S08.E08: No Way Rosé

[Pattycake2]

Ah, Deborah Kerr and Cary Grant drinking pink champagne in An Affair to Remember.

[MartyQui]

16 hours ago, aqusdealer said:

 

Actually, there are rose champagnes. If produced in France they are labeled as champagne. If produced elsewhere they must be labeled sparkling wines. They are much sweeter than the white champagne most people are used to.

 

We plebeians call it pink champagne.  🙂

[biakbiak]

6 minutes ago, MartyQui said:

We plebeians call it pink champagne.  🙂

In less your French speaking even the plebes use rosé. 

[njbchlover]

6 hours ago, luvthepros said:

So far their demands have been met minus two courses of their requested 10 course meal. And then one of the guests did make mention that the tasting menu is "only 8 courses". They do look very happy with what has been presented to them, including the unicorn floats.

I'm still waiting, but so far, these guys, while extremely "extra" in personalities, seem very nice - especially compared to other guests.  Hopefully, they remain the same throughout their charter, and tip very well, because of all the amazing food that Rachel has put forth.  

I wonder what happened to their request for a "high tea"??  Maybe it hasn't happened yet, or they nixed the idea?  

I also still don't understand the whole concept of bringing full-on costumes for theme nights on a luxury yacht.  Just doesn't make any sense to me--no wonder these guests always have major luggage with them!  

[njbchlover]

9 hours ago, Lassus said:

And like Eddie with the Sun Child leaving the garage door open - and maybe I'll be alone on this one, too - I'm really putting a decent amount of this on Francesca, ultimately.  OF COURSE, Elizabeth should not be stupid enough to make that error; but you have a staff of TWO, Francesca, not 12 or 22.  You do not need to tell one to tell the other to do something, especially one you've already been shown is incompetent multiple times.  (And as changing EVERY ROOM is not a short job, how did you not catch Ash doing this while simply checking in with her at some point?)

I wondered if Francesca was trying to get Elizabeth to start working as the second stew?  I imagine the chain of command is chief stew, second stew and so on.  If so, then trying to delegate responsibility, even within a small crew, is understandable, imo.  

I think that Francesca really regrets giving those stripes to Elizabeth now.

Edited December 22, 2020 by njbchlover

[aghst]

1 hour ago, Snickerdoodle said:

I forget what season but in the past we’ve seen Kate train a stew on how to pour the wine, which is they have the bottle wrapped in a napkin and they hold it at the bottom.   I’m not sure why...maybe it’s just the “proper” way to do it. 

Yeah I know that waiters in higher end restaurants do it as well.

It's just some mannerism.

When you go to Spain, they like to pour cider and other drinks by pouring further and further away and letting it overflow a bit because it's some visual flourish that people associate with a particular region of Spain.

Visual flourish and I guess similarly, people think this is 5-star service for the wait staff to wear white gloves and pour from the bottom, unlike the pleb restaurants which hold the neck of the bottle.  

You get better control of the pour by holding it in the neck, so it's kind of a style without substance practice.

[meep.meep]

40 minutes ago, MartyQui said:

We plebeians call it pink champagne.  🙂

Of course we do!  But if you call it rose champagne, you can charge $20 more per bottle.

I've always wondered about how the guests pay for everything on these yachts.  Is the price inclusive or are they paying by the bottle?

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Snickerdoodle said:

I forget what season but in the past we’ve seen Kate train a stew on how to pour the wine, which is they have the bottle wrapped in a napkin and they hold it at the bottom.   I’m not sure why...maybe it’s just the “proper” way to do it. 

Kate didn’t just have to train Simone about the proper way to pour wine, she had to train her how to open a bottle with a corkscrew and how to open champagne.

[HouseofBeck]

7 hours ago, luvthepros said:

So far their demands have been met minus two courses of their requested 10 course meal. And then one of the guests did make mention that the tasting menu is "only 8 courses". They do look very happy with what has been presented to them, including the unicorn floats.

I forgot I was wondering about that! They commented but didn’t make a fuss. Did they realize that the chef was a higher authority than their sheet? Will it come up later? Will there be an actual 10 course meal still? So many questions. 

