AFTERTASTE: Wednesdays, 9.10pm, ABC TV and ABC iview
Saucy, tasty, spicy, delicious and satisfying - I could be talking about a meal, but I'm actually talking about ABC TV's Aftertaste, which actually does have quite a bit to do with cooking.
Easton West (a pretentious moniker) is a former internationally renowned Michelin star chef with an ego and temper Gordon Ramsay would be proud of.
Erik Thomson says his character Easton is complex - a genius in the kitchen but in personal relationships, not so much.
"I really enjoyed the whole experience [of playing Easton]," says Thomson, who is also a producer of the show.
"I started the whole process back in 2018. I'd been living with the project for four years and to get it to production and play the role, was the icing on the cake. I savour every second on set." - Pardon the culinary puns folks.
Thomson says it was a long and complicated process to create the characters in this dysfunctional West family.
"I wanted to be extended by the role. I didn't want to find myself censoring it or shaping it. I really let the writers and creators shape it.
"As much as we satire and parody the characters, we want it to be based in reality.
"Chefs are artists and that really resonated with me. I approached being a chef akin to being an actor. The curtains open when the first order comes in and close when the last order leaves the pass."
Adding to Thomson's gravitas is the casting of Rachel Griffiths as Easton's sometime love interest, Wayne Blair as his sister's partner Brett, Susan Prior as his sister Denise, and Remy Hii as chef Ben Zhao.
"We're very lucky getting them. The first series we were shooting during the pandemic. We were in South Australia and we lured them over here. We gave them such a good time, they decided to come back," Thomson says.
"It's more of an ensemble in season 2. We explore the characters even more."
Making a big splash in her role, as Easton's niece and successful dessert queen Diana, is Natalie Abbott.
When you are playing a chef on TV it might help to be a reasonable cook.
"I can cook well, and have basic technical skills, but ask me to make a jus or a reduction and I wouldn't know where to start.
"I pretend I know what I'm doing, but I wasn't going to try to pull off Michelin star knife skills, so we have first class stand-ins for those scenes."
You'd also expect the on-set catering to be first class.
"In the first series, because of COVID we ate pre-packed meals. But this season, the highlight of the day is having lunch. Food is a great social lubricant."
There are some delicious lines in this smartly written show. One that comes to mind is from Easton who says: "I refuse to cook in a world that rewards talent with emojis".
"Mat Bate and Julie De Fina are both great writers," Thomson says.
The stunning hills of South Australia are also a boon for the series.
"The hills of South Australia are a stunning part of the world. In the first series it was all green and cold, you see our steamy breath. There was a real rustic beauty about it.
"Season 2 was filmed in late summer with a beautiful aesthetic of towering gums, yucca plants, and marsupials all around us in.
"I often say to people, fly into the heart of Australia."
Thomson says the cast and crew would love a third season.
"It's good for the industry... it's a unique and very Australian show. But it's all about views and audiences.
"But I think there is a real thirst for it, given the state of the world. We need to do a bit more navel gazing... take a better look at ourselves."
I suggest you take a look at Aftertaste as it will have you hungry for more.
If you missed the first season, you can binge watch it on ABC ivew to catch up, but it isn't entirely necessary.
