Chopped 2021: You Could Have Sexed That Up a Little Bit

[Rammchick]

So Alton's tournament ended not with a bang but a whimper.  Even doubling the prize to 50K didn't add all that much to the proceedings.  Glad it's over.

[emmawoodhouse]

Good. Now I can watch the show again.

[nitrofishblue]

Well, if you played  the drinking game when they mentioned $50,000 you would have been out like a light in the first 20 minutes. Disappointing series. 

[mlp]

I'm glad that's over too.  Alton's shtick does not amuse me and I prefer to see the chefs work with ingredients that aren't disgusting.  Also, the competitor I liked the least won.  

[schnauzergirl]

So hoping that FN just lets these celebrity-driven competitions go away, but doubt that will happen.  Alton annoyed me much more in the first couple of episodes, but still happy it's over.  I believe Alex was surprised he was eliminated first.  Getting away from his mother's culinary shadow might be tough for him.  I was hoping Eric would take it so was sorry to see him go.  I liked Christina better than Leah, but only marginally.

[emmawoodhouse]

38 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

So hoping that FN just lets these celebrity-driven competitions go away, but doubt that will happen.  Alton annoyed me much more in the first couple of episodes, but still happy it's over.  I believe Alex was surprised he was eliminated first.  Getting away from his mother's culinary shadow might be tough for him.  I was hoping Eric would take it so was sorry to see him go.  I liked Christina better than Leah, but only marginally.

Who was Alex related to? 

[schnauzergirl]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Who was Alex related to? 

When he mentioned her name on the episode where he won I was walking into the room and missed hearing it.  I do remember he said his mother knew Julia Child and that he cooked with her.  

[emmawoodhouse]

11 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

When he mentioned her name on the episode where he won I was walking into the room and missed hearing it.  I do remember he said his mother knew Julia Child and that he cooked with her.  

Sara Moulton?

[Darian]

5 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Good. Now I can watch the show again.

You were smarter than me. Much. I watched and I loathe Alton (he, Robert Irvine, and Buddy V are usually deal breakers for me). More so now than before the stupid tournament. But I did get to see some judges I liked and some good cooking. Not worth it. 

[mlp]

Alex's mother is Chef Lydia Shire:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lydia_Shire

[I Want My MBTV]

1 hour ago, emmawoodhouse said:

When he mentioned her name on the episode where he won I was walking into the room and missed hearing it.  I do remember he said his mother knew Julia Child and that he cooked with her.  

No, I knew he said "Lydia" but I couldn't recall her last name.  Had to look it up - Lydia Shire.  

I wasn't super impressed with him but I didn't get the reason for his being Chopped that he didn't get the proteins smaller.  Muneet didn't say that that effected the cooking so every time she mentioned it I kept thinking "do you not have a knife?".  Eric was my favorite of this final bunch but he had too many mistakes in the entrée round so understood why he was chopped.   I knew as soon as that one chef used canned tomatoes it was going to be an issue.  It's like if you're on Chopped things to not use unless they're in the basket "canned tomatoes, truffle oil, red onions (if Scott is a judge)....."

I only watched because there's not that much new programming but it was a disappointing series.  I hate how in these series there's no prize when the chefs when the first round to make it to the finale.  If you think about that the $50K prize while great for an individual is the exact amount of money Chopped would have been out if they had given each winner of their round the $10K.  Anyway, if I never hear the name Alton or the word maniacal again I'll still have heard them each about a thousand times too many. 

[xaxat]

Setting aside Alton's presence (the forced obsequiousness of Maneet and Marcus who are actual chefs unlike Alton) these episodes weren't really Chopped.

Chopped has a really ingenious and enduring format. Give chefs a basket with an unusual ingredient and see what the chefs do with it. In the end the food not only should appeal to the judges, but be accessible to the home viewer. ("Oh, I still won't eat Rocky Mountain oysters, but I can see how that dish might be good.")

