Aftertaste: Season 1 (2021)

A review of the new ABC comedy series.

ABC’s latest Wednesday night comedy series offers six-episodes of sharp satirical entertainment.

After an epic kitchen meltdown in a Shanghai restaurant, internationally renowned chef Easton West (Erik Thomson) returns home to Australia, publicly shamed and with a career in tatters. Easton is that familiar chef you’ve seen yelling at young kitchen hands, telling them they’re worth nothing. Gordon Ramsey is the obvious muse, but anyone who has worked in hospitality (or any bystander who has witnessed the odd kitchen altercation) could attest to a wide net of inspiration.

Back home in the Adelaide hinterland, Easton teams up with his nineteen-year-old niece – and aspiring pastry chef – Diana (Natalie Abbott) to start a local restaurant. The back-to-basics guise is transparent enough to local successful chef Ben Zhao (Remy Hii) and vineyard owner Margot (Rachel Griffiths) who watch on and interject with curious interest.

Matthew Bate and Julie De Fina have written (along with Matt Vesely and Jodie Molloy) and created a smart series for the ABC. At first, the characters seem fairly stereotypical, but Bate and De Fina add an extra layer of clever (and often foul-mouthed) dialogue to entice intrigue. While the six episodes don’t delve into extraneous backstory, some extra time may have helped establish clearer motivations for Easton who borders on the angry chef caricature.

Veteran director Jonathan Brough balances comedy with dramatic tension, often relieved by slapstick moments. Anna Howard’s sharp cinematography turns each culinary dish into a feast for the eyes.

Composer Benjamin Speed adds a quirky score to the series, particularly with an orgasm-sounding suite of ‘oooh’ and ‘ahhhs’, while reminding the audience of the rural setting with twangs and sounds reminiscent from Peter Weir’s Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Erik Thomson, who also serves as a producer, plays the angry chef well, but without having much more to chew on, we’re left wondering what’s beneath the surface. However, it is Natalie Abbot who steals the show with a vivacious and infectious perspicacity. Bate and De Fina’s woke dialogue for Diana is matched with a quick and vulgar wit, to which Abbott delivers to perfection. She is a fresh new talent and one that is sure to ascend before too long.

Rounding out the main cast are Susan Prior as Denise, Diana’s concerned mother and Easton’s long-suffering sister, a role played excellently with some lighter drunken scenes that allow Prior to shine. Wayne Blair gives a warm performance as the kind stepfather to Diana and Peter Carroll plays the eccentric patriarch with wild abandon. Rachel Griffiths, another co-producer, is enjoyable as Easton’s temptress, though most of her storylines serve to propel Easton’s story along.

Boasting a great cast, witty dialogue and a delectable display of degustation delights, Aftertaste is a series for foodies and non-foodies alike and amuses the Wednesday night ABC viewer with ease.

Aftertaste screened on ABC and is streaming on iView.

Whole series screened for review.