S12.E19: 4 Chefs Compete

[nottopbravo]

Final Four: Rochelle Bergman, Scott Commings, Melanie Finch and Jason Zepaltas are challenged to recreate a dish using only a taste test.  Hard work for the losers (as usual).

 

Chef Ramsey uses the words "stunning" and "amazing" for the first time.

[Julia]

Chef Ramsey uses the words "stunning" and "amazing" for the first time.

 

I'd've gone with the time travel thing in the lede, myself.

[cooksdelight]

Will someone elicit a "Wow Wow Wow Wow" from Gordon?

[cooksdelight]

Why did Melanie not get thrown a curveball? No quality control test from James? Not fair. I wanted to see her freak out just a little.

Scott did an excellent job, in my opinion. Near perfection in the dining room. And Rochelle, bless her, she did great considering she was nervous as hell. We all have our things we do when we're nervous, and it's giggling for her. But one talk from Ramsay calmed her down.

Jason talks just like his mom. That's where he got that gravelly voice from. LOL But his joking way of leading the pass didn't work for me, or for them. Maybe he thought he had it won already? I don't know where his thinking comes from. Nice to see Michael Voltaggio at his restaurant, a TC crossover. Poor Andi, stuck with Jason for the day. Didn't Gordon go with the winner of that leg last year? The blonde who yelled?

Wow... Rochelle... bless her heart... just heard her name announced as being eliminated. And she giggled. :) I hope she gets a job in a restaurant that will welcome her wholesome spirit.

The commercial breaks and dramatic music are killing my viewing pleasure.

Scott...the biggest comeback chef in the HISTORY of the competition! And the cutest family I ever remember coming to visit. His daughter is precious.

Cannot believe bigmouth Jason made it. Please Scott...win this. Do not let me see Jason win and gloat and gloat and gloat.

And Melanie got to keep her black jacket. No quality control test and got the jacket. Wow wow wow! :)

[mlp]

Well, wow, wow and wow.  I am happy.  I've been rooting for Scott all along and, after seeing him with his family, I now officially love him.  I liked Rochelle but I knew she wouldn't make the cut because of the giggling.  I absolutely loathed Melanie from day one but I figured the show wouldn't eliminate both females.  Thank you, Gordon!

[Surrealist]

I definitely don't want Jason to win it.

[BogoGog24]

Was hoping for a Scott vs. Rochelle finale, or even a Scott vs. Melanie finale, but ugh at Jason making it. Was anyone else surprised when they brought his girlfriend out? Also agree Scott's family is adorable. I'm confident Scott can win this over Jason. 

[Eolivet]

Reality TV 101: There is no way they showed Scott's adorable children just so they can cry while confetti rains down on Jason's misogynist head. Scott has this in the bag.

 

It does make me wonder if it would've been Joy vs. Scott in the finals were it not for last week.

[Surrealist]

ugh at Jason making it. Was anyone else surprised when they brought his girlfriend out?

 

I tweeted asking if anyone was shocked that Jason has a girlfriend and that she needs her head examined. A few strangers liked that tweet. One even responded to me.

 

I can't believe any self-respecting woman would date him. He's obnoxious.

[cooksdelight]

Jason gets drunk, farts and burps on national TV. No, no self-respecting woman would date him because lord knows what he does when the cameras are off.

[Surrealist]

Jason gets drunk, farts and burps on national TV. No, no self-respecting woman would date him because lord knows what he does when the cameras are off.

 

To me, it would be even worse if Jason thought that was a cool persona to use on the show.

 

I lived in Chicago for many years and there are plenty of guys just like him there.

[Xantar]

What did poor Chef Andi ever do to be stuck with Jason for a day? I've got to believe that she picks up on his misogyny on some level even without seeing the talking head segments. She looked miserable that whole time.

 

I find Rochelle hard to take seriously, but I didn't think she deserved to go home. She's never made a major mistake and certainly seems heads and shoulders above Jason. However, I suppose since Jason aced the challenge and the quality control test, the producers felt they could justify letting him through.

[Surrealist]

What did poor Chef Andi ever do to be stuck with Jason for a day? I've got to believe that she picks up on his misogyny on some level even without seeing the talking head segments. She looked miserable that whole time.

 

I find Rochelle hard to take seriously, but I didn't think she deserved to go home. She's never made a major mistake and certainly seems heads and shoulders above Jason. However, I suppose since Jason aced the challenge and the quality control test, the producers felt they could justify letting him through.

 

I felt bad for Rochelle. She hasn't made any major mistakes. That I can remember anyway. At least, she had a good attitude about being sent home. Not without some giggles though.