These episodes went out of their way to call some of ingredients disgusting. And it lost the accessibility battle right there. I also got more than a whiff of food xenophobia. Items from outside the US like fermented fish, durian, fermented butter were not described as having a strong taste or odor or being funky. They were literally compared with smelling like a dead body or shit like a baby's diaper. I still can't believe they did that to foods from Sweden and Ethiopia in front of Marcus.

[Rammchick]

14 hours ago, xaxat said:

I also got more than a whiff of food xenophobia. Items from outside the US like fermented fish, durian, fermented butter were not described as having a strong taste or odor or being funky. They were literally compared with smelling like a dead body or shit like a baby's diaper. I still can't believe they did that to foods from Sweden and Ethiopia in front of Marcus.

If you look on YouTube, there are plenty of videos of people from other countries eating food from the US and pronouncing it disgusting.  It's completely along the lines of, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" -- there are always going to be cultural differences in the appreciation of foods.  That was the basis of Andrew Zimmern's shows, despite the moniker "Bizarre Foods".  

But you're right.  FN doesn't help matters by allowing descriptions like that, no matter how apt it may seem.  

[candall]

On the next Tournament of Champions, I will wait until Maneet is rushing through the last five minutes of her cook, then I will make sure to get her full attention by yelling her name until she stops and looks at me.  Then I will shout at her, "Don't forget about that big truck they're throwing in on top of the prize money!!"

 

 

[schnauzergirl]

Martha's gone, Alton's gone, and Sunny Anderson is one of tonight's judges.  Has she ever judged before?  I don't remember her.  Amanda is back.  One of the challenges is to make dog food or treats.  Not a fan of Sunny, but we'll see.

[The Bullpen]

I haven't caught many recent (new) episodes. Is this the first episode with a new set??  It's taking some getting used to.

[Grizzly]

31 minutes ago, The Bullpen said:

I haven't caught many recent (new) episodes. Is this the first episode with a new set??  It's taking some getting used to.

It's the first time I've seen this set. I like it but maybe they should give the chefs 5 more minutes since things are further apart. It's brighter. And James is the best judge they've ever had. 

[The Bullpen]

6 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

It's the first time I've seen this set. I like it but maybe they should give the chefs 5 more minutes since things are further apart. It's brighter. And James is the best judge they've ever had. 

Yeah, I get why they've opted for a larger, more spread-out space, but I would've liked them to acknowledge that after having used the same indoor set since Episode 1.  Also, I guess it feels less cozy and intimate to me.  I always complain about changes and usually get used to them soon enough, though, lol.

James is indeed a good judge, but am I the only who thinks that's a pretty boring name for a dog??

Edited July 28, 2021 by The Bullpen

[mlp]

Wow, they finally updated the set.  It's huge.  It looks really nice but it does seem like everything is a lot farther apart.  It seemed odd that Ted didn't say anything about the new surroundings.

I loved the episode.  James was a very well-trained dog.  I wonder who he belongs to.  

I used to like Sunny years go before she got so loud and mouthy.  She seemed more like her old self on this episode and I didn't mind her at all.

 

[xaxat]

Last year a friend of a friend told me they talked with someone involved with the production of the show. She mentioned that they were thinking about moving production to Nashville. I wonder if that's were they are. It's not just a different set, it's a different location. A space like that would cost a ton of money in NYC.

I thought Sunny did a good job. IMO the role of the judge is to convey to the chef and the viewer what the dish was about and she managed to do that as well as the other judges.

The concept of this episode was stupid. Dogs are great. But they don't have discerning palates. Several of my dogs had to be dragged away from eating deer poop.

I think I heard Scott Conant yelling "No! No red onions!"

[Rammchick]

Chopped has gone to the dogs!

Like you guys, I found the fact that no one said anything about the new set a bit distracting.  What do you want to bet there's still only one ice cream machine?!

I wouldn't want to have been the person who had to clean up after James ate all that weird food 😂

[schnauzergirl]

I think it's unlikely, but did wonder if the episodes were shown out of sequence, meaning this wasn't the first on the new set.  Why Ted and the judges didn't comment doesn't make sense.  

And I'm in love with James.

 

[Maverick]

 I'm not sure that's a new permanent set. Ted said it's a 150 year old factory they used for "this run of shows".  There's no mention of why they're using the factory or how long this run is (although a season is 13 episodes). 

