Aftertaste, ABC’s latest comedy series in Australia, examines the effects of a changing landscape in the country’s hospitality industry, and follows an old-school, dinosaur chef trying to figure out his place in a new world.
There is plenty of laughter to be found in a series that charts the demise and ultimate redemption of a white male chef ego, used to getting his own way and crushing the will of his charges, after one scandal too many.
Cancelled celebrity chef Easton West, ably portrayed by Erik Thomson, is forced to take a long hard look at himself when a rage-fuelled outburst goes viral and his career hangs in the balance.
West returns to his hometown of Uraidla, in Adelaide Hills wine country, where he meets his niece Diana (Natalie Abbott), herself a baker of cupcakes and pastries, and an unlikely partnership blossoms.
Like in most countries, the Australian hospitality industry has endured its share of scandals and public airings of unacceptable behaviour. The once untouchable figure of the 'angry white celebrity chef' is no longer the apex predator and must contend with a society and industry resetting to a fairer and more inclusive modus operandi.