mlp

I realized that after reading all the comments but what I thought they meant while I watched was ethnic background. My mother, not a great cook and not even a smidgen Hispanic, used to make something she called Spanish Rice for some reason. It involved browning some ground beef and mixing it into Minute Rice with a couple cans of tomato sauce. Even I could elevate that. :)

Yeah, I thought that was almost unfair to someone like Tyler who had nothing to fall back on. All my ancestors came from northern Europe in the late 1800s. I can't think of a thing I grew up with or learned to cook that had anything to do with my heritage. I liked Bruce Kalman when he was on Chopped. Then I saw him on that Best New Restaurant show Tom C. had and I didn't like his ego or the way he behaved in the kitchen with other competitors. And he always looks dirty because he doesn't bother to comb his hair. I was hoping he'd be the one to go. So far my favorite is Chris. He seems intelligent and articulate in addition to being a very good chef.

Claudette can cook but she's obnoxious IMO. I hope either Kwame or Lee Ann comes back. I didn't understand why they had all the contestants come to LCK. Maybe it was just to make everyone nervous. There didn't seem to be any point to it.

I very much enjoyed Morimoto vs. Puck. It's always interesting to watch the masters at work and I especially enjoyed noticing the ways the early shows differed from the more recent ones. And everybody looked so young!

I really liked Bill but he didn't come across as well this time around. I could see that Nylet was driving him crazy (just like she was me). I didn't remember her being so bossy and pushy on her original season. I also figured the hot glue gun spelled doom. I wanted Adalberto and Steve to win too. I thought their presentation was beautiful, much more attractive than Cheryl's. Of course, I loathe Cheryl so I may be a bit biased. I can't stand Nancy Fuller and I thought she was especially annoying. She doesn't really contribute anything of a "professional" caliber. I did notice that Duff sort of walked her out and she didn't come back until judging. The snottiness between the two women isn't at all enjoyable to watch. Nancy just relishes baiting Lorraine. I wish the producers would put a stop to it. I don't know how they can think it's entertaining.

I think Rogelio just needs more experience. He didn't seem ready to compete with chefs of the caliber of this year's competitors. Laura is a bit strange. I thought she seemed a little off right from the first episode and I was glad to see her go.

I thought all the women on last night's show were terrible (and I am female). The challenger who lost was wearing a white blouse, a Rosie-the-Riveter head scarf and a nose ring. She looked more like somebody's cleaning lady than a chef. And she had an attitude. Jaymee or whatever her name is was useless. And I thought the judges were terrible. They were both doing what FNS contestants are told not to do - use "delicious" and so on rather than making specific observations. Alton continues to annoy. I really liked the chef who won. He seemed like a nice guy and I thought he beat Jose Garces fair and square.

What bothers me even more than that is women putting their hands in their hair and then handling the food. I see it often. On this episode, one of the women said something about putting her hair up when she gets serious about baking. She pulled her hair into a ponytail then went right to work without washing her hands. Yuck.

That was definitely Lauren although she did look quite different (and better) with her hair down rather than pulled straight back like she had it the first time around. If I heard right, she's now an event planner. I didn't much care for her the first time and last night didn't change my mind.

I was very glad the fellow won. He bounced back from cutting himself without whining and his wreath looked terrific. The woman who made the door didn't really do what was asked and her white frosting with grey streaks wasn't exactly festive plus she was mighty impressed with herself and annoying. I recognized the judge who has been on Chopped as soon as I saw his face but I couldn't remember anything about him. Still can't.

I thought Joshua had the best season overall but I started worrying when he said he was going to make an ordinary stacked cake. It looked great in the end but it wasn't as inspired as Jennifer's and his petit-fours were poor. I'm just glad Stephany didn't win. I'm looking forward to next week because I saw Bill in the group. I'm still annoyed that he was beat out by gushy, chirpy Erin. I'm glad he's getting another chance. Like suebee, I loathe Cheryl so I was dismayed to see her again.

I would have been happy with either of the final two winning. Aaron May isn't cute but I like him. I've always liked Eric Greenspan but those black whiskers all over his double chin and neck are gross. I wish he'd shave and also lose some weight before he drops dead. In any event, it was a good tournament and I enjoyed it.

I'm not so sure there is a double standard. From what I've read, they investigated the claims against Johnny and Carter and found only Johnny's substantiated.

I'd like to know too. He was hilarious. And intelligent.

That will never happen because the whole point of this show is the "drama." Gordon loves it, especially if it gives him the chance to wade in and add to it. A good example came from this episode. He assigned Barbie to take the lead and Elise horned in generating a screaming match right in the kitchen witnessed by the diners. He was right there and could have put a stop to it instantly if he'd chosen to do so. Instead, he waited until he felt there had been enough public drama then sent them both to the pantry where he could slam the door and yell in front of the conveniently placed camera.

I remember Michelle vividly from her season because I thought she was a smug little snot then and now I think she's an older smug little snot who hasn't matured much. Her nemesis Elise seems to be a better cook. I don't think color had anything to do with the women's choices for possible elimination. Everyone watching knows and could see that both Barbie and Elise have issues and no interest in team cohesion. Personally, I would have picked Elise and Michelle. I think Barbie could be managed if someone stopped bitching and shrieking long enough to deal with her sensibly.