 

I felt as if there were few Gordonisms in tonight's episode. I had hoped he'd tell Jason and Scott to "Piss off" at the end.

[leighdear]

I think Gordon deliberately chose Jason as the goat.  He knew Rochelle needed a bit more training & seasoning, and I'll bet he's in contact with Melanie after the show to help her career.  He let her keep the black jacket, surprisingly. 

 

I don't think he has any further use for Jason, except as an obvious contrast to the eventual winner, Scott. 

[Julia]

Oh, Melanie. You're trying for a quarter of a million dollars and a job which is maybe 5% held by women, after a performance strong on trash talk and kinda weak on performance. Did you really think it was a good idea to go with gaming Scott into doing your work for you on the grounds that girls can't do sidework?

 

As much as I hate to agree with Scott about anything (and he was totally fucking with Rochelle during service), Melanie really is a rather stupid young woman. Even so, it was a bit gorge-lifting watching Jason hug it out with her at the end. Go away, Jason.

 

OTOH, go Scott. I was pretty sure Ramsay was riding him over not very much to set up a redemption story. Jason's toast.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Julia

[ElleryAnne]

Not gonna lie, I got teary-eyed over Scott seeing his family.  And then again, when he was saying good-bye and his son gave him a frowny kiss and you could see his daughter had a tear on her cheek.  Such a sweet moment.  

 

Did Melanie really just admit to the cameras that she was basically going to let Scott do most of the moving-day work?  That was... not nice.

 

Jason is getting on my last nerve.  I wanted him gone instead of Rochelle.  

 

I can't believe any self-respecting woman would date him. He's obnoxious.

 

 

Part of me doesn't believe that woman who came with his mother was actually his girlfriend.  He turned back at the last minute to give her a kiss as though someone reminded him that that's something he should do.  It just felt staged. 

[cooksdelight]

Part of me doesn't believe that woman who came with his mother was actually his girlfriend

Does he have a sister? She had reddish hair.

Edited July 18, 2014 by cooksdelight

[leighdear]

Jason probably hired them both. 

[Such A Flirt]

As soon as they brought out the kiddies, it was obvious Scott was the winner. So manipulative. He may be somewhat talented but he's such a suck-up. But I'll still be cheering him on next week, because I can't wait to see that awful Jason lose.

 

Rochelle was robbed. Her only crime was the giggles. And Joy must be kicking herself so hard.

 

Finally: poor Andi! She had all my sympathy.

[ElleryAnne]

Jason probably hired them both.

 

 

That would be sad.  And yet kind of a relief, because it would mean no woman is actually stuck marrying him.

Edited July 18, 2014 by ElleryAnne

[Mama No Life]

Joy, you idiot.

That would have been you instead of Heat Mizer.

I love Rochelle but I agree she's not ready yet. She'll be a great niche chef somewhere with her cute family.

Scott has really come from behind and I hate him less now. And since he's the lesser of two evils, go Scott. Yawn.

[cooksdelight]

Heat Mizer... OMG!!! How accurate is that!!

[SourK]

Well, of all the possible combinations, Scott/Jason is the F2 I was least interested in seeing, so boo. Scott's a kiss-ass, but he's the lessor of two evils, I guess, so go Scott. As someone said upthread, I think/hope that maybe Jason made it through instead of Rochelle because Scott's been chosen the winner and there's no chance Jason will do better than Scott.

 

I was going to say that Jason shouldn't win what is, in theory, a job where he would be supervising people, because he's all screamy and profane, but then I remembered what show I was watching. (And his management style was surprisingly laid-back given how hard he flips out on a regular day).

 

They're really pushing Chef Andi as a character this season. I've noticed it for a while -- it's not just that she gets all this time talking to the contestants and stuff, but a lot of the shots are set up so that Andi's in the frame with the contestants and/or Gordon while James is not. I like her, so I'm not complaining, but it seems like they're trying to emphasize her more. Maybe one day Gordon will retire and Andi will scream at everyone to carry on his legacy.

[ZoloftBlob]

I will be shocked if Jason wins. That's all.

[OlfinBedwere]

What did poor Chef Andi ever do to be stuck with Jason for a day? I've got to believe that she picks up on his misogyny on some level even without seeing the talking head segments. She looked miserable that whole time.

Well, she was on the receiving end of Anton's sexism earler in the season, which was ten times worse than anything spewed forth by Jason, so anything he'd say would likely seem mild in comparison. And Jason may be crude to say the least, but I've never actually gotten the impression that he's outright stupid per se; he'd know when to keep his trap shut.

