Amarsir

So much missing information. In addition to not understanding what the final arrangement is, I have no idea what Jeff thought he gained by breaking with Marcus. Usually the ones breaking off a deal are control freaks, but that wasn't his problem. (Having no passion and no skill at being a father was the problem.) Was it purely so he could get a couple franchise fees in his pocket and then not care if the businesses stay open? Or did he think something was wrong with the new direction? I can't imagine it's the right choice, but understanding would let me know it's a mistake. One possible clue: Tea2Go has a decently-made website with online ordering. But there was no mention of it during the show. Maybe he's making money off it and Marcus would make him stop? But that doesn't make sense because the business was clearly dying. I guess we need to see what the other franchisees do. The Profit always runs on a very tight schedule. Based on photos uploaded to Yelp, that grand reopening itself seems to have been on August 28. The initial meetings may have been months earlier, but I can believe all the functional changes happened in a very short period of time.

Well I'll say this about the Worst Cooks Chopped: at least we know they weren't faking on the original show. I'm trying to decide if I would have liked the show better had the baskets been easier. Those 4 would have been legitimately challenged had a round contained chicken breast, mayonnaise, and a loaf of bread. This was "you gave me ingredients so I cooked them and put them on a plate." (And a failure at that.)

By the way, Wally Amos is also the guy behind Uncle Wally's Muffins, sold all over (including Walmart). And I believe he still owns a big chunk of that one. So I don't think he's doing badly. He just wanted another try with high-end cookies.

Last week's was better with an actual discussion of how to arrive at a valuation. But I don't think the sharks were jerking them around so much as competing. (Except for Lori, with her "But you have to tell me now ... unless it's no, then think about it.") Grouping up was a response to a perceived willingness on equity, and reverting was responding to their cap of 20%. In real life you should be lucky to have 3 differently-structured offers. There wouldn't be such a time pressure on it, but you should have the skill to determine which of those 4 offers would have suited you the best. Last year Daymond was asked by the President to be on a committee about global entrepreneurship and this year that hasn't been erased from history. There really wasn't anything to the update other than that Daymond seems legitimately thrilled to be an official representative.

Bamboo guy needed help. More than any Dragons have time to give, but guidance he would happily have accepted. I'm not sure I agree with their assessment that he wasn't driven. I think he wanted to run with the ball but couldn't figure out how. The plastic pitch was awful. 30 staffed locations with no sales? Bull. Prove you can do something before telling me how awesome you are for doing it. Just an unverified gut feeling but I felt the Dragons were all a lot more conversational with each other than last year. It's nice seeing that bit of growth.

Food skewers in the drink is the thing. I'm not saying it isn't stupid, but it's the thing. I wasn't watching closely, but it looked like John had far more water than his pasta required. He could have poured out half and boiled without drama, IMHO. So I think I liked this episode. The mistakes seemed real and not over-the-top. And they all seemed pleased with their recipes to the extent they might make it at home. Also none of these contestants really bother me. Matt Dallas and Mike Sorrentino don't add much, but they aren't annoying me either. And the rest seem to add a modicum of humor.

I just knew it on that trip. People forget eggs way too frequently, but something about the way she said she planned a crepe made it inevitable. I think the early days of the show had a lot of "deconstructed" and heavy use of Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, and Jet just about throttled some people until it stopped. But yeah I'd have to say "deconstructed" is a generous description for his sushi roll.

I wonder how some of the busier patterns will look against the famously stark walls of The Simple Greek. Maybe it will be the compliment the room needs but I fear it's so far at the other end of the spectrum.

I think Marcus implied via Twitter a few months ago that Mike was eventually removed from the equation. But we do need a follow-up that resolves it. I noticed he isn't buying any furniture for a growing number of Standard Burger franchises, though.

Which raises a question I've wondered about before: If you walked into the Tank and said "I'm seeking zero dollars, offering some equity in exchange for a Shark partner's expertise", what's the fair amount of equity? I figure 5% for a minimal-effort consultation phone call and the occasional sales or supplier meeting.

