Bad Taste

After years of cooking in some of the world’s most celebrated kitchens chef Lorcán Kan is intimately aware of the predominantly white audiences they serve. As the head chef of Etta, Kan weaves Malaysian flavours into a Melbourne institution, balancing culture with approachability. How much can you challenge your diners without alienating them? Where’s the line? Kan joins Jess Ho to reflect on what it means to cook for an audience that isn’t always fluent in your food - and what it takes to challenge those boundaries.

Award-winning chef John Rivera has long reimagined Filipino cuisine through a fine-dining lens, yet it’s ube that has become an unexpected global sensation. In this episode, Rivera joins Jess Ho to unpack how one ingredient came to symbolise an entire culture in the West, and what that kind of spotlight means for Filipino chefs navigating visibility, identity and the ongoing push for recognition in Australia.

Jess Ho investigates the myth of authenticity and takes a look at what Cantonese food is in the diaspora. They visit renowned Melbourne restaurant Flower Drum to eat pearl meat and explore how migration affects a regional cuisine. In conversation with New York food writer Francis Lam, Jess asks 'When does regional expression become fusion?' and in this context, ‘What IS the food of my people?’

Instant noodles are notoriously easy on the wallet and simple to prepare. But why is this affordable staple turning into a luxury item?

When we think of colonisation and its impact on cuisine, Italy invading Africa probably doesn’t come to mind first. In this episode of Bad Taste we unpack the messy history of a dish that's much-loved by the East African diaspora.

Farmers have grown grain in Australia on a commercial scale for years, but none of it is indigenous to our country. We talk to industry experts Bruce Pascoe and Jacob Birch about the potential of native grain crops and the impact they can have on Australia.

Everybody eats, but who gets to define what good food is? Join food writer Jess Ho on a journey through their pantry to dissect how Australian palates came to be. Meet expert eaters, farmers, researchers and chefs fighting to have their voice recognised - through the ingredients they champion, the aisles they stock, the prices they charge and the people they hire. People who dare to think differently and are all curious about the same question: what is good taste anyway?