FNS Spoilers and Spoiled Speculation

[jonaswan2]

The kiddo's RayRay Show episode just aired (7/25/14) in my market, and, boy, are these babies rough. They were each give a family and their task was to fix their common food problem like, "My kids won't eat vegetables," and, "We're newlyweds that only eat fast food!", in 3:30. Hi and low (low, low) points for all, but Giada mentioned that she thought the men were "better" at the end of the RayRay episode, so I'll start with them.

 

Ah, Luca and Lenny. Both were so nervous, I'm shocked they could keep their dishes straight, but they pulled forward.

 

Luca, on the one hand, is lucky enough to radiate charm and warmth just by standing still and smiling, but his presentation consisted of... Sautéed processed cauliflower. There was this mystery Bolognese set off on a side burner and sort of plopped on top of his cauliflower "risotto." but that was pushed to the side for stories about his grandmother, his culinary experience, and his native Italy. Needless to say, the food did not look good, and the kids he was cooking for (as the mother in the family wanted ways to feed her kids more veggies) were having none of it. He was intelligible, though, I'll definitely give him that.

 

Lenny seemed manic and terrified, and even burned himself on a frying pan handle. And it's not like her was made anything complicated, just roasted chicken with vegetables in a skillet with rice on the side. Not camera ready, but he did come across as the most knowledgeable about his dish and about his family's dilemma (which was, "big family, small budget and time"). He threw out figures and measurements and easy to incorporate tips for the home cook.

 

Sarah and Nicole basically had the same presentation (I'm a mom OR I understand moms and I'm a personal chef!), so I can lump them into the same thought. I've already just about forgotten what Nicole cooked, and that's because I was only taken with how scattered she seemed. And she never really showed her food.

She made a shrimp and lettuce wrap for a "meat and potatoes" family.

I only remember what Sarah made because it was a fairly basic and unremarkable taco soup.

 

What struck me about Sarah, though, was that the person (annoying) and the POV (TEXAS!) that she shows and promotes on TNFS and the person she was on RayRay (sweet and "food is love, love is food") were two entirely different beings. While Nicole was amped and frazzles, Sarah was generally cool-headed and even-keeled. Though she used the dreaded spice packets term, and never her ingredients, she actually seemed to be the most camera comfortable of the group. That showed me how shrewd she was about this entire process. Unlike, say...

 

Loreal, the hopeful and obvious loser of this challenge. What is there to say about her? She cursed on morning TV. Managed to appear as high on both uppers and downers. And instead of quirky and "badass." she comes across weird, desperate, and insane. And what's with the wavering Southern accent? Wouldn't know the meaning of the phrase, "Be yourself," if you broke it down in the dictionary for her. Granted, her roulade looked good. Damned if I'd know how to make it based on her presentation, however.

Edited July 27, 2014 by Rhondinella

[howmanywords]

It will be very interesting to see how this episode is edited because wow that was a mess and based on the RR episode Loreal should easily be the one to go home this week. Why on earth did she put a glove on to start with, remove it after a few seconds, then go on to handle raw chicken? Butcher Babe can go anytime now.

[cooksdelight]

Butcher Babe ain't handling my raw meat!

Well...if I had any....

[Intuition]

OMG, did anyone see the Rachael Ray show yesterday featuring the five finalists?  I recorded it and can't believe what a freaking bitch Giada was - When Rachael asked the judges how they thought the finalists did, Giada jumped at the chance to stick a dagger in the women by saying she thought "the boys" did better than "the girls" this time.  The audience AND Rachael gasped that she would even say such a thing!  Like WTF is up with her, is she really taking bitch pills these days?  I always thought she was one but now it's like she's going out of her way to show it to the world!  Meanwhile, I thought Nicole did great and Lenny kind of sputtered.

[jonaswan2]

OMG, did anyone see the Rachael Ray show yesterday featuring the five finalists?  I recorded it and can't believe what a freaking bitch Giada was - When Rachael asked the judges how they thought the finalists did, Giada jumped at the chance to stick a dagger in the women by saying she thought "the boys" did better than "the girls" this time.  The audience AND Rachael gasped that she would even say such a thing!  Like WTF is up with her, is she really taking bitch pills these days?  I always thought she was one but now it's like she's going out of her way to show it to the world!  Meanwhile, I thought Nicole did great and Lenny kind of sputtered.

