‘America’s Test Kitchen’ celebrates 20 years on TV
America’s Test Kitchen shows host Bridget Lancaster, left, and Chief Creative Officer Jack Bishop from the series “America’s Test Kitchen.” The series is marking its 20th year on PBS and mixing in a new batch of younger viewers who are drawn to the cooking show online. [AP/YONHAP]
Then there’s the gimmick-free “America’s Test Kitchen,” in its 20th season of expertly guiding viewers through well-vetted steps for savory sauces, perfectly grilled fish and flaky pie crusts, among the 1,000-plus recipes it has demystified to date. Also on the menu are reviews of a range of ingredients, from anchovies to baking chocolate to pasta, as well as cookware.
No need to sample more than a half-dozen styles of yogurt, including Australian and Bulgarian, because “America’s Test Kitchen” has done it for us. Being practical, not trendy, has its benefits: It boasts of being the longest-running U.S. cooking series. (Japan’s “Today’s Cooking,” which debuted in 1957, has it beat internationally.)
The show’s unwavering focus explains its success, said Jack Bishop, chief content officer for America’s Test Kitchen and on-screen host of the product comparison segments.
“There’s a lot of food content on television and on video platforms, especially in either the competition genre or in the travel genre,” Bishop said. With the public TV series, “it’s first and foremost the content and the utility of the show, that it helps people cook.”
The average weekly audience is 2.25 million, holding steady and even climbing a percentage point or two in the past two years. Meanwhile, the show has expanded its reach - and appeal - online, with a YouTube subscription channel whose audience includes cooking-curious young men who haven’t discovered the series on TV, according to the America’s Test Kitchen company.
The company publishes the “Cook’s Illustrated” and “Cook’s Country” magazines, which are ad-free like the public TV series.
The series “is public television personified. It’s all about lifelong learning, being educated while entertained” and empowering viewers to develop their passion and skills, said Cynthia Fenneman, president and CEO of American Public Television, which distributes “America’s Test Kitchen” to public TV stations nationwide.
Recipes are tested dozens of times by more than 50 full-time cooks who are aided by a panel of some 40,000 home cooks. The goal is to create a reliable blueprint that can be followed by viewers, with the average cost of testing for one recipe about $10,000, according to America’s Test Kitchen.
It all happens in the vast, industrial-looking kitchen in Boston seen on TV. Taping on this season’s 26 episodes were completed before the coronavirus pandemic forced a widespread shutdown of TV and movie production.
A key ingredient for the show is the chemistry between the hosts, Bridget Lancaster and Julia Collin Davison, and the ensemble of fellow test cooks and Bishop. The vibe is friendly cooperation, not culinary one-upmanship.
“All the research we do about the shows indicates people like to just turn it on and spend time with us,” Bishop said. “We actually like each other. I’ve done the shows since Day 1. I’ve known Bridget since 1998, Julia since 1999 and [kitchen equipment expert Adam Ried] since, I think, 1995.”
AP
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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