I thought it was very interesting how closely integrated this was with Marcus' existing businesses, both as collaborator and customer. There's been a distinct lack of follow-ups this season and my initial thought with seeing another furniture company is that Marcus is repeating himself because he's out of ideas. But happily that's not the case and he had a definite reasoning.

I also laughed at Duff who used finger quotes when addressing the group as "bakers".

Oh nice! I'd been looking for a premiere date and hadn't seen anything firm yet.

Lori's putting money in. She's just getting it out again. But at some point, all the investors get their money out. (If the business is successful.) The difference here (in addition to the 1 year time limit) is that Lori gets her money out before the entrepreneur does. So there's a break-even point of $900,000 in withdrawn profit: 20% equity for investment: Lori gets $180k in dividends. Entrepreneur gets $720k (80% of $900k). 10% equity for loan: Lori gets $100k in loan return + $80k in dividends. Entrepreneur gets $720k (90% of $800k). So if this business is indeed successful, this will pay off in the long run. If it doesn't turn a profit then it's a worse deal. (And I think as stated, it's still a loan even if not repaid in a year and Lori gets 20%. Which would be worse than the offer.)

Including heels. I actually wonder to what extent he stayed in costume backstage.

Have you SEEN the price of a decent cave in Manhattan these days? More seriously, "caveman" is just the marketing. The underlying appeal is matching your diet to evolution and the lack of processed food therein.

The show is really getting into costumes too. I don't think I needed a naked Richard Blaise to judge the Camp finale, but otherwise I love all the theming.

Very happy for Robert on that last deal. Smart entrepreneur realized that a guy who's straightforward on valuation might be better than someone trying to squeeze you. He gets skipped over a lot. (Not surprised though. The kid was smart in a lot of ways.) "Take my deal now" is generally not good television, whether or not it's a fair request, because the point of the show is to let us see. My only caveat is that we don't get to see how far into the session they are so it's harder to judge if the demand is panic over competition or if they're just frustrated at a lack of response. If a shark makes an offer and gets ignored for 10 minutes, I don't blame them for wanting to close.

I agree, statements about future accomplishments aren't worth much. And both the EU and the US still have milk-fed, though I think the UK is leading away from that.

The EU banned veal crates in 2007. (US farmers are voluntarily phasing them out by next year.)

Yeah, this is exactly what I don't like. Last week's poke is certainly not going to be a go-to dish for anyone, but breaded chops could be. But this? None of those folks are ever going to make their own sausage at home. And I doubt that homemade spaetzle or slaw is likely either. So it's all just nonsense. I will say that both John and Tommy seemed like they honestly wanted to be there and do well. The tasks and eliminations may not be all that genuine, but at least maybe the people are.

Isn't that what talking heads are for?

Yes. Eco-Me in season 1. They were acquired by a larger company so Marcus got cashed out. I can understand him wanting to go again. I had a different take on the missing inventory than the rest of you. I thought she wanted out and Marcus wouldn't let her, so she hid some inventory and made it his decision. Although maybe I missed something with the timing and renegotiation that everyone else caught.

Alex is an amazing chef but really doesn't have the persona for a Food Network celeb. Had she come around a few years later and missed her chance to be an Iron Chef, I don't think Next Food Network Star would have been kind to her. (Then again, Justin Warner won so what do I know?) The other 3 have both skills, and while Blais needs to get hip to the fact that gimmicks wear on the audience when we see them every time I'm still a big fan of his. I'd still rather see him on his own show than touring all the other ones. Is it just me or does the prize seem a little lackluster? $40k is a decent chunk I guess. But considering they got several shows out of this I'd expect they could afford more than $1000 for the others. Are they paying appearance fees for their celebs that eat into the budget?

When the show promoted a 6-chair episode I was intrigued. But I have to say it did feel like too many. There was just too much of the Sharks talking over each other. I know it sucks when someone's out on a deal they might be perfect for, and unfair that Kevin, Robert, and Mark seem to get permanent seats. But 6 shouting at once is just too many.