Yeah. I made the "Speculation" thread due to it.

[Me Too]

Regarding Nicole – Do people really give such young children sriracha  sauce?  She not only put it in the sauce covering the shrimp but also had some undiluted hot sauce on the side.  The youngest one looked like he had been eating table food for just a few months and older brother was only a year or two older.   I laughed when the youngest literally spit out his bite of food. 

 

All in all, I enjoyed watching the contestants cope with an honest to goodness real life TV show set and audience.

[leighdear]

So they aired the RR show BEFORE the FN show?  So people could see what happened and who did what beforehand?

 

Talk about a major spoiler.  I don't watch RR's talk show, so I had no idea they were all on. 

[howmanywords]

Yeah I know the RR appearance is thing they do every year but is the first time it aired before the actual FNS episode? It will be interesting to see how its edited.  Loreal was a mess from cursing on morning TV to handling raw chicken, and if they'll show Giada saying the guys did better.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Yeah I know the RR appearance is thing they do every year but is the first time it aired before the actual FNS episode? It will be interesting to see how its edited.  Loreal was a mess from cursing on morning TV to handling raw chicken, and if they'll show Giada saying the guys did better.

The word was left in. That is if it was ass.... Then yes it was not edited out. None of the judges mentioned it. There was so much more wrong with her demo anyway I guess they figured to let it go.

The kiddo's RayRay Show episode just aired (7/25/14) in my market, and, boy, are these babies rough. They were each give a family and their task was to fix their common food problem like, "My kids won't eat vegetables," and, "We're newlyweds that only eat fast food!", in 3:30. Hi and low (low, low) points for all, but Giada mentioned that she thought the men were "better" at the end of the RayRay episode, so I'll start with them.

 

Ah, Luca and Lenny. Both were so nervous, I'm shocked they could keep their dishes straight, but they pulled forward.

 

Luca, on the one hand, is lucky enough to radiate charm and warmth just by standing still and smiling, but his presentation consisted of... Sautéed processed cauliflower. There was this mystery Bolognese set off on a side burner and sort of plopped on top of his cauliflower "risotto." but that was pushed to the side for stories about his grandmother, his culinary experience, and his native Italy. Needless to say, the food did not look good, and the kids he was cooking for (as the mother in the family wanted ways to feed her kids more veggies) were having none of it. He was intelligible, though, I'll definitely give him that.

 

Lenny seemed manic and terrified, and even burned himself on a frying pan handle. And it's not like her was made anything complicated, just roasted chicken with vegetables in a skillet with rice on the side. Not camera ready, but he did come across as the most knowledgeable about his dish and about his family's dilemma (which was, "big family, small budget and time"). He threw out figures and measurements and easy to incorporate tips for the home cook.

 

Sarah and Nicole basically had the same presentation (I'm a mom OR I understand moms and I'm a personal chef!), so I can lump them into the same thought. I've already just about forgotten what Nicole cooked, and that's because I was only taken with how scattered she seemed. And she never really showed her food.

She made a shrimp and lettuce wrap for a "meat and potatoes" family.

I only remember what Sarah made because it was a fairly basic and unremarkable taco soup.

 

What struck me about Sarah, though, was that the person (annoying) and the POV (TEXAS!) that she shows and promotes on TNFS and the person she was on RayRay (sweet and "food is love, love is food") were two entirely different beings. While Nicole was amped and frazzles, Sarah was generally cool-headed and even-keeled. Though she used the dreaded spice packets term, and never her ingredients, she actually seemed to be the most camera comfortable of the group. That showed me how shrewd she was about this entire process. Unlike, say...

 

Loreal, the hopeful and obvious loser of this challenge. What is there to say about her? She cursed on morning TV. Managed to appear as high on both uppers and downers. And instead of quirky and "badass." she comes across weird, desperate, and insane. And what's with the wavering Southern accent? Wouldn't know the meaning of the phrase, "Be yourself," if you broke it down in the dictionary for her. Granted, her roulade looked good. Damned if I'd know how to make it based on her presentation, however.

