Sarnia

New season has started, yay! It's Marcus' tenth season, didn't realise it was so long. Strong first week, really impressed by I am very on the fence with snails but I would have happily tasted that snail shepherd's pie.

The finals are this week-end.

New Celebrity Masterchef season is on! As usual I don't know any of those people 😁 (except Dominic from Glow Up) so it's almost like a regular season for me. I was overall very impressed by the level of cooking and looking forward to final's week with 5 talented and friendly contestants. Every season I enjoy watching them start the season a bit uneasy ("OK, let's go do this publicity stunt"), and then they get more and more excited and involved. It's really a "feel good" watch for me. I'm rooting for because she seems so genuinely happy and excited but I would be fine with any of them winning. Is anyone else watching?

Thank you @Ancaster for the explanation and the link. He's still keeping himself busy but he seems to be having fun!

Yes happy with the winner too, usually the people I like are gone way before the end! 😉 And I would go to either of the top two guy's restaurants, if they ever have one. I wish them all the best (as well as the third finalist who also has a great story). This is such a "feel good" show! I didn't know Gavroche (Michel Roux Jr's restaurant) was closing. Were they having trouble, or does he just want to move on to other things? (or retire).

I was glad to see Chris return as a second chance contestant (to be honest he's the only one I recognized in the lot). He's such an interesting character and is turning also into an interesting cook. I'm also warming up to Brin quite a bit. Other than these two, it's a bit of a "meh" season for me. Maybe the lack of sunshine is making me grumpy 😁 OK, the "cooking over fire" challenge was quite mesmerizing.

Season 20 has started. Is anyone watching? I usually have a hard time telling apart the constestants in the first rounds. First batch of contestants was OK but I wasn't fully impressed with anyone. Vinegar-soaked cherries sound absolutely horrendous. Now watching the second batch.

I came very late to watching the Celebrity Christmas specials this year as they are usually pretty cheesy, but just discovered that this year the second of these episodes had the critics as contestants! Jay Rayner, Jimi Famurewa, Grace Dent, William Sitwell and Leyla Kazim. It was a really fun episode, nice to see a more human side to them and insteresting also to see them struggle under the same pressures the usual contestants go through. Some emotional bits also. They managed rather well, although I feel that they are better critics than cooks (I have no problem with that).

And I'm on Ep 9 now. So happy that Philippe's trip-up in the invention test did not cost him the competition. His dishes for the critic looked absolutely amazing and very unique. I'm rooting for him now (which means he will probably be eliminated soon, based on my track record in the previous season... please don't spoil me if that is the case). (Edit: oh, just realized that next episodes are with a batch of new chefs again so we don't know Philippe's fate at the moment!)

I'm catching up on the season and I'm on Ep6 so far. I'm so mad at Evelina for messing up the invention test, as her two dishes in the signature dish test looked absolutely wonderful. Very happy the show is back!

That was sad, I really like Moon. Hope she's doing good. I also didn't feel she was in the bottom based on the runway (but to be honest all the other queens had a very good runway). The collegial lipsync was a nice idea. I was very distracted by Nikki's eye makeup, it felt as if she had two black eyes. I usually really like her looks but this one didn't do it for me (not that she cares ;) ).

Celebrity Masterchef is on again, is anyone watching? As usual I don't have a clue as to most of these people are 😁 but I'm in for the ride, it's always enjoyable.

I'm also late watching. I just don't get how the judges could like Brittany and Anna's look better than Viktor and Kayne, and even less how both these looks were found better than Kara Saun and Laurence's dress? That dress was not good. Not flattering, the neck was a disaster and the poor model barely could walk in it. Viktor, you were so wronged.

The song was hard to dance to for sure, but it's a famous song in France and very relevant to the show as it speaks of gender fluidity. The song was originally performed by Indochine (the group of Nicola Sirkis, one of the guest judge) and re-mastered in 2020 with Chris singing (the other guest judge) so I guess that's also why it was chosen. I was surprised that the contestants were struggling so much with the lyrics. Sorry to see Rose go, she is so sweet, but she was clearly way below the others in all aspects of the show tonight. I feel that the jury had a hard time finding other contestants to put in the bottom, there was a lot of talent in that runway. I'm so happy this show is back. The first season really made an important mark in French society.

Catching up on Season 5 and I just watched Ep4, the back house to a house they previously renovated (not sure if that was featured on a previous season?). I really liked the quirkiness of the mismatched wood planks on the wall, but it may feel oppressive after a bit. Not sure also about the kitchen located in the porch (no entry space at all) and the choice also of putting shelves in front of the windows in the kitchen. Very little storage in the house altogether, and it is a small house to have two bedrooms. I think it's set up to be a vacation rental, more than a full time housing.