[mlp]

5 hours ago, Maverick said:

I'm not sure that's a new permanent set. Ted said it's a 150 year old factory they used for "this run of shows".

When and where did Ted say that?  Just curious.  I wonder if they're finally updating the original space and this is a temporary area while the work is being done.

[Maverick]

 I saw it in a Twitter post while searching for info on the new set. 

[schnauzergirl]

Tonight I saw a promo for a Chopped episode to be shown on Discovery + and I'm wondering if the set for that show (visible ony for a nano-second) is the one we saw last night.  It's certainly not the old set. I don't susbsribe to Discovery + so can't follow up on that.

[xaxat]

12 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I'm not sure that's a new permanent set. Ted said it's a 150 year old factory they used for "this run of shows".  There's no mention of why they're using the factory or how long this run is (although a season is 13 episodes). 

It's really hard (if not impossible) to find that kind of space in New York. It all got developed into condos, tech space or chic retail. (Those original wood floors looked fabulous.)

[sharifa70]

Can we keep Sunny (and James!)? Please? I’ll gladly trade Geoffrey, Martha, and Alton! 

I loved the challenge of making dog treats, though I did cringe a lot at all that People Food being served to him: my shih tzu is pretty spoiled but his one real food luxury is a couple of tiny bites of boiled chicken breast at mealtime. Seriously tiny - not even a pinkie nail’s worth.

Dogs with human names make me giggle. “Here’s Tuggy and Fido and Spot and Bradley…”

The cheftestants cracked me up every time one of them referred to “the dog judge.”

Edited July 29, 2021 by sharifa70

[The Bullpen]

On 7/28/2021 at 10:19 PM, sharifa70 said:

Can we keep Sunny (and James!)? Please? I’ll gladly trade Geoffrey, Martha, and Alton! 

Aww, Geoffrey is fine! I don't really mind Alton Brown, just not on Chopped.  There have been soooo many tournaments and themed episodes in recent years - I get it, but I'm good with a straight-up episode featuring chefs who know what they're doing.  I agree with @xaxat that the concept for this latest one was silly.  Cute, but kinda dumb. 

[RealityCheck]

CHOPPED: PLAYING WITH FIRE Five-Part Tournament Premieres Tuesday, August 10th at 9PM

Quote

 

Set at the new tournament kitchen, each episode features four talented chefs showcasing their live-fire techniques and skills over three rounds -- appetizer, entrée, and dessert, corresponding with the episodic-themed challenges of wild game, steak, surf and turf, and pork.

The competitors must impress a rotating panel of judges with their dishes, including Eric Adjepong, Tiffani Faison, Eduardo Garcia, Alex Guarnaschelli and Chris Santos.

 

 

[buttersister]

Quote

 Eric Adjepong

Ok, maybe I'll watch then.

[Grizzly]

Can we keep Jordan as a judge? Pretty, please?

[I Want My MBTV]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Can we keep Jordan as a judge? Pretty, please?

I liked Jordan as a judge but otherwise this episode was complete BS.  I've never seen them describe such basic food as creative.   Alix's first two dishes were so obvious and then they're like "oh you cut your pretzel in half and used it as bun and made a hot dog out of the hot dog in the basket - wow!"  - then she serves dried chicken fingers with ketchup!  Not even homemade ketchup but squeezed straight from the bottle??? How is this?  They also called her broccolini that looked like straight up sautéed broccolini creative?   I normally can overlook a lot of the judging especially since I'm not there tasting the food but this seemed beyond the pale to the point where I'm wondering if they're going to give Alix a show. She did have that very tv personality.  

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, I Want My MBTV said:

I liked Jordan as a judge but otherwise this episode was complete BS.  I've never seen them describe such basic food as creative.   Alix's first two dishes were so obvious and then they're like "oh you cut your pretzel in half and used it as bun and made a hot dog out of the hot dog in the basket - wow!"  - then she serves dried chicken fingers with ketchup!  Not even homemade ketchup but squeezed straight from the bottle??? How is this?  They also called her broccolini that looked like straight up sautéed broccolini creative?   I normally can overlook a lot of the judging especially since I'm not there tasting the food but this seemed beyond the pale to the point where I'm wondering if they're going to give Alix a show. She did have that very tv personality.  

