Entertainment | Celebrity

Aarti Sequeira takes viewers’ taste buds around globe

Los Angeles food blogger launches new show

Los Angeles Times
Published: 16:32 January 5, 2013

Image Credit:
Aarti Sequeira in "Taste In Translation", her new TV series focusing on food and travel.

First, the bad news. ‘Aarti Party’ has been cancelled. Technically, Food Network says, the show is on “hiatus” and can still be caught in reruns. But Aarti Sequeira — the Los Angeles food blogger who landed the show after winning Season 6 of ‘The Next Food Network Star’ — doesn’t sugar-coat.

“It’s cancelled,” she says simply, displaying the lack of guile that made her one of the most beloved contestants in the history of the network’s popular reality competition, and also sealed her victory. That warm, open personality also made her a natural on camera, but the weekend-morning show dedicated to cooking with Indian flair nonetheless failed to gain traction with viewers.

“I was heartbroken when I found out,” Sequeira said.

The news came on the eve of a long-planned trip to Portland, Oregon. So Sequeira did what any true foodie would do. She went to Portland and dived into the local food scene, all while holding fast to a personal belief: Life’s setbacks are simply opportunity in disguise. She said she kept reminding herself, “There’s always a better plan in store.”

Which brings us to the good news for Sequeira’s fans: She launched a new show on Friday night — ‘Taste in Translation’ — on Food Network’s sister channel, Cooking Channel. And it just might be better suited to Sequeira (a former TV news producer for CNN) and audiences who seemingly cannot get enough of food-meets-travel.

The show is a global guide to taste, comparing and contrasting the most popular dishes on the planet, but ultimately underscoring just how much we’re all alike. The first episode explored comfort foods around the globe in all their starchy, homey goodness. Feeling blue in Sweden? You’re likely to pull up a chair to a potato gratin laced with ... a kind of sardine.