They must have edited the hell out of Lenny's demo because the only issue he had and no one in the audience knew was that he ripped his pants when he bent over to put his food in the oven.

[RealityGal]

The word was left in. That is if it was ass.... Then yes it was not edited out. None of the judges mentioned it. There was so much more wrong with her demo anyway I guess they figured to let it go.

They must have edited the hell out of Lenny's demo because the only issue he had and no one in the audience knew was that he ripped his pants when he bent over to put his food in the oven.

 

Which personally, I could have done without ever knowing.  I saw no need to mention it at judges table.  They all thought he did great, why bring it up and then attempt to show us his crotch.  Gross.

[cooksdelight]

He didn't need to lift his leg like a dog, I agree. I think by telling the judges what happened was Lenny's way of telling them he can keep up the show no matter what curveballs are thrown his way. Unlike Sarah. LOL, I sort of give him credit for reminding them of Sarah's screwup in the fruit market, without actually naming names. Slick.

[RealityGal]

He didn't need to lift his leg like a dog, I agree. I think by telling the judges what happened was Lenny's way of telling them he can keep up the show no matter what curveballs are thrown his way. Unlike Sarah. LOL, I sort of give him credit for reminding them of Sarah's screwup in the fruit market, without actually naming names. Slick.

 

I was half paying attention, so I didn't catch that he was reminding the judges about Sarah's screwup.  While I think he has crazy eyes, I give credit to anyone for bringing Sarah down a few notches, so I'm on board with him bringing it up :)

[cooksdelight]

He didn't come right out and mention Sarah, but to me it seemed like a way to say "Hey, look, I never screw up on camera no matter what happens!" It had to be in their minds.

[Aquarius]

Call me cynical (and I have been called worse), but I wonder if Lenny made the whole "ripped my britches" thing up.  He is so fakity fake fake, I wouldn't put it past him.  And no one else but him noticed it . . . hmmmm.

[RealityGal]

Call me cynical (and I have been called worse), but I wonder if Lenny made the whole "ripped my britches" thing up.  He is so fakity fake fake, I wouldn't put it past him.  And no one else but him noticed it . . . hmmmm.

Well listen up here buckaroo, he offered to show America his split "britches" but the judges refused....whats a cowboy to do????

[Aquarius]

Well listen up here buckaroo, he offered to show America his split "britches" but the judges refused....whats a cowboy to do????

 

Not to be onery, pardner, but what he offered to show were his patched britches.  He ain't foolin' this little lady - that don't prove a thing.

[RealityGal]

Not to be onery, pardner, but what he offered to show were his patched britches.  He ain't foolin' this little lady - that don't prove a thing.

Well...this little lady was busy throwing up a little in her mouth at the very thought of aforementioned britches, so she may not have been paying full attention while roaming the range for her smellin' salts :)

Edited July 29, 2014 by RealityGal

[cooksdelight]

I'm tempted to send Kent Rollins a link to the britches-splitting episode, along with the most recent find on YouTube. Kent told me if that's what people are calling a cowboy, he needs to find another profession.

[cooksdelight]

An earlier conversation in the Final Four episode, which I've moved for discussion here.... what do you think, were Nicole's tears when she was talking about her pilot an indication that she didn't think she did well? Foreshadowing?

[SusannahTaylor3]

An earlier conversation in the Final Four episode, which I've moved for discussion here.... what do you think, were Nicole's tears when she was talking about her pilot an indication that she didn't think she did well? Foreshadowing?

I think it showed how much she wanted to win. I think it's finally hit her that this is it.

[cooksdelight]

Someone, I wish I could remember who, who is a chef in her area and on my friends list, was really promoting her on FB way back, but they've not said anything else about her since.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Hmmmm strange. You'd think Nicole would want the help for votes.

