halopub

True. True. After my first ma la guo, I felt thoroughly sweated out and couldn't remember ever breathing that well in my adult life. The editing and story framing seemed less natural than usual. Maybe it was all those purposely frenetic callbacks to the performer - but Ripert did look ill and puffy at times. Good on him for being an incredibly good sport with Bourdain's friendly "torture." Even with a decent tolerance, I can't imagine taking on that much endless Szechuan cooking and also survive all that Baijiu. While I found the episode to be a bit more disjointed than I would have liked, I dug individual sections. Chipper Ripert wandering around by himself; the two chefs at the cooking school; the refined take on family Szechuan cooking and the idyllic pastoral setting at the end. Knowing as many bunny people as I do, I could have done without the rabbit snack and the brain talk but I recognize that these chefs have a very different perspective in regards to animal proteins that aren't pork, beef or poultry. It didn't help, though, that this episode was on the same day as the rabbit chapter of "A Chef's Life." Edited to add: Ripert has tweeted a couple photos from the Chengdu trip, including a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the restaurant segments was filmed.

The Guardian reported that Nadiya has signed a multi-project deal with the BBC. BBC News Nadiya's statement Channel 4 says that they have not begun approaching potential GBBO hosts.

Okay, it was funny seeing that outtake of Paul cracking up at Andrew's knights.

While it is true that regional palates are pretty different, Jo and the Extra Slice crew made fun of Paul for finding the flavor combination so unusual.

I've got to think that'd be a lot of fun and they wouldn't have to stick with just baking. Selasi apparently throws viewing parties every week for bake off, complete with a home theater and elaborate feasts.

Love Productions posted a pic on Twitter: I was happy he hammed it up for the cameras after Benjamina approved of something he'd adjusted. For the most part I do think he's trying to be helpful. I think he admitted once, to just messing with Tamal with that kind of comment but my memory of last season is a bit hazy. It is worth noting that his professional skepticism isn't always warranted. I think of Nancy and her use of the microwave for proving dough.

I think Vivian mentioned that unintentional plagiarism was on her mind as she worked to complete her cookbook.

We can now drop Paul's much repeated line about bread week star bakers always making it to the final. I think it's unfortunate that some folks are taking Andrew's "finally" as entitlement. I read it as relief at being able to bake closer to his potential two days in a row. Especially since he had such a rough go of botanical week.

Nope, Marcela continues to host The Kitchen. I agree it was a surprise to see him host a show stateside but hasn't Paul worked for the UK arm of Food Network?

The show had a 'preview' tag in the upper corner and I can't find any listings for additional episodes. Bacon may be the only show we get. As I'm in the middle of the current Bake Off season, this Cooks vs. Cons spinoff was pretty jarring with its typical Food Network pace. I thought it was pretty painful with a couple of good moments. Paul Hollywood seemed rushed as a host, more knowledgeable than the judges and I wonder if the tape was sped up a fraction because his voice was higher than normal. I did find it funny when he arched his eyebrow and flat out asked the contestant openly addressing the home audience who she was talking to. Hollywood definitely seemed more at ease when checking in with the contestants. Apple pie with a bacon shortbread crust. Yum.

I've seen Marcus & Monica do the same thing. While Marcus has settled into the role of a mentor and is a good fit for Masterchef, he's never going to be as affable and approachable as Michel. Any contestant that can make Marcus' eyes crinkle has really earned it. That bonus clip of Mary copying Mel's bucktoothed, "grapefruit face" cracked me up. And I loved that Danny Baker proclaimed that the two audience bakers should make the next season's cast and then quipped he wasn't supposed to mention next season. I think the veggie cake was sweet potato, parsnips, kale and carrot. Jo told ITV last week that she had heard nothing either way about the future of the aftershow.

I believe a lot has to do with a production company's relationships with talent agencies and then willingness to do cross promotion for the broadcaster's other shows. I don't remember where, but I read an article once talking about how QI has often favored comedians from a particular agency. I've missed Michel Roux, Jr. and his sunny personality. I wonder how his post BBC work on Channel 4 has gone. Nancy was fun - I always like getting to hear the perspective of a former contestant. I probably would get annoyed with him after a short while but I liked that snarky comedian Tom Allen, who I hadn't seen before. He's tough on the contestants but clearly is a dedicated watcher of the show. I think this is the first episode taped since the Channel 4 news and there was no acknowledgement of the change.

