmm". That telltale rush of background white noise. And, yeah, the ubiquitous "mmmmm"s are kind of annoying. Maybe even a tad gross.
posted by Thorzdad at 3:03 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


Julia is someone I would like to hang out with, because she seems smart and fun and like she has a sense of humor. I'd split a bottle of wine or two with her in a heartbeat.

Bridget is great too, for many reasons, chief among them that she earnestly pronounces "onion" ung-yun, with an impossible-to-ignore hard G. She always looked Christopher Kimball right in the eyes when she said it, too. My personal theory is that "ung-yun" grated on his nerves, and she knew that, and she totally needled him with it. I love her for that.
posted by mudpuppie at 3:41 PM on March 3, 2016 [8 favorites]


I've always found their approach unbearably fussy and way too bland for me, but previous discussions of this have helped me understand how their approach works for a lot of people and is actually serves as a good resource. But aside from different approaches to cooking, Kimball always struck me as super creepy and weird, so I can only see his departure as a positive. More pedantic cooking, less bowtie.
posted by Dip Flash at 5:33 PM on March 3, 2016 [1 favorite]


I called this one. Even Jack, the real power behind the bow tie.

Fantastic choices ATK.
posted by clavdivs at 6:20 PM on March 3, 2016


I think this is great news. Both of them are solid personalities as well as chefs and sometimes Kimball's comments grated so hard on me.

Like Guy Fieri in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, a show I enjoy despite the host, it's like he had something to prove. "I'm asking these questions because the audience needs to hear them, but I already know the answer and I want to make sure everyone knows!" Kimball wasn't as obnoxious about this as Fieri, but enough to make me side-eye the TV.

I made the mistake of subscribing to the magazine once. Great content, but the unsolicited and immediately billed books almost killed my enjoyment of the show.
posted by smirkette at 6:37 AM on March 4, 2016


And from the Globe article:

They want to show more of the vast kitchen that powers the show, along with the 30 or so cooks who are a part of the team. “We have a very diverse audience and we would like to reflect that on television,” Lancaster said.

LOVE these ideas and looking forward to seeing them implemented.
posted by smirkette at 6:41 AM on March 4, 2016 [2 favorites]


Kimball was the reason I couldn't watch the show consistently. Good riddance.
posted by eamondaly at 7:46 AM on March 4, 2016


Yay! I have always liked Julia's and Bridget's presence and am thrilled they'll be running the show officially. Chris K. was fine, and I realize he was the guy who started it all, but too often I found him to be condescending and oddly smug. Not so with Bridget and Julia. Also, they really know their stuff.

Sometimes it's nice to crack open the kitchen window and let the fresh air in.
posted by but no cigar at 5:51 PM on March 4, 2016


I only know Bishop from the tv show, as the even goofier guy doing the taste tests. I had no idea he was a co-founder of the whole enterprise.

He's also a cookbook author. His A Year In The Vegetarian Kitchen is fantastic, and a mainstay of AskMe answers about vegetarian cookbooks.
posted by Room 641-A at 10:32 AM on March 5, 2016


Since I was away from the house for a while, I just watched three episodes of ATK back-to-back in an effort to clean off the DVR. It occurred to me that, for me, one of the best parts of the show is that the person cooking isn't talking to the viewer at home, they're talking to Kimball. I never noticed it before it was pointed out in this thread, but it makes a huge difference. I really hope they find a way to keep doing it that way.
posted by ob1quixote at 11:37 AM on March 5, 2016 [1 favorite]


Yet they still uptalk.
posted by rhizome at 12:29 PM on March 5, 2016


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