I can "taste" many of the dishes, as I can imagine how they would be. For example, the show I saw today, one chef prepared a cheesecake using gorgonzola cheese. Not very traditional, but I can imagine how it was, creamy, and sweet, but with subtle undertones with the zip of blue cheese. Sounds great, and is the kind of interplay I like in my foods.
Occasionally, a dish will be made that I can't do this with, and today, such a dish was presented. It sounded gross and disgusting. I almost expected the judges to fall in love with it. This expectation came from my familiarity with Iron Chef Japan in which absolutely strange dishes were considered delicacies.
Fortunately, the judges on Top Chef seem to be more stable. And when presented with scallops in a butterscotch sauce (you read that right--freakin' butterscotch) they were suitably disappointed. That must be what happens when the judges are chefs and food critics, and not actors and fortune tellers.
"I should have gone with chocolate covered tuna"