[MajorWoody]

Some of my humble observations and opinions:

As to whether or not someone has a POV and will then have a show that adheres strictly to that formula, there really hasn't been anyone other then the Sandwich King who have done precisely that. This show is nothing but entertainment, and they are apparently looking for a future host to encompass either game shows, various entertainment/cooking shows, or to be a personality. I really don't think they are looking for someone to have a one note show and consider that person a "star". As others have posted, it is more about the future line of kitchenware, endorsements, and the like.

As to someone (in this season it's Lenny) having a shtick, and that not being his/ her real personality, how many previous personalities on the network grew up as they now appear? People evolve in their lifetimes, and some, as we see on these shows, might do so in order to stand out from the crowd. Realistically, how far do you think a skilled but personality deficient chef would fare on the current day Food Network? The closest this season appears to be Nicole, who is good looking, appears somewhat knowledgeable about cooking, but also appears to be a rather bland and uninteresting type who would be passed over while potential viewers are channel surfing. Like him or not, Lenny does grab your attention, and unlike last years totally unlikeable Pah Gah, Lenny definitely seems to provide good food (or victuals, as he would say), unlike the annoying Pah Gah Rodney.

As others have correctly posted, the criteria for contestants seems to vary wildly from week to week, with Bob & Susie often providing totally opposing criteria depending on the contestant and the week.

Back to POV, if I recall correctly, 10$ Meal Melissa had that viewpoint pushed upon her towards the end , or possibly even in the last episode, by Bob & Susie. She never approached that angle during the season, and quite frankly, i found her to be a total phony. She repeatedly invoked sympathy with her mothers death, and how she wanted to spend time with her kids. I have yet to understand how flying from city to city appearing on FN shows and Foodie Fests provides more time with her children. She is also incredibly annoying on Guy ( TWEN-TEE THOU-SAND DOLLARS) Fee-ety's Triple G, even more so than the other judges.

I think if we realize this is nothing but entertainment, not the search for the next 5 star chef who turn random fridge finds into a gourmet experience, we can all enjoy it more, and not try to expect too much from whoever the eventual winner is.

All that being said, my wife and I have cast our votes for Lenny, not because we expect some future show that will expand our gourmet dining experience, but because we find him somewhat humorous and a decent cook, who can entertain us down the road.

[MajorWoody]

While I'm in a typing mode, a few other somewhat related thoughts:

Is it me, or has Alton Brown morphed from a whimsical, like-able guy into the neighborhood curmudgeon?

At one time, Good Eats provided excellent tips in a humorous vein. I personally learned several good ways to cook various dishes from those episodes. Now, between his various "mentoring" roles, in which he rarely mentors but often smugly criticizes, and his often bored and condescending faces towards contestants on this show, he reminds me of how David Letterman changed from a cutting edge funny guy to the guy who yells at kids to get of the GD lawn.

And in regards to the FN Stars most notable alumni, Guy ( TWEN-TEE THOU-SAND DOLLARS) Fee-ety, last year, while driving back to Florida from Hilton Head, we made a decision to visit a place outside Jacksonville that had been featured on Triple D, a small seafood shack place. My wife's sister and her hubby decided to meet us there. The place was out of the way, and we never would have discovered it except for the show. The food was excellent, the prices great, the servers and bar staff very friendly. The one thing we did learn, and from quite a few of them, was that they universally despised Guy. They said that the show required 2 days of filming, during which the crowd was photographed, and the servers and bar staff were not making any tips, resulting in basically two days with minimal pay. They said Fieri only arrived late on the 2nd day, with strict orders to the staff that they were not to address him, or talk to him unless he engaged them. He was in the place for approximately a half hour, then left, without any real interaction with the staff other than what was done specifically for the cameras. They said he was an arrogant jerk, and they would never have agreed to be a part of the show if they knew his true nature.

I had mentioned to the servers that we wouldn't have made the trip there ( and subsequently spent our money there) without seeing it on the show, but they all said they were doing pretty good before his show, and his feature didn't really bring in that many new guests. It was an interesting experience.

[Intuition]

Well, this may be a real spoiler depending on how you look at it. 

I saw a poll on Food Network Gossip that says it's been accurate predicting the winner since they started the poll 2 years ago.  So far it shows Lenny ahead with 41% of the vote and Luca behind him at 39%.  Nicole has 18% (total votes 943).  Interesting that the vote is that close.