In a Guardian article about Mary's departure, a source talks about how Love Productions and Channel 4 are going to publicly pressure the BBC to dismiss the usual 12 month noncompete.

French and Saunders would be a dream team! I was thoroughly entertained by Jen's appearance as a competitor on the charity version. Michael Sheen, too. Ainsley Harriott is one of the names floating around. I'm okay with him but from what I remember of his US show, he's more than a touch perky. It would be different, though, to have a host who has made a living with his kitchen skills. I don't remember Claudia Winkleman's stint as host for one of the Sport Relief episodes, but she has really grown on me during the different seasons of Sewing Bee. Sue started getting on my nerves with mannerisms and reaction to bingate but I've always liked Mel.

A brief, one minute clip with President Obama.

An official promo clip from the BBC, geo-free. Cracklins!

Sorry for not being clear, I meant extended, annotated versions of Top Chef. Though now I'm imagining GBBO getting its own version of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

I agree that Josh is great at balancing out Rosemary. He's one of the better celebrity panelists that the show offers and I think that's because he genuinely loves the main show. I'm waiting to see him crush on someone this season like he did Chetna. The makeup artists have made just about all the contestants look effortlessly fantastic. Even Diana had a natural-looking glow and bouncy hair. In addition to their relaxed appearance on Extraslice, the lack of intense competition definitely shows in the rebakes! This is an intriguing idea that hadn't occured to me. I guess there are the different captain shows to Deadliest Catch but sometimes I feel like all the aftershows on US TV are for Sci-Fi/Fantasy and are hosted by Chris Hardwick. Even Orphan Black's companion show is hosted by a Canadian guy who seems to be channeling Hardwick. Edited to add: How would you feel about, instead of a companion show, an extended main show with thought bubbles?

With his bread week win, I guess Tom's now in the running for the final. I'm not entirely convinced he was the best baker this week but I'm impressed Tom got Mary to like seaweed incorporated into bread. And kudos for attempting to craft "mew mew" for Bake Off. So Dampfnudeln are the German counterpart to mantou? With sweet regional variations? I wasn't crazy about the steamers offered to the contestants but I actually liked the idea of Paul testing a steamed bread. I've got to give Mary props for her preemptive positivity with her, "It's not a mess. It's informal." Heh. Val was saved by her technical.

Two fun moments for me in Episode 2: Josh Widdicombe's style being deemed updated "Bilbo Baggins" and Josh genuinely enjoying the ube and buko pandan (sp?) cookies. The makeup artists on this show continue to make the contestants look fabulous. Louise looked wonderful with that softer color palette.

I didn't fall in love with any of the gingerbread creations but at least there were some interesting flavor combinations in the signature bake. I happen to enjoy earl grey shortbread so the bergamot and lavender combo sounded good to me. Mixing scotch bonnets and lime certainly isn't boring. I wasn't as sure, though, about Tom's chai frappelatteccino biscuits. I think the mix of cloves and coffee threw me a bit. I noticed that Mary had no comments about store-bought icing. Are we to assume they were all made onsite?

This might be a case of him honoring his commitments - Good Morning America pointed out today that Lochte was signed before the brouhaha.

I was not impressed by Mary's reaction to matcha. It's not the first time I have wondered about her palate and food tasting experience. In addition to the amount used, I think the contestant would have been better off just calling it a kind of green tea. Matcha has been used before, in an opera torte (season 3?) and in the edible biscuit box challenge. I'd have to review the episodes to be sure, but it was most likely matcha and not a steeped green tea used for those challenges. For the uninitiated I think a good way to taste the use of matcha is in a shortbread cookie or a castella sponge cake. I did not have a great impression of Andrew from his promotion blurbs but he was relatable and I'm hoping he puts that engineering knowledge to work next week. Regarding the mirror cakes, I have seen dark green done well and I wonder if a less Art Deco blue might have worked. Shades much darker.

A TV critic for the Radiotimes talked about the first clips he got to see. Edited to add: There's an official video of the Andy Wilman talk in Edinburgh, without the show clips.

That was an awesome comment from Hal with the holy water. I'm guessing it normally sounds neutral when European announcers cover bored spectators. With Extra Slice I think it was mainly Jo's condescending tone in saying let's do a Mexican wave to celebrate our first "weird" ingredient. If you're going to sarcastically call for a crowd wave, then let's not impugn the modifier Mexican along with it. Yeah, I get the wave can be annoying and childish but the snide way Jo said it, came off unnecessarily negative to me. (shrug).