2 hours ago, aghst said:

What is the deal with pouring wine by the neck?  Heat from your hand spoil the wine or something?

Or it's just a mannerism reinforced by the peculiar practices in high-end restaurants or something?

 

It is only because of that mention on the show and because I recently saw the Columba with Donald Pleasance and the wine, and how careful he was to pour and then hold the glass. 🙂

[jmcd44]

59 minutes ago, HouseofBeck said:

What is the deal with pouring wine by the neck?  Heat from your hand spoil the wine or something?

Or it's just a mannerism reinforced by the peculiar practices in high-end restaurants or something?

I thought it was so it didn't spill or drip. I always pour my wine from the bottom too-by my third glass, I need better aim. But I did learn that you are supposed to hold the glass by the stem so your hand doesn't warm up the wine. But I also use stemless wine glasses most of the time so don't mind me.

I thought the guests seemed nice. They were "extra" but nice and appreciative and went to bed early and seemed to actually use the water toys.

[aqusdealer]

6 hours ago, aghst said:

What is the deal with pouring wine by the neck?  Heat from your hand spoil the wine or something?

Or it's just a mannerism reinforced by the peculiar practices in high-end restaurants or something?

 

Sommelliers were trained that way. You would not believe the things they had to memorize and practice. There are protocols for sparkling wine, new wine, very old wine....all with major differences in procedure. The reason wine is supported at the bottom during the pour is two fold. First is that it properly exposes the label to the patron or host...(as well as any guests), so they know what they are receiving. Secondly, it makes the "cut" easier and more "showy". That's where the pour is ending and the sommellier or waiter gently twists the bottle, so there is no drip on the tablecloth linen. 

[Iris987]

10 hours ago, Thisgirllovespasta said:

Even though their preference sheet was lengthy and demanding, they seem like they were super happy with everything (so far). 

I think most of the preference sheet lunacy comes from production. A guest from a few seasons ago posted a blog about his experience and he said they asked him to name the best meal he'd ever had and he wrote "a 12 course banquet in Taiwan". Production then reworded that to make it his demand. These guys are so over the top enthusiastic I'm sure the question was "name your favorite cuisine" and they just rhapsodized about every food they've tried, wanted to try or seen a picture of, which then became their demands.

I'm not sure if Elizabeth is just getting stuffed around by editing but if not she's useless. Isn't she supposed to have 5 years experience? She reminds me of Raquel on Vanderpump Rules- probably a nice person and kind to old people and stray dogs but unable to hold more than one thought at a time. 

On 12/22/2020 at 3:09 PM, Marley said:

Am I missing something like what is so horrible about Francesca's managing style? I wish Elizabeth had to deal with Kate. Elizabeth is such a little baby. She’s so annoying and I think she thinks she’s doing a really good job lol. 

Same. Francesca for the win

Edited December 23, 2020 by Iris987
.

[Mr. Miner]

I'm not impressed with Francesca.

[Lamima]

Remember Chef Leon (beef cheeks)? Just watched a show on ID called Crimes Gone Viral (season 1 episode 13) and I swear it is him in the final crime clip, who saved someone from being robbed at ATM.

Edited December 23, 2020 by Lamima

[Madhattter]

Maybe there is something I am missing, but given that Elizabeth is performing so poorly and Ashling seems to be great, why does Francesca not promote Ashling to second stew and have Elizabeth in the third position and not count on her so much. She admitted she promoted Elizabeth way too early, on almost no knowledge of her work, so why not own up to the mistake and make that fix. It seems like such a glaringly obvious solution. Unless production is messing with the editing and Ashling is not the very competent, agreeable, proactive hard worker they have shown her to be.  This seems a poor reflection on Francesca and her management. 

[aghst]

3 hours ago, Madhattter said:

Maybe there is something I am missing, but given that Elizabeth is performing so poorly and Ashling seems to be great, why does Francesca not promote Ashling to second stew and have Elizabeth in the third position and not count on her so much. She admitted she promoted Elizabeth way too early, on almost no knowledge of her work, so why not own up to the mistake and make that fix. It seems like such a glaringly obvious solution. Unless production is messing with the editing and Ashling is not the very competent, agreeable, proactive hard worker they have shown her to be.  This seems a poor reflection on Francesca and her management. 

