mlp

That whole bit with Ashley and her watch seemed odd. They showed her walking through the kitchen staring at it like she was having trouble telling time or something. Adults who wear watches just glance at them, the time registers in a split second and they go on. Gordon wouldn't even notice someone doing that in a "normal" fashion. Ashley's behavior and then Gordon making a major issue of it seemed curious to me. So far I don't mind most of the men although Van is annoying and Jared is still a pig. Milly is doing well and getting positive feedback from Gordon. I hope that doesn't signal catastrophe during a future episode because I'd like to see him win this. The women are mostly awful although Michelle does seem to have matured since her season. The big woman (can't think of her name) must have been on a season before I started watching HK because I don't recall her at all. She seems like one of the calmer ones so far but I don't know how she acted in the past.

I was going to say something to the same effect, spiderpig. I just love Jonathan Waxman. Sophie looks a lot like her father and she was able to tease Bobby without being snippy - unlike, say, Katie Lee (ugh). This was one of my favorite episodes.

Air date - December 7th. Yay!

I'd love to know what the contestants really think about being judged by a home cook and a woman who went to pastry school but has never worked as a serious pastry chef. We know from the intros that most if not all of them have competed in prestigious competitions and have won impressive awards. I'd think it would be a bit hard to swallow to be criticized by people with lesser credentials. OTOH They've all been on FN before so they knew what they were getting into.

I totally agree about Cheryl. Can't stand her but I knew she'd be safe because she won the first round. This is a completely different type of show from FNS so Jason seems subdued but he also seems to be relaxing as the show goes on and his personality is more evident. All the contestants are legitimate professionals so I'm glad all the judges are taking the competition seriously.

Thanks. I have never heard the word used that way but, if Thomas Keller says so, it must be right.

I didn't understand what Zac meant by "bouchon" in that context. I tried Googling and found the usual French style restaurant and a bunch of other translations but ended up no wiser.

I wonder which was filmed first, Chopped or the new Iron Chef. He looked good last night with hair and a very short beard. In the previews for Iron Chef, he has his head shaved and looks absolutely hideous. I hope that isn't a permanent new "style" because I can hardly stand to look at him.

I live about 100 miles downstate from Plainfield and Andy sounds perfectly normal to me. Certainly not southern.

Agreed. They have been very supportive of Jessie indeed (and other women too). I'm just sick of them carrying on about "Mighty Kacy" when it's been three years since she actually did anything worth talking about. She was rightly lauded when she was the first woman up the warped wall and again when she finished a city finals course. Both events were exciting. I think I watched her run that finals course about 10 times myself. But time has moved on and now many women are making it up the wall and we have women accomplishing new things while Kacy hasn't been able to keep up. Matt and Akbar need to find something else to carry on about.

I hope Matt and Akbar watch this. Maybe they'll finally stop talking about Kacy. Just wow, Jessie!

He was the highly respected editor of Bon Appetit magazine for quite a few years. I don't know what he does now but I was surprised to see him on FN.

I'd never seen Nora before so I had no idea how her demeanor compared to her usual personality but I sure wouldn't have pegged her as a comedian based upon Worst Cooks. I liked her voice though.

Actually, Philip did quite well on FN. He won Chopped, GGG and CK and even turned up as a judge on both GGG and BBF. He was a disaster on Top Chef. I didn't realize Margarita was his wife until after she was eliminated and someone mentioned it here.

I liked Susana a lot but she herself said that she'd basically made a traditional Baked Alaska so she didn't meet the intent of the challenge. I would have been a lot happier if Cheryl had used salt instead of sugar or something but, alas, she's still in the running and Susana is gone.

It's been pretty obvious for weeks that Perez and Melissa were destined for final two IMO. Bringing people back for "redemption" was a charade but then this whole season has been OTT ridiculous. If ditsy Melissa suddenly turns into an accomplished cook and wins this thing, I may throw something. When Melissa took her supposedly hot chicken out of the oven, I noticed that she stood there talking with her hand on the meat thermometer for a short while. No one can rest their hand on a metal thermometer that just came out of a hot oven. The producers should pay more attention to stuff like that instead of to their "special effects."

I'm just the opposite. I rarely even notice background music on TV shows or in movies but I do notice it on Chopped and I often think that someone puts a lot of thought into selecting the right sounds. I like it. I agree that Chopped needs a new set. The current one is dismal. They also need a second ice cream maker. I've never understood why who gets to the one machine first should be an issue. It's not Cutthroat Kitchen.

Thanks, GaT. If he hasn't been on Face Off proper, I think he must just resemble someone else. I don't suppose he was ever on Chopped. :) That's where I usually assume I've seen people I think I recognize.

I wondered how Cliff even got selected for this show. His skill level seemed quite inferior to the rest of them. When he was talking about decorating and they showed shots of things he'd done, I thought they all looked pretty bad. So far, my favorites are Jonathan and Tyler.

I'm really puzzled now. I know I've seen the Scott who was on the show somewhere before - and wearing the same style hat. He doesn't even resemble Scott Fensterer in my eyes. It'll come to me eventually. I hope.

I remembered Scott right away and none of the others but I don't recall a lot of past contestants so that doesn't mean anything. I'd like this show better if they gave the people more time. Viewers aren't watching it in real time anyway so they could edit just like they do the regular show. The tasks seem too complex to be done well in two or three hours. I was relieved to see MacKenzie looking like her usual attractive self again.

Both Voltaggio brothers are going to be judges on Chopped Junior tonight along with Marcus Samuelsson. Looking forward to it.

Thanks for the update, Christina. I knew Michelle had a sordid background but I didn't know any of that.

It was two or three years ago now. He was diagnosed with some kind of leukemia and died just a month later. I've wondered what became of Michelle because she was so dependent on him. Very sad.

Totally agree. I kept waiting for a judge to point out the spelling error and was surprised no one said anything. I thought Tator was a bit strange when I watched the intro show but now I think he's a lot strange and not very likable. I like the guy who cut himself but the women on his team are awful. They were both very self-centered and acted like he'd hurt himself on purpose plus the one who did all the THs looks and sounds like she's bored to death. I felt sad while watching the shots of old shows and seeing Vinny Garcia knowing that he died not too long after his team won Halloween Wars. I always liked him.