I was shocked that she won. 

[schnauzergirl]

 

24 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I was shocked that she won. 

Me, too.  Fanerra took more risks and every dish was praised.  I wonder if the lack of cohesion in her dessert was seen as not learning from the criticism about the same issue with the appetizer.  

[libgirl2]

28 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

 

Me, too.  Fanerra took more risks and every dish was praised.  I wonder if the lack of cohesion in her dessert was seen as not learning from the criticism about the same issue with the appetizer.  

I think that might be the case, but I thought she was much more creative. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by libgirl2

[Rammchick]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I think that might be the case, but I thought she was much more creative. 

Agreed.  Alix took a hot dog and a pretzel and made...a hot dog on a pretzel.  How is that repurposing the ingredients?

On a separate note, I found it annoying how she kept calling Fanerra "girl".  

[libgirl2]

Fanerra also has such a sunny personality that I thought, wow I would love to see her with her own cooking show. 

[xaxat]

It's a great looking space, but I'm not a fan of the new set. They stuck with only one fryer. It's a lot larger so chefs have to run around more. And WHERE IS THE CLEAVER?

 

[libgirl2]

On 8/6/2021 at 11:33 AM, xaxat said:

It's a great looking space, but I'm not a fan of the new set. They stuck with only one fryer. It's a lot larger so chefs have to run around more. And WHERE IS THE CLEAVER?

 

Yea, I'm not a fan of the new set. It is too big. 

[Rammchick]

Not sure where else to post this -- remember cheftestant Lauren von der Pool?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lauren-von-der-pool-chopped_l_610ad80be4b0b94f6077f313?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning Email 8-9-21&utm_term=us-morning-email

[mlp]

I expected the young woman from Brazil to win right from the start so I wasn't surprised.  She said she grew up in a tiny village in the jungle which made me wonder how she was speaking English without a trace of an accent, Portuguese or otherwise.  

I didn't notice until the dessert round that the guest judge had a hook for a left hand.  I'm curious about his story but can't Google him because I didn't catch his name.  Anyone remember?

[Gramto6]

I noticed the hook at the very end too but don't remember his name.

[letusprocrastinate]

His name is Eduardo Garcia.

http://www.chefeduardo.com/

[mlp]

Thanks letusprocrastinate.  I liked him and wondered how he lost his hand.  I found the story of his terrible accident:

https://www.today.com/food/amputee-chef-eduardo-garcia-got-second-chance-after-near-deadly-t170695

[ArtFossil]

22 hours ago, mlp said:

 

I expected the young woman from Brazil to win right from the start so I wasn't surprised.  She said she grew up in a tiny village in the jungle which made me wonder how she was speaking English without a trace of an accent, Portuguese or otherwise

 

I wonder if she was the child of missionaries? 

She sounded vaguely South African or Scandinavian. 

in any event I took an instant dislike to her 

[ZoqFotPik]

On 8/9/2021 at 10:52 AM, Rammchick said:

Not sure where else to post this -- remember cheftestant Lauren von der Pool?

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/lauren-von-der-pool-chopped_l_610ad80be4b0b94f6077f313?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Morning Email 8-9-21&utm_term=us-morning-email

Oh yeah, She's Tooooooootally over losing. It's Soooooooo not something that keeps her up at night.

[sharifa70]

46 minutes ago, ZoqFotPik said:

Oh yeah, She's Tooooooootally over losing. It's Soooooooo not something that keeps her up at night.

I had that same impression (though the article was a bit rambling).

[Grizzly]

I had never seen Chef Eric before and now this is the third Food Network show I've seen him on in a week. Not that I'm complaining, but where did he come from?

[emmawoodhouse]

2 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I had never seen Chef Eric before and now this is the third Food Network show I've seen him on in a week. Not that I'm complaining, but where did he come from?

He came from Top Chef.