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Alfonso Ribeiro doesn't consider himself a foodie, but rather a guy who loves American food. Which makes his hosting the Monday Cooking Channel series "Unwrapped 2.0" something of an ideal assignment. "I am the quintessential American eater," declares the 43-year-old former star of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" and Season 19 co-champion (with Witney Carson) of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." "I'm not super fancy. I'm not super creative. I love heartland-of-America-type foods. So I wouldn't consider myself a full foodie because of just simply the fact that I'm not like a big sushi eater and the weird foods. I'm not into that. But if you make me some basic, fundamental foods ... I'm into all of that." The series, which premiered last week, is basically a reboot of Food Network's "Unwrapped" that was hosted for years by Marc Summers. Like its predecessor, the new show takes viewers across the country to explore the origin, creation and secrets behind such legendary foods as caramel apples, honey barbecue potato chips and the subject of the premiere episode, honey buns. "I loved the honey buns," says Ribeiro, who is currently touring the country with Carson with the "Dancing With the Stars Live" show. "Like I just love that. I mean, it's not really a surprising thing about how it's made. It's a lot of sugar (laughs) – a lot of sugar on a lot of different stuff. But ... how they do the honey buns, was kind of cool to me." In Monday's episode, Ribeiro learns about the origins of sweet and sour. Other episodes delve into pork rinds, the pecan log roll and something called a chocolate salami. "It is all-American stuff," Ribeiro says, "so it's the treat, rather than it be about burgers and those types of things. It's ultimately about the treats that we love. "It's when you go to a football game, what do you have there? What comes with the meal? You know, the fun stuff, the stuff that kids love to eat. This is what this show is about. And that's really what attracted me to it, simply that I love all those treats. So it's a perfect marriage." What book are you currently reading? "Right now, I don't have time to really sit down and read a book, so I don't have one." What did you have for dinner last night? "I had a filet mignon steak." What is your next project? "That's still to be determined. The next one that I have on the books, I'm directing a TV show for ABC Family." When was your last vacation, where and why? "My last vacation was right after the season of 'Dancing With the Stars,' where my wife and I went to the Andaz Hotel in Maui, Hawaii." BY GEORGE DICKIE Alfonso Ribeiro Ribeiro explores food origins on 'Unwrapped 2.0' If Bryan Mills had known at the time what else was in store for his supposed retirement from espionage, he might have thought rescuing his kidnapped daughter was a walk in the park. Liam Neeson had such an enormous hit with the original "Taken," it launched a major new career chapter for him as an action star, fortified by such additional films as "Non-Stop" and "A Walk Among the Tombstones." You know what success breeds, and since "Taken 2" also fared well, there's now – you guessed it – "Taken 3." Mills' family life always has been the basis of his troubles in these movies, and that's the crux of his problems again. He still wants his ex-wife (Famke Janssen) back, but there's a new man in her life (Dougray Scott) ... and, probably no surprise, a man with a questionable past. The suspicions Mills naturally has about his rival for his former spouse leads to a murder that the ex-spy is framed for. While he's trying to clear himself, he also has to continue to keep watch over daughter Kim (Maggie Grace), who's threatened again; the stakes actually are higher, since she's expecting her first child. In "Die Hard 2," Bruce Willis' John McClane wonders, "How can the same thing happen to the same guy twice?" For sure, "Taken 3" cements Neeson's Mills as a member of the same club, but it's to the actor's credit that he still makes it work without slipping into caricature. Director Olivier Megaton has built a reputation for this sort of fast-paced festival of mayhem, and he delivers for those who already are in the "Taken" house. At the same time, those who are just getting their first dose of the franchise will immediately get a sense of what they've missed. It's the same commanding Neeson, even more confident (if that's possible) in the role. A certain suspension of disbelief is a requirement when you get to the third chapter of a franchise such as "Taken," but there's still undeniable fun in watching Neeson mop up the screen with various bad guys. The third time may not be the charm, but at the same time, "Taken 3" does no real harm ... unless you happen to be on the receiving end as one of its villains. BY JAY BOBBIN Liam Neeson gets 'Taken' again in third round Page 8 February 9 - 15, 2015

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