I'll bet the vote could go either way.  I'm not in love with Luca but I'd vote for Quasimodo at this point just because I can't stand Lenny.  If anyone else hates Lenny that much I'd suggest voting for Luca because I'll bet he is the only other contestant with a fighting chance.

Edited August 5, 2014 by Intuition

[MajorWoody]

Any idea what criteria they use to come up with these poll numbers? It seems like they have no way of knowing how often and how many phone lines people use when casting their votes, unless they have an inside source. It would be interesting to find that out.

Edited August 5, 2014 by MajorWoody

[Intuition]

Is it me, or has Alton Brown morphed from a whimsical, like-able guy into the neighborhood curmudgeon?

 

No, it's not you.  Maybe he's actually becoming the snarly guy he's playing on "Cutthroat Kitchen".  Either that or he's taking lessons from Bobby Flay.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Well, this may be a real spoiler depending on how you look at it. 

I saw a poll on Food Network Gossip that says it's been accurate predicting the winner since they started the poll 2 years ago.  So far it shows Lenny ahead with 41% of the vote and Luca behind him at 39%.  Nicole has 18% (total votes 943).  Interesting that the vote is that close.

I'll bet the vote could go either way.  I'm not in love with Luca but I'd vote for Quasimodo at this point just because I can't stand Lenny.  If anyone else hates Lenny that much I'd suggest voting for Luca because I'll bet he is the only other contestant with a fighting chance.

I know it matters to some, but I've decided that I really don't care who wins because I doubt I would watch any of them. I also think the results will be skewed because you can vote numerous times for the contestant you want to win. Lenny, Luca, and Nicole can ask friends and family to vote for them. Does the popular vote count? Or is it up to Bob and Susie? Bob and Susie seem much more impressed with Luca than they are with Lenny and I think that Giada is as well. Alton looks like he could care less who wins and doesn't seem to be impressed with any of them. He seemed to like Emma for a while but as she kept falling behind he lost interest in her. Bobby just looks like he wants the season to end and is happy it is finally there. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Luca doesn't win, unless the popular vote does decide the winner and it still looks pretty close according to the poll results so far. Lenny only has a 2% lead. It's either of them for the win.

[SusannahTaylor3]

No, it's not you.  Maybe he's actually becoming the snarly guy he's playing on "Cutthroat Kitchen".  Either that or he's taking lessons from Bobby Flay.

I think he seems frustrated because none if the final 3 are winners in his book. He seems to take this competition very seriously and seems to have high expectations. He's always seemed snarly to me even when he did Good Eats. (To me), Bobby seems to have loosened up and even during the elimination part of the show when Alton and Giada are negative about the 3 on the bottom Bobby seems to try to find something positive to say. Alton and Giada seem like the hard asses and Bobby is the nicer one. I think he gets that these guys are amateurs and that they are molding them into a star. This is just my opinion.

[cooksdelight]

Alton has been pulling for Lenny from what I can gather from the tweeters and such. Martie told me to look out for that, as it's a barometer as to who eventually wins.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Alton has been pulling for Lenny from what I can gather from the tweeters and such. Martie told me to look out for that, as it's a barometer as to who eventually wins.

I didn't realize that. Thanks for the info. I used to be on twitter, still am, but it got old. That's surprising that Alton would pull for Lenny. He's actually the last one I'd think of for him to pull for. He did pick the past few winners I think. I got that from reading a lot on TWoP.

Maybe he knows something about Lenny that we don't.

[smiley13]

Alton has been pulling for Lenny from what I can gather from the tweeters and such. Martie told me to look out for that, as it's a barometer as to who eventually wins.

It is sad to me when I think how much better Martie is than any of these clowns who are left.  But she had to be cast aside for Luca.

[cooksdelight]

Martie lost during the final four, they picked Justin Warner over her. I think they may be regretting that decision, but not to the point they have given her a show. She is a cooking monster! Her live demos she's done around the country are very well received.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Martie lost during the final four, they picked Justin Warner over her. I think they may be regretting that decision, but not to the point they have given her a show. She is a cooking monster! Her live demos she's done around the country are very well received.

