mlp

Monti Carlo was on FNS? Which season? I don't remember her at all but I think the first season I saw was Jeff Mauro's so maybe it was before that.

I suppose that's true and the "conferring" is just a formality but I still don't like it. These was some woman on Chopped recently who said right up front that she doesn't cook. I don't know who she was but she was channeling Sunny Anderson. Do people actually tune into cooking shows because some B level TV personality is going to be on as a judge? Maybe they do. I certainly don't know.

That has been a major peeve of mine ever since the woman who replaced Bob Tuschman took over. She seems to think that adding "celebrities" as judges to BBF, Chopped, FNS and so on will encourage people to tune in. It just makes me mad. I tuned in late last night and missed the introduction of the judges so I spent the rest of the half hour wondering who Jay Pharoah was. I had no problem with him per se but it was clear that he had nothing to do with the food business. Sure, anyone can say whether something tastes good to them or not but I want to hear informed decisions.

Agreed. Jon-Paul, the teacher, looked very familiar to me. I wonder if he was ever on Chopped.

I was going to ask the same question. I don't like anything about her. I'm also wondering how they got Mario Batali back to do Iron Chef Eats. Giada just has to be the center of attention. She started talking before Marc Forgione was finished speaking three times. I thought blaming the chef because she used too much lemon was a little much. If she orders prime rib and it comes with a side of horseradish does she dump it all on there before she even tastes it? Watching the chefs prepare three dishes in a short time really makes me appreciate their knowledge and skills. I was exhausted on their behalf.

That's a riot. I'd have recognized George and Cig even without the background.

This is in the wrong thread - should be in GBBO - but I thank you for sharing it. I'm watching Martha's season on public television right now and I've been wondering what became of her after the show. I think she's a darling girl so I'm very happy to know that she's doing well and still baking. Does anyone know anything abut Flora?

Meagan Martin is my favorite female ninja so I hated to see her team go down. Travis Rosen is one of my favorite males so I was delighted to see him do well, especially after his defeat last year. I didn't remember Brett Sims being as good as he was on the final course. He made that invisible ladder look almost easy.

I would have reconstituted a can of cream of mushroom soup with the required milk. Of course, I would have promptly lost. :) The guy who won had an unusual name which I've already forgotten but I was sure he was a chef partly from his cooking but also from the natural way he used his side towel. So far using that as an indicator has worked for me more often than not. The young woman who turned out to be a nanny was really impressed with herself. I found her very annoying. Justin Warner seems to have toned down the behaviors that made him obnoxious and I've taken him off my "most loathed" list. I'm still not crazy about him but I no longer find him as detestable as Melissa and Robert Irvine. His crack about pea shoots made me laugh.

I was glad that Paige was eliminated first because she seemed pretty impressed with herself and I liked the remaining three. I thought the judging was fair throughout and I would have been happy with either of the guys in the final round winning. I knew nothing about them before Chopped so I had no preference based on previous history. They both seemed like nice guys. Overall, I think this was the best celebrity tournament yet.

I have no idea. What I do know is that he won Chopped and deservedly so and, I think, CK and both of those were before Top Chef and before GGG. I'm not sure why Guy would feel sorry for him - unless his first exposure to Philip was watching Top Chef. :)

I am thrilled that Cig won. I thought he had a very good season and two good creations for the finale while George and Emily each had one good one and one not so great. I didn't like either bird person and I would never have got "mantis" from Emily's second character although the work itself looked good. Emily seemed to be almost in tears during her THs throughout so I was reasonably sure she hadn't won. I wish all three plus Tyler could have won but Cig was my favorite all along so I'm happy, happy with the outcome.

I'm sure I'm being cynical but....................... I sort of think that the reason Alton is judge and jury is because one person can skew results a lot more easily than two, especially if the second judge is a chef with no FN responsibilities. In the last episode, he eliminated a couple dishes that appeared good because they weren't "pork forward" enough and went with one that had dabs of pork mixture in store-bought won ton wrappers. That seemed a little peculiar to me.

I like Nakajima but he isn't going to become an Iron Chef if he sticks to the one cuisine he's comfortable with every time. I was sort of surprised to see Sawyer go so soon although I didn't think he'd win. It occurred to me when he was running around without his glasses and had his hair tied back that he's actually rather nice looking. He'd look much, much better if he'd get a decent haircut and contacts or less awful frames. As it is, he looks like someone I'd keep children away from. So far I like Stephanie or Jason Dady for the win.

I was glad that woman who forgot a plate got cut first too. I thought she should have been eliminated when she did it and she seemed far too smug about being a winner after that. I would have been happy with either of the two finalists winning. I've seen Philip on this show each time he's been on and also on CK which I think he won and on Chopped which he definitely won and I've liked him every time. Clearly, he can cook. I think the Philip who was on Top Chef must have been his evil twin or something. It was like watching a totally different incarnation of the same person. Weird.

I've always thought just the opposite. To me, he seems like the guy who used to be the class clown although I do think he amps up the goofiness for effect. Having said that, I think he's genuinely a nice guy, intelligent, hard working and so on. I've liked him from the beginning of his season on FNS and I'm happy he's had so much success.

http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/real-time/Hells-Kitchen-chef-found-dead-.html I wonder how they decide an overdose is accidental.

I thought the same. He had become too thin and that beard he had during CK made him look sinister - which may have been the point. There's no doubt that Alton is a food authority but.................. He's not a chef and at least parts of his decisions are based upon taste which is subjective. I'd be happier if there was at least one chef making the initial decision with him. As it is, he's totally judge and jury which doesn't sit well with me even though I do respect his expertise.

I'm not saying you're wrong because I have no idea but I don't understand your reasoning. Each set of matches is self-contained with one winning team only going forward so why would the order matter? I was happy that Neil, Grant and Natalie won but I was also sorry for Jake and Tremayne whom I also like very much. The blonde girl from UC Davis was quite impressive (Anna?). I wonder if we'll see her again during the regular competition. I was very happy to see Alex Curry back. I don't care for the woman who is on the regular season and I can barely stand to listen to Kacy because her voice is so awful.

That was one of the most entertaining Chopped episodes in awhile even though it was sad to know Alan Thicke is gone. I didn't know the other three but they were all good-natured and I liked them. I spent most of the hour trying to decide if Rick Fox is black, white or maybe both. Whatever he is, he's gorgeous. I was happy he lasted to the end just so I could look at him. :)

Thank you, GHScorpiosRule.

Will this be shown in the U.S.? If so, when will it start? Thanks.

I was looking forward to this and now I'm not sure what I think. The cooking itself was interesting but everything else paled next to the original - uninspired set, no color, no sense that something "important" was in progress. No chairman, no Kevin. Yes, I know that the Chairman was an actor but I got a kick out of him and he added to the atmosphere. I missed him. I almost got my wish which was that Sarah G. would be eliminated first. Her behavior on Top Chef years ago was reprehensible and I have no respect for her. I hope she goes next because I get annoyed just watching her pretend to be all cute and sunny. If they do choose a new Iron Chef, I hope they reprise the show using the original format with new competitors. I watched a rerun of an old show after this one and enjoyed it a lot more even though I'd seen it before and knew who won.

Delilah? Do you mean Danushka? She was rather notorious. I think the "phonetics" above referred to Giada.

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