I agree. I've often wondered how this show is actually shot. Ever since Bobby started wearing his glasses off and on, it's become obvious that the cooking isn't filmed at one go because they'll go back and forth to Bobby and he'll have the glasses on in one shot, off in the next, back on, off. It seems that a 30 minute dish must take much longer than we are led to believe. I thought Tia and Alex were quite annoying on this episode and I didn't understand their choice of chefs to try to beat Bobby. One guy had slightly undercooked Cornish hen and his dish was too salty. The other guy's components were all good but didn't "go together." So the chef who committed the cardinal sin of under-cooking fowl won. The losing dish looked fine to me. It wasn't like he put chocolate on scrambled eggs or something.

I wonder if Guy is sick of doing DD&D and traveling constantly and this show was really a search for possible replacements. I can't think of any other reason FN would want another show or shows with hosts doing exactly what Guy has been doing right down to his style and the camera panning customers with brief positive comments about the restaurant in question. Rashad seems like a nice guy but FN already has Eddie whom everyone likes and who is better looking so I don't get why they want another BBQ guy. I'm not at all interested in watching a variation of DD&D with corny rap. I liked the Grill Dads better in their pilot than I did throughout the previous episodes but I still don't think they're particularly amusing. Guy seemed to think they're hilarious. I don't actually dislike them but I have no interest in watching a big sloppy guy with a beard shovel food into his mouth. I probably would have watched Zane. Maybe.

I hated her although it really wasn't her fault. I don't even recall now who her competition was but she won and it made me so mad at the time that I nearly threw something because I thought her win was manipulated by the judges and wrong. She came back for one of the tournaments and got eliminated early on. Like I said, not really her fault. She actually seems quite nice. I liked Bruce Kalman when he was on Chopped. Then he was on that ill-fated Best New Restaurant and he seemed quite different. I didn't like the way he behaved in the kitchen during service at all. I'll be interested to see how he acts during Top Chef. So far, so good.

I love Marcel (except for his latest hairdo) so I'm hoping he can go all the way this time. I mentioned once before somewhere that I was lucky enough to meet him a few years ago and chat with him for about 10 minutes. He's very nice in person and he has beautiful eyes. Jen Carroll looks just awful. I'll never understand why the loser in LCK is told to exit the kitchen when the fate of the loser is to join the other losers who are sitting right. over. there. I guess it's dramatic effect or something but it makes no sense.

I have mixed feelings so far. This show lacks the charm of the British version IMO despite everything about it being as close to the original as possible. It's things like one of the young women saying "you guys" to the judges. I can't imagine a British contestant saying that to Mary Berry. I didn't care much for Johnny long before recent allegations. I don't mind his personality and I know he has expertise but he always looks like he never bathes and shaves or washes his hair which is not a good look for someone who works with food. The contrast with Paul who always looks pristine just makes him appear more grungy. Paul does seem a bit more relaxed than he did on GBBS. I knew that Ayesha has a show on the Cooking Channel but I'd never seen her before. I can't say I was impressed. Everything she says sounds rehearsed. I had no idea who Spice is. He seems nice enough but it's clear that his only experience with baking has been eating it. He seems like a very odd choice to host this show. I really liked Nick but he was the obvious choice for the first elimination.

A long time ago on ICA there was an episode called Battle: Fruitcake. Alton claimed that he had made the fruitcakes or the recipe came from him - can't remember which. In any event, he talked about "MY fruitcake" all through the show. It was so annoying that I wanted to reach into the TV and slap him. The new version of the show strikes me the same way. The first part should be called Alton's Ego Trip. That gets a bit diluted by the cooking in part two but Alton is still obnoxious. The two judges seem almost incidental. I don't mind the new girl but I miss Kevin. I'm glad they brought the Chairman back but I don't like that Alton usurped his place at the judging table. I also don't like that Alton keeps referring to him as "my boss" when we all know that the Chairman is an actor and Alton is posturing. Grrrrrrrr. ICA was a great show. They should have left well enough alone. I'll be interested to see the ratings. I doubt they'll be good.

I liked him (except for the goofy blue hair) and thought he had potential too. I'll bet he had only 24-48 hours to come up with something new as opposed to a week in real time.

I might watch Zane. I like him and he is an authority on delis. Rashad seems like a very nice guy but I don't care to watch him being nervous or rapping or whatever that was he did at the end. I just don't get the Grill Dads. They don't strike me funny at all and they seem to be a lot more interested in their shtick than in their food. I can do without big, bushy beards in the kitchen too.

I don't think dleighg meant she is going to be on the show. I think she was just offering the name of an American pastry chef besides Johnny and Sherry Yard. That's the way I understood it. I don't think it's so much that she has an aversion to America, just that she's in her 80s and all that the travel would involve is more effort and stress than she needs or wants. It seems to me that the network has two choices: scrap the show which is ready to go or show it Johnny and all. I would not like to be the executive who had to make that decision.