I will say that I was pulling for Margie last season. I liked her much better than Justin. He seemed and was proven to be arrogant. She was just flown to earth. I would also have preferred her over Luca in star salvation and was again rooting for her. Justin was creative with ideas, Martie had the better cooking chops I think. I hope to see her on FN one day.

[cooksdelight]

Martie is the real deal, what you see is what you get. And her food is downright good! I had a deviled egg bar at Easter last year, thanks to her. Lots of toppings for people to pick from, my Dad said it was the best part of the meal.

[SusannahTaylor3]

I liked how easy going she seemed to be and she listened and learned and didn't argue. She trusted her talent. I knew justin would win but I was still pulling for Martie. I could see where it was going with Justin because he was different and not something seen on FN before. Too bad he let his arrogance get the better of him and now he is virtually nowhere to be seen on FN. What a waste.

[smiley13]

Martie was so much better than Justin.  And it's just my speculation, but I really do think she would have taken this season in a landslide had she been a regular contestant.  I still think the whole Star Salvation was rigged for Giada to get Luca back.

[SusannahTaylor3]

Martie was so much better than Justin.  And it's just my speculation, but I really do think she would have taken this season in a landslide had she been a regular contestant.  I still think the whole Star Salvation was rigged for Giada to get Luca back.

That theory makes sense. She definitely has the hots for him. Why I don't know. I don't think he's that good looking but I can see the appeal , he's muscular, and Italian. I do think he was gross when he was flirting with the owner of that restaurant especially if he is married. She totally knocked him out at first until Robert reeled him in.

I agree, Martie would have taken it this season. Yes she would even beat Lenny. Martie was a natural.

[JTMacc99]

I guess I'm rooting for Luca to win.

 

I don't like the fact that Lenny is play acting his POV. I do understand that sometimes on TV you need to turn your personality up to 11, but Lenny's turning somebody else's personality up to 11, so I would have a hard time believing anything he says.

 

So I would prefer that Luca gets the regular gig and the "honor" of winning the contest. He does have a shot at becoming decent and likeable on TV.

 

And I don't want Nicole to win because I am sure that I would watch her on TV, but she needs to dropped into a role where she can grow and succeed. Putting her into the standing around in the kitchen Saturday morning format will not the be best use of her to start. You either need a schtick, or a lot of life experience with lots of stories to pull off the 30 minute straight cooking show.

 

Farming her out to the Cooking Channel and giving her something to grow into, on the other hand, would probably work out very well.

[chessiegal]

I don't understand why Cooking Channel is treated like the farm team. They have way more better shows than FN these days, including Bobby Flay's brunch show - no way is Bobby farm team material. Fine Living was getting dismal ratings so Scripps decided to change it to something that gets them ratings, a channel about food.

 

[JTMacc99]

Scripps made a wise choice to scrap Fine Living and use the distribution it had already established to build the Cooking Channel. And the Cooking Channel is a really nice combination of good new shows and older, but still good, Food Network shows. I personally had to dump my older Time Warner cable package (with some nicely discounted rates grandfathered in) to get into the correct digital package to get the Cooking Channel. It was totally worth dumping Showtime to pick it up.

 

But Scripps definitely sees it as a compliment to the Food Network and not its equal. When they come to the cable and satellite companies, they demand that the Food Network be carried in the basic packages the same way that Disney demands that Disney and ESPN are carried that way and VIacom demands that Nickelodeon and MTV are carried that way.  Scripps would like for the Cooking Channel to be part of the deal, but are okay with it being in a digital tier and will even sell Food Network without any agreement at all to also include the Cooking Channel.

 

Viacom would never offer up MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central without also insisting that MTV2, Nick JR, Nick Teen, Nick Toons, and so on are also part of the deal to be offered in a tier that has some sort of minimum number of subscribers.

 

So Scripps has developed a nice product with the Cooking Channel, but I don't think they see it as the equal to the Food Network.

[cooksdelight]

I saw someone today on FN's Facebook page say that they had got an email about an upcoming Food Network cruise, and that Luca was part of the group appearing on the cruise. No mention of the other two. Take that for whatever it might mean.