I think Francesca's plan was to get rid of Elizabeth after the mustard gas thing and then she could promote Ashling.

But Lee wasn't into it, right after getting rid of Shane and then almost not having a chef.  He said they might not get anyone better this late in the charter season.  That didn't stop him from booting Shane just the day before!

Could be that they wanted to keep ditzy Liz around, just to be a pain to Francesca.

 

I'm thinking in a real luxury yacht charter, most of the time the work of the crew is very uneventful.  That is, there are enough experienced people and the work gets done without many issues.  If there are people who aren't performing, they just replace them but there are no talking heads with people venting, leading to drama.

If BD charters were that smooth, it would be boring.  If crew members had nothing to vent about in the THs, there would be no show.

So the incentive for the producers is to have drama, not low-key, low-drama people competently performing their work.  If they showed that, there wouldn't be much of a show.

Fact is, shows, movies, books, etc. all thrive on conflict and strong emotions.  We're suppose to be invested or repulsed as viewers by the various tics, behaviors and beliefs of the people on the show.

And if cast members won't act out on camera, ply them with booze and try to get them to have sex with each other!

 

 

[dleighg]

On 12/22/2020 at 9:49 AM, NowVoyager said:

Elizabeth spends a lot of time working hard, but she doesn't work smart.

as an example, cleaning up after the unicorn explosion (the glitter toss in the salon), she vacuumed FIRST and then wiped the table SECOND. Anyone with a rudimentary acquaintance with house-cleaning knows you need to do it in the opposite order because inevitably the table cleaning is going to result in at least a little bit of glitter going back on the floor.

[RoxiP]

I would have vacuumed the table first and then wiped it off.

[dleighg]

why are the stews walking around the woods BAREFOOT? I guess they didn't think they might have to find firewood? That it would be just sitting in a nice little pile waiting for them? And I'm skeptical that they would have found enough that was dry, and loose, so quickly.

[Neurochick]

21 hours ago, biakbiak said:

Kate didn’t just have to train Simone about the proper way to pour wine, she had to train her how to open a bottle with a corkscrew and how to open champagne.

Is Simone in this season?  I'm confused as to why she was mentioned.

Rachel is a piece of work, in any other profession she'd be fired for that mouth.  

[65mickey]

Probably just to show that other chief stews have had to show a second stew how to open and pour wine in the manner that the chief stew approves of. In this case Francesca didn't bother to show Elizabeth.  Picking at little things like this does nothing to help Elizabeth get better at her job. Just builds resentment. I find Francesca humorless and boring. At least Kate was witty while being snarky. This is not an interesting crew this season. And maybe because  Lee was injured and in pain he seems off. 

[biakbiak]

20 minutes ago, Neurochick said:

Is Simone in this season?  I'm confused as to why she was mentioned.

Rachel is a piece of work, in any other profession she'd be fired for that mouth.  

She was mentioned because like frequently happens on the show people compare past crew to current crew in this case how Kate and Francesca dealt with their stews who didn’t know how to pour wine.
 

[65mickey]

How many charters left before this boat sails off into the sunset?  

[blixie]

Quote

One problem she has is she spends a lot of valuable time talking instead of just getting down to business. She also doesn't listen

OMG Chess isn't perfect, but, FFS Elizabeth is absolutely a terrible employee and I'm pretty sure on the merits of value added v. active damage done, she's worse than Sunshine. The number of the times she has bitched to others "what does she think I'm doing, nothing?" while she actually IS doing NOTHING except running her mouth to a co worker and not doing any work while she runs it is mind boggling and I'm not sure how Francesca has managed not to strangle her or why Lee thinks it's fine to dump sunshine and not fine to dump this girl who is actively repeatedly fucking up multiple aspects of her job every single day. Not to mention the bleach thing, JFC.

