‘The Taste,’ ‘Top Chef,’ ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ receive Emmy nods

Everyone else may be abuzz over the likes of “Game of Thrones” and “True Detective” when it comes to Emmy nominations, but over here in the Food section we’re only thinking about … well, the food.

Three culinary programs received Emmy nominations Thursday morning, including ABC’s “The Taste”, Bravo’s “Top Chef”, and Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”

Anthony Bourdain of “The Taste” was nominated in the host for a reality or reality-competition program category. “Top Chef” was nominated for the third time in the reality-competition program category and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” was nominated in the structured reality program category.

“The Taste” requires competitors to impress the judges with just one spoonful of food. The judges serve as mentors for a team of chefs that they select through a blind tasting at the opening of the show. Competitors are challenged to create the single best bite of food for the judges, with the worst taste being eliminated from the competition.

“Top Chef,” starring Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, Emeril Lagasse and Gail Simmons, is known for upsetting “The Amazing Race” at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards. “The Amazing Race” had won the reality-competition cartegory every year since the award’s creation. “Top Chef” features a group of up-and-coming chefs who take on new challenges each week to be the last chef standing. The winner receives a cash prize of $125,000.

In “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” bleached-blond host Guy Fieri travels the country searching for hidden restaurant gems. His finds are widely varied, including a sandwich deli inside a school bus and Native American tacos in Denver. Fieri’s road trip show is still going strong after 19 seasons.