[xaxat]

It would be hilarious if Food Network spoiled their own show again with that email.

[SusannahTaylor3]

I saw someone today on FN's Facebook page say that they had got an email about an upcoming Food Network cruise, and that Luca was part of the group appearing on the cruise. No mention of the other two. Take that for whatever it might mean.

Interesting. I'm not sure that's giving it away or not, but its odd that Lenny or Nicole weren't in the list of names on the cruise.  I have said all along that Luca could win because its so close between him and Lenny so I wouldn't be surprised at all. We'll see.

[JTMacc99]

Voting ended at something like 11:00 AM today didn't it?

 

Seems like they wouldn't have had enough time to coordinate that cruise and immediately send out the name of the winner, especially if the e-mail went out before voting was over.

 

I mean, yes, for sure they could have a pretty good idea who was going to win the voting before 11:00 AM, and yes, they might not really care who wins the voting and just have the winner determined a while ago, but I'm thinking that Luca was going on that cruise whether he finished in first place or third place.  They've seen enough of him to decide whether or not they want him around.

 

And I think they definitely appeared to like him enough to use him for stuff regardless of whether or not he wins.

 

 

*** Of course, this is all irrelevant if that e-mail said something like "2014 FNS Winner Luca!".  Which I wouldn't put it past them to do.

[Intuition]

I agree, SusannahTaylor3, I think Luca might take this thing.  Then again the "cursing" YouTube video of Lenny was suddenly removed from his channel this morning.  Not sure what that means, but take that for what it's worth.  It either means Food Network made him take it down because he's going to be the winner and they want to cover it up, or they disapproved of it and it disqualified him from winning and made him take it down.  I despise Lenny so I hope it's the latter.  Unfortunately the way this whole thing is shaping up, I don't really hold out much hope for that.  I know the voting is probably close between Luca and Lenny but given everything else said in this thread, it looks like Lenny's the shoo in.

 

I saw someone today on FN's Facebook page say that they had got an email about an upcoming Food Network cruise, and that Luca was part of the group appearing on the cruise. No mention of the other two. Take that for whatever it might mean.

 

Maybe it means Luca was a part of the cruise whether he won or not, meaning he was signed up for it before anyone knew who the winner would be.

[cooksdelight]

I didn't see the person's email, wish that I had. Remember this show was filmed back during the winter. I really don't believe the "public vote" is anything more than a way to get hits on their website and generate interest for the finale. But, that's just me. Each year, this show gets crazier and more cringe-worthy, with a lot of unanswered questions.

[howmanywords]

I didn't see the person's email, wish that I had. Remember this show was filmed back during the winter. I really don't believe the "public vote" is anything more than a way to get hits on their website and generate interest for the finale. But, that's just me. Each year, this show gets crazier and more cringe-worthy, with a lot of unanswered questions.

I'm with you.  Last week when Luca was the first one announced to be safe and Bobby started yelling "THE COMEBACK KID YEAH!!" I kept thinking if he does end up winning they have pretty much the best story (and lord knows this network loves their stories); the guy who got booted, brought back, only to win it all.  Even if the cruise thing isn't a sure sign that Luca wins IMO its a pretty good sign they're interested in continuing to keep him around on the network. 

[Totale]

I'm with you.  Last week when Luca was the first one announced to be safe and Bobby started yelling "THE COMEBACK KID YEAH!!" I kept thinking if he does end up winning they have pretty much the best story (and lord knows this network loves their stories); the guy who got booted, brought back, only to win it all. 

 

Wow.  I'll bet Top Chef could use a story like that.  Wonder if they'll steal it?

[SusannahTaylor3]

My take though on the other side of the coin is that he was actually eliminated once and brought back. I would have a hard time if I was a contestant that stayed in the game until the end and someone who had been eliminated won the whole thing. I actually disagree with their having a salvation show. I feel that if you get eliminated once then you're out. If you lose your job your boss doesn't fire you and then turn around and say if you can win this contest you can come back and work for me. If you think about it this show is one big job interview. I would have something to say if I was the other two who have been there since day 1 and someone who was eliminated and brought back and won the contest.