 

In any case, I'm just amazed that we've got two guys in the final, given how well the women were doing for most of the season. I'm not entirely convinced that Joy would have aced running the kitchen this week had she not bailed out on the show, but whoever wins next week I suspect their legitimacy is always going to be questioned by some.

[Beloved Aunt]

So this is where Fiona's boyfriend, Steve Jimmy Jack, has been! I swear, Scott looks like Justin Chatwin. For that alone I wouldn't mind him for the win. And it seems he is a capable chef and far better equipped to deal sensibly with all the people in the business he's going to be around. Jason is a big blustery asshole and I can't imagine working with, or for, him.

[Such A Flirt]

I was thinking "younger Steve Carell" all season as far as Scott went, but I can see that too.

[phoenix780]

In any case, I'm just amazed that we've got two guys in the final, given how well the women were doing for most of the season.

 

Certainly is a twist, but Joy eliminated herself and I'm sure that played into it.  Plus I tend to believe Scott stuck around as long as he did mostly because he was the prettiest, so that for me offsets the all-male finale thing.

 

I'm no longer interested in who wins, but it's too late to tune out now.  Such a disappointing outcome, it reminds me of the last season of Top Chef.

[Canada]

Add me to the list of people who cannot believe that Jason has a girlfriend.  How the hell is that possible?  He is repulsive!  It sucks that he made it to the finale.  Damn, Joy, that should have been you there!!

[xcrayon2215x]

I didn't expect Scott to make the final, but his performance today was so good that it would be stupid to eliminate him. He seems like a nice guy so I wouldn't have an issue with him winning Hell's Kitchen, I think it's Anton that gets thrown out of the kitchen by Scott in the finale from the preview.

[QuelleC]

Jason's Mom:  Did you yell at them?  Maybe she can't believe he got that far either.  Put her first on the list of women Jason has verbally abused and intimidated with his size.

Edited July 18, 2014 by QuelleC

[Tesla]

I was pleasantly surprised when awful Melanie was sent packing. All during Rochelle's montage, all I noticed was Melanie's bitchy, osour horse face whenever Gordon complimented Rochelle. Every. Time. She is delusional if she thinks she is a leader, all I got from her was laziness and a mean spirit. Good riddance, please don't come back for the final.

[LakeGal]

Jason in the finale.  I find that hard to believe.  Ramsay didn't even want to go out to eat with him.  They sent poor Andi.  I can't believe Chef would hire him to run a restaurant.  That means Scott will win.  They have carved out a redemption arc for him.  This great comeback for Scott.  In a season where nobody seemed capable of winning they had to do something.  Bring in the cute family and then set Scott up against the hated Jason.  We get a finale that will please most casual viewers.

[leighdear]

I will say that the BEST part of the show this season was coming HERE, to exchange thoughts and opinions with all of you folks!  *LOL* 

[cooksdelight]

In previews, isn't Jason wearing a black shirt? If only they'd put a black cowboy hat on him, the stage would be set. LOL

[Eolivet]

And Jason may be crude to say the least, but I've never actually gotten the impression that he's outright stupid per se; he'd know when to keep his trap shut.

 

Like when he told Andi "I think Melanie's getting stupider?"

 

Or yelled at Saundra "I know what I'm doing, you dumb [expletive]!"

 

Chef Ramsay would have to cross his fingers he had all male line cooks. Jason never said boo to them.

 

I think Gordon deliberately chose Jason as the goat.

 

Brilliant observation. It made me think that I feel like Ramsay/his producers are now playing Hell's Kitchen -- and last season of MasterChef -- like Survivor. Bringing a goat to the finals is a tried and true strategy.

[Drogo]

Big and loud as he is, Jason would crap his pants if Gordon had gotten in his grill (pun intended) the way he did to Scott. 

 

I'm really pulling for Scott on this one, especially after his performance at the pass.  In all the seasons I've watched this show, I don't think anyone has ever had that kind of stellar performance for expediting and quality control. 

 

When he asked GR if he thought the non-sabotaged dish had too much garlic I was waiting for Gordon to tell him that he's being overly critical of the dishes and to calm down, but instead he agreed "There's an absurd amount of garlic in there. Good catch."

[BusyOctober]

Sad to see Rochelle go, but she's to light and airy for the gravitas required by Grrr. I wish her a lot of success wherever she ends up.  Melanie - I just don't see the star quality.  I guess she was better than the majority of the field but that's not saying much.  Jason is obnoxious, so according to my track record of picking winners in reality shows, he will win. But I want Scott to win just to see his cute family again.