Rachel kicks unholy ass in the Kitchen and given the circumstances of when this was shooting and her boyfriend was living in the one place where more people were dying than anywhere on earth, I'm more forgiving of they way she lost her emotional shit. And it was so fucking funny watching someone say eat my cooter that many times. I do think it's reasonably that everyone might be mad at her, but like whatever, it seems like everybody including Lee got over it so try harder Eddie. Also yes chefs are frequently that mercurial and that's why there is a LOT of turnover in the industry, it's very high stress job barely held together by people yelling obscenities, at each other in the back of the house.

I have to say after a slow start to this season after catching up it might be one of the best seasons ever. I really love Izzy and James relationship and even the frustrating people are mostly frustrating cause they are dip shit airheads. They are very likable cast and Rob is pretty entertaining addition geologist nerd awkwardness. 

[Chatty Cake]

After all that, the guests turned out to be pretty easy going. 
I don’t think Elizabeth is a good worker but  I also don’t think Francesca is a good supervisor.  She should have some lists of what they need to pack for the excursions. This wasn’t the first time Elizabeth  forgot something. When Elizabeth screws up, they are wasting resources going back and forth. 

[biakbiak]

22 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

This wasn’t the first time Elizabeth  forgot something. When Elizabeth screws up, they are wasting resources going back and forth. 

That’s on Elizabeth not Francesca, If she realizes that she is forgetful she should write things down when she is told to do them. Though I have seen nothing in her behavior to indicate that she would actually review and double check a checklist. She is 30 years old with five years of experience, she needs to take accountability for her work, after already messing up one beach picnic most people would have triple checked they had everything but she didn’t and is currently blaming Francesca for not double checking her work on Twitter. She just doesn’t get it, I mean the day after she created more work for Ashling due to not listening or processing what Francesca told her to do and forgetting the rose she was absolutely shocked that Francesca still had issues with her performance.

Edited January 3, 2021 by biakbiak

[RedHawk]

On 1/1/2021 at 8:05 PM, blixie said:

OMG Chess isn't perfect, but, FFS Elizabeth is absolutely a terrible employee and I'm pretty sure on the merits of value added v. active damage done, she's worse than Sunshine. The number of the times she has bitched to others "what does she think I'm doing, nothing?" while she actually IS doing NOTHING except running her mouth to a co worker and not doing any work while she runs it is mind boggling and I'm not sure how Francesca has managed not to strangle her or why Lee thinks it's fine to dump sunshine and not fine to dump this girl who is actively repeatedly fucking up multiple aspects of her job every single day. Not to mention the bleach thing, JFC.

Rachel kicks unholy ass in the Kitchen and given the circumstances of when this was shooting and her boyfriend was living in the one place where more people were dying than anywhere on earth, I'm more forgiving of they way she lost her emotional shit. And it was so fucking funny watching someone say eat my cooter that many times. I do think it's reasonably that everyone might be mad at her, but like whatever, it seems like everybody including Lee got over it so try harder Eddie. Also yes chefs are frequently that mercurial and that's why there is a LOT of turnover in the industry, it's very high stress job barely held together by people yelling obscenities, at each other in the back of the house.

I have to say after a slow start to this season after catching up it might be one of the best seasons ever. I really love Izzy and James relationship and even the frustrating people are mostly frustrating cause they are dip shit airheads. They are very likable cast and Rob is pretty entertaining addition geologist nerd awkwardness. 

I’m totally enjoying this season and especially enjoyed this episode. I agree that Elizabeth spends way too much time chatting and complaining. Just like Rachel pointed out, some people have figured out that a good way to not do any work is to stand around and complain about all the work you have to do.

I find Rachel slighlty off-putting and yet hilarious as she weaves profanity-laced tirades into her work. She resembles and often sounds like Kate McKinnon. I have wondered if she’s intentionally exaggerating her reactions and doing an impression or just happens to be an over-the-top character like one Kate McKinnon might create.

Rob is good-looking and funny! I love his self-deprecating dry wit. Hoping he won’t turn out to be a jerk. Love the budding bromance with James.