[ari333]

WOW. I hate the following thing so very much. Why, oh effing why, must they read the ticket "at the pass" so fast and mumble-y such that no one can comprehend or retain it? I get it that you don't want to slowly draw it out like a bedtime story, but goddamn, say it at a normal speech pace for cryin' out loud. That bugs me way more than it should. Why not say it ONCE in a normal fashion and not have to repeat it or risk having someone mishear or misremember? Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men. [/Kathy Griffin]

Edited July 18, 2014 by ari333

[Charlesman]

The hard part will be editing the finale to make it seem close.

[ari333]

Why did Melanie not get thrown a curveball? No quality control test from James? Not fair. I wanted to see her freak out just a little.

 

IIRC Melanie's curveball was the nonexistent Caesar salad "special" on the ticket, which imo was much easier to spot than the others' curveballs. And she still missed it, or rather she was tentative.

[Julia]

By me, she missed it. She called it, and then backed off when Ramsay questioned her about it. 

[Kromm]

Grossy Gross Guy won the tasting challenge?  REALLY?  Ick.

[Kromm]

IIRC Melanie's curveball was the nonexistent Caesar salad "special" on the ticket, which imo was much easier to spot than the others' curveballs. And she still missed it, or rather she was tentative.

Agreed.  Not to defend her OR Rochelle that much, but Jason was just horrible in his leadership.  Scott was a natural to go through, but Jason?  Ew.  

 

Arguably ALL of them had problems except Scott, but Jason being a little quicker in catching the quality issue (even they ALL did) didn't make up for how much of a buffoon he came off as.

 

Rochelle's nervous laughter was a big nothing.  It was clear what was driving it, and there's little indication she'd do it when not on TV.  Whereas Jason's buffoonery seems like an inherent part of him.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Kromm

[mlp]

 

Sad to see Rochelle go, but she's to light and airy for the gravitas required by Grrr.

 

True.  She also demonstrated in several episodes that she had trouble making decisions.  And she wasn't a leader.  I was sort of astonished that she just went along with Melanie in watching Scott do all the work during the last episode.  She should have known that being a follower and not being a team player would count against her.  I liked her and would have preferred seeing her in the final instead of Jason but she pretty much did herself in.  And giggled while she did it.

[OnceSane]

I just can't believe they called Jason "consistent" in the previews for the finale.  Ugh, at him being F2.  Completely undeserved, IMO.  At least Melanie didn't make it.

[ElleryAnne]

He was consistently irritating.  Maybe that's what they meant.

[OlfinBedwere]

Chef Ramsay would have to cross his fingers he had all male line cooks. Jason never said boo to them.

True, he never said boo to any of the guys, though I do seem to recall that he said "I'LL KICK YOUR MOTHER****ING ASS YOU SLIMY LITTLE ****ER" (or words with similar meaning) to Mike early in the season.

[fishcakes]

Scott has really come on strong these last few weeks and I don't think any of the other three could beat him in the finals, so I'd just as soon Gordon had advanced Rochelle or even Melanie rather than Jason. Jason's ego could stand to be deflated and although I'm pretty sure that will happen next week, I do wish he hadn't outlasted all of the women. It just reinforces his gross worldview.

 

@Kromm, your new profile picture made me (to quote Mr. Monk) LOL out loud.

[Rambler]

Well that was a bit of a surprise to say the least. It’s hard to believe that the men’s team, that was so inept that it couldn’t even finish a service until about the 5th or 6th episode, has both the chefs in the final. Scott in the final I could maybe see, even though he must have set the record for most times put up for elimination. But Jason? The guy who thinks that teamwork in the kitchen consists of yelling “You dumb little <bleep>” to Sandra? The guy who couldn’t compose a restaurant quality dish if someone held a gun to his head? That Jason?  He must have some compromising photos of Gordon Ramsay hidden away somewhere. That’s the only explanation. I guess Scott is a lock to win this, but I said there was no way Joy could lose so what do I know? That probably means Jason will win. And there are those photos.

 

Oh well, I guess I should know by now that my favorites will never win. So goodbye Rochelle, you were probably too nice for this show. Next time, remember to channel your inner Gordon Ramsey and you will do well. And farewell also to Melanie. You may have had an overinflated opinion of yourself, but I did appreciate the gratuitous shots of you in your bra that the editors loved to show earlier in the season so you weren’t as totally useless as some of the others.

 

 

(lest there be any misunderstanding, that was a bit of sarcasm directed